00:00Well, thank you, Senator Baldwin, and you see we've been joined by the chair of the full committee.
00:09I'm going to ask the secretary to give her opening statement first, and then I'll turn to the chair.
00:16Thank you. Welcome, secretary.
00:18Thank you. Thank you very much, Chairman Capito, Ranking Member Baldwin, and distinguished members of the subcommittee.
00:26Thank you for having me today to represent the goal I share with my boss, President Trump, to responsibly eliminate the federal bureaucracy, cut waste, and give education back to states, parents, and educators.
00:41With your partnership, the fiscal 26 budget will take a significant step toward that goal.
00:46We seek to shrink federal bureaucracy, save taxpayer money, and empower states who best know their local needs to manage their education in this country.
00:58We have reviewed our programs and identified spending that does not fulfill the mandate of trust the American people have placed with President Trump.
01:06We have cut old contracts that waste enriching private parties at taxpayer expense, suspended grants for illegal DEI programs, and now are putting forward a responsible budget request that reduces department funding by more than 15%.
01:22At the same time, we're working to make American education great again.
01:26In our conversations with governors, teachers, and parents across the country, we hear calls for accountability and more local control.
01:35That's our goal, to give parents access to the quality education their kids deserve, to fix the broken higher education industry that has misled students into degrees that don't pay off, and to create safe learning environments.
01:52We're holding institutions to account when they facilitate discriminatory or hostile environments on campus.
01:59A level playing field with limitless opportunity, I think is a vision that we all can share.
02:05Our budget reflects this vision, its cuts reflect a bureaucracy that is getting out of the way, and its continuations and increases represent smart spending that will help improve student achievement and not serve bureaucratic interests.
02:19Our goal is clear, make education better, fairer, and more accountable by ending federal overreach and empowering families, schools, and states who best know the needs of their students.
02:34I'm eager to partner with you, to make the vision of the future a reality, and to ensure every child is part of it.
02:42Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.
