Burgess Owens Presses Education Secretary Linda McMahon On Efforts To Combat 'The Scourge Of DEI'

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During a House Education Committee hearing on Wednesday, Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT) spoke about the Trump administration's anti-DEI policies.

Transcript

00:00I thank the gentlelady, and now I recognize the gentleman from Utah.

00:04Thank you, Madam Secretary. Good seeing you again.

00:08Here.

00:09Ah, there you go.

00:11First of all, I'd like to thank you for bringing your entrepreneurial expertise

00:15to an industry that has long forgotten what a good return on investment is

00:19when it comes down to teaching our kids.

00:21There's nothing more important for the survival of our American culture

00:25than what you're tasked to do.

00:26You represent the end of accepting failure as an option,

00:31and on behalf of those who love the role of educators

00:34because they love the children they teach, I want to thank you for that passion.

00:39As you know, the House passed a reconciliation bill

00:43includes a version of the Education Choice for Children's Act,

00:47which will provide billions of tax credit scholarships for school choice.

00:51I have long advocated for school choice and am eager to see a much-needed

00:55school choice legislation enacted into a federal level.

00:58Why do you think expanding school choice is such a huge win

01:01for parents who are desperate for educational options?

01:05Well, thank you very much, Congressman, for that question.

01:09School choice, I believe, is one of the top things we can do

01:14to make sure that every child has equal access to an excellent education.

01:20And President Trump certainly believes, and I've said this many times even this morning,

01:25he truly believes, as do I, that the best education is that that is closest to the child.

01:31When, you know, when we think about teachers who are with our students,

01:36our children every single day, school superintendents,

01:39and parents who should have rights over, say, of the curriculum

01:44that are being taught to their children,

01:46these are all things that are part of the school choice program.

01:49The president does not believe that any child should be imprisoned, if you will,

01:56in a failing school, but should have opportunities to go to other schools.

02:01And so I'm really pleased to see that he has wanted limits

02:06or the budgets increased for our charter schools.

02:10He wants to make sure that our public schools have, you know, the best teachers, the best funding.

02:16He wants to make sure that all private schools, religious schools,

02:20and even those that are teaching their children at home with homeschooling

02:23have all the best tools available.

02:26He was embarrassed by the NAEP scores.

02:28He was embarrassed by where education levels were in our country, and he was angry.

02:33And when he's talked to me about it, he said,

02:35we absolutely need to make changes so that our students can have the best education in the world

02:42and that their performance scores will indicate that.

02:45By the way, we all should be angry by what's happened to our kids today.

02:48It is a travesty.

02:51And by the way, every child, no matter what zip code they live in,

02:54deserves the rights for life, living in pursuit of happiness.

02:57The only way that can happen is through education.

03:00You have been aggressive in attacking the scourge of DEI in our educational institutions.

03:05This has been the root cause of anti-Semitism our children are trained to embrace.

03:11Of course, our Democratic colleagues are accused of attacking free speech,

03:14whitewashing history, and using DEI as a cover to launch a political crusade

03:18against institutions you don't like.

03:19Could you talk more about why DEI is an important civil rights issue for all students?

03:27Well, unfortunately, many of the programs of DEI did more, I mean, the title was Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

03:37And it did more, I think, to separate and to provide more segregation ideas

03:43because it pitted an oppressor versus oppressed ideology.

03:50Many students were taught that if you're white, you're privileged.

03:53If you're not, you should not bring that privileged group as part of what you're doing.

04:00That is exactly contrary to, I think, everything we've been trying to accomplish in our country over the years

04:07so that everyone really has equal access, equal opportunity under the law.

04:12Yesterday, you had a hearing with Senator out of Rhode Island who said you are surrendering

04:19by giving the power back to the parents and the districts.

04:24I just want to remind everybody that we, in 2025, have 70 percent of our kids in eighth grade

04:30cannot read, write, and think.

04:32In 2017, black kids in the state of California, 75 percent could not read, write, and think.

04:38Here in Baltimore, we have zero proficiency in math

04:40for many of the schools in this district.

04:43So I think it's kind of arrogant for those bureaucrats here, politicians who believe

04:48that we do it best for our kids and when the parents should be at the front of that.

04:55I want to thank you and this department and this administration

04:59for understanding that the power belongs to the parents,

05:01and we're going to start producing some of the smartest, wisest,

05:05and the most hopeful students in the history of mankind.

05:06So thank you for that. I appreciate it. Now you're back.

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