During a House Appropriations Committee hearing on Wednesday, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) spoke about the relinquishing of federal oversight over education.
00:00thank you chairman and thank you to my colleague who just asked those questions
00:06about important programs that get students ready for college good good
00:10morning and morning thank you for being here I'm gonna ask you a couple of
00:15questions that I just need yes or no do you believe that there is a legal
00:20discrimination against people who are black brown and and other types of
00:27discrimination in jobs and education in this country yes or no I think it still
00:33exists in some areas then can you tell me why the Office of Civil Rights in the
00:40Department of Education is being decimated well it isn't being decimated
00:45what is it being wait we have reduced the size of it however do you we are taking
00:50on a backlog of cases that were left over from the Biden administration then why
00:54would you reduce the resources if you've got a backlog in addition to having
01:01confronted those cases that are going to come before you now because we're
01:06working more efficiently in the department okay thank you I've got real
01:13serious questions regarding your commitment to civil rights to to our
01:19students to our teachers to our faculty and places of that of that nature do you
01:27believe that migrant students should have access to public education resources well
01:37migrant students do have access do you believe that they should continue in some
01:43minutes and suggest okay do you believe that the position of this administration to
01:51reduce the resources and the support to migrant students at the same time they've
01:57encouraged and perhaps facilitated the coming to this country of white after South
02:04Africanis is an issue of favoritism and prioritization of white over color well if I am
02:17going to have to take a couple minutes to answer this well as this admit this
02:21administration President Trump has made it very clear that he will not tolerate
02:26discrimination whether it's anti-semitism whether it's race related at all on any of our
02:34I'm asking you about your opinion because I'm going to tell you I know what the
02:40president's position is he's made it quite clear I'm asking you as it as the
02:45secretary of education were you how you perceive this yes or no if this is I am
02:53the secretary of replacement and favoritism say no if it is say yes I am the
02:59secretary of education who has been approved to run this agency by Congress and I was appointed
03:09by the president and I serve at his pleasure under his mandate so therefore the direction
03:14of his administration is what I will follow do you recognize the fact that one of the important
03:20reasons that the federal government got into public education was to establish that there would be
03:27standards so that children would be treated equally in pursuing education that states had been found to be to
03:36discriminate against black students in particular in many of the states and that
03:42to send that responsibility and authority back to the states would just enhance those disparities again
03:55considering the environment in which this president continues to foster about who's
04:00important and who's not yes or no congresswoman there are laws on the books in title six that totally laws don't mean anything to this administration I'm asking you how you do you realize that to send
04:15authority back to the states to eliminate your oversight to eliminate your accountability to eliminate your determination as to
04:25a resource is going to schools that are better teaching public schools that are teaching underserved communities I'm this will result in the very reason that we had to get the involvement of of the federal government in this issue and that's a yes or no either you are not there you are not there you have to get the investment in this year and I'm sorry this will result in the very reason that we had to get the involvement of the federal government in this issue
04:43and that's a yes or no either you believe it isn't a it isn't a yes or no but I will not respond
04:48to any question based on the theory that this administration doesn't care anything about the
04:53law and operates outside it so that is a mischaracterization and I will play my time
04:59for five seconds because you can say anything you want your rhetoric means nothing to me
05:04what means something to me is the actions of this administration from the from the president of the
05:09United States conducting himself in a corrupt manner to his family enriching him and his himself
05:17corruptly to determine that this administration can tell you what's right what's wrong what's lawful
05:27what's not that it can arrest judges it can arrest lawyers it can use its power to bully people and
05:36I'm telling you the Department of Education is one of the most important departments in this country
05:42and you should feel shameful to be engaged with an administration that doesn't give a damn it's low
