Rules Committee Debates K–12 Foreign Funding Bills; Democrats Call Them Blunt, Unfunded Mandates
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Summary
The Rules Committee heard competing views on three K–12 measures (HR 1005, HR 1049, HR 1069) aimed at foreign influence and disclosure. Sponsors described national-security risks from Confucius classrooms; Democrats called the bills poorly targeted, burdensome, and unsupported by evidence.
House members debated three bills aimed at foreign influence in elementary and secondary education — the Protect Our Kids Act (HR 1069), the CLAS Act (HR 1049) and the Trace Act (HR 1005) — during a Rules Committee hearing that paired the education measures with the SCORE Act and small-business bills.
Chairman Wahlberg and Education Committee witnesses framed the bills as responses to alleged foreign-government efforts to influence U.S. schools, citing research and a handful of Confucius classroom relationships that critics say warranted congressional attention. ‘‘The Chinese Communist Party is attempting to infiltrate our education system,’’ Chairman Wahlberg told the committee, and said the measures would increase transparency and require disclosure to help parents and districts identify suspect foreign funding.
But Rep. Suzanne Bonamici and other Democrats pushed back, calling the proposals ‘‘solutions in search of a problem.’’ Bonamici said the committee had not located credible evidence that the People’s Republic of China exerts systemic undue influence over K–12 public schools and warned the bills could disqualify public schools that accept benign educational materials or small grants from receiving federal ESEA funding.
Bonamici and Democratic members argued the bills impose new reporting and compliance burdens on already stretched school systems, including requirements that schools provide parents access to curriculum and professional development materials from foreign entities of concern. She said there are roughly 400 Mandarin immersion programs in the U.S. and stressed the educational and workforce value of Mandarin language instruction.
Republicans and witnesses emphasized disclosure and parental rights. Chairman Wahlberg described provisions that would require schools to disclose foreign funding within 30 days and would bar ESEA funding for any district that directly or indirectly receives support from the government of the People’s Republic of China. Supporters said the steps are modest transparency requirements tied to federal funding.
Democrats also raised a practical point: most of the bills call for reporting and action by the Department of Education, a department whose dismantling some in the majority have advocated. Members asked who would administer and enforce the new requirements if the department’s capacity were reduced.
The Rules Committee ultimately included the three bills in the closed rule it reported to the House floor, setting debate terms and withholding most amendment rights in committee. Lawmakers will have the opportunity to offer floor amendments only under the terms of the rule when the measures reach the House floor.
What’s next: The three K–12 bills are included in the Rules Committee package and will be considered on the House floor under the closed rule approved in committee. Members who called for changes said they would continue to press their concerns during floor consideration.
