An article fromHouse panel OKs permanent moves for some Education Department functions

Republican supporters say the higher education and K-12 changes would spur efficiencies. Democratic lawmakers say they would undermine public education.

Published July 16, 2026Kara Arundel Lead Reporter

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U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon addresses an audience at Plainfield High School in Plainfield, Ind. on June 16, 2026. During the visit, McMahon officially approved Indiana's "Returning Education to the States" waiver. Retrieved from U.S. Department of Education/Flickr on July 16, 2026

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The House Education and Workforce Committee approved 10 Republican-led bills Wednesday that supporters say are the first steps in "right sizing" and eventually closing the U.S. Department of Education. 

The bills would codify several interagency agreements the department already has in place that move core education-related functions — but not the statutory responsibilities for them — out of the Education Department and into other federal agencies. 

Under the measures, which still need full House and then Senate approval, select legal responsibilities would be permanently moved out of the Education Department. These include programs involving K-12 student academic supports, career and technical education, and federal student loan activities.

Committee Chair Tim Walberg, R-Mich., sponsor of two bills in the 10-bill package, said the Education Department has "failed." 

Fewer than one-third of 8th graders can read or do math at grade level, Walberg said.

And 40% of higher education students don't graduate within six years and there are more than 9 million borrowers in default in the department’s $1.7 trillion student loan portfolio, he said.

The "status quo isn't working," Walberg said. 

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Ranking committee member Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., opposed the bills, saying the transfers were "impractical" and "represent the abdication of the federal government’s responsibility to ensure that all students, regardless of race, religion, disability, income, or zip code, have access to a quality public education."

"Whatever you say about the ‘problems’ at the Department of Education, these bills will only make things worse," Scott said.

The panel's Republican majority rejected Democrat-led amendments to the bills, including those to require progress reports, funding guardrails, and increased staffing to support the outsourced activities.

Notably, the 10-bill package did not include efforts to codify the transfer of special education and civil rights activities. Certain special education and civil rights activities are already being shifted to other federal agencies through interagency agreements.

Scott noted the absence of proposals to permanently transfer special education and civil rights activities out of the Education Department, saying, "Perhaps that’s because even my colleagues recognize how politically unpalatable such transfers would be."

Even so, Republicans rejected Democratic-led amendments to prohibit moving special education and civil rights activities from the Education Department to other federal agencies. 

The 10 bills are:

• H.R. 9607, Less Bureaucracy, Better Workforce Development Act
• H.R. 9610, Less Bureaucracy, Better K-12 Education Act
• H.R. 9611, Less Bureaucracy, Better Higher Education Act
• H.R. 9605, Less Bureaucracy, Better Foreign Medical Accreditation Act
• H.R. 9604, Less Bureaucracy, Better Tribal Education Act
• H.R. 9606, Less Bureaucracy, Better Child Care for Student Parents Act
• H.R. 9603, Less Bureaucracy, Better International Education Oversight Act
• H.R. 9602, Less Bureaucracy, Better International Foreign Gift Transparency Act
• H.R. 9608, Less Bureaucracy, Better Family Engagement Act
• H.R. 9609, Less Bureaucracy, Better Student Aid Act

During Wednesday's day-long markup, Republican and Democratic committee members told differing stories of the effectiveness of the interagency agreements in place. 

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Walberg, for instance, touted that more than 5,000 payments totaling more than $1.5 billion to the Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education grantees have been processed since the office partnered with the U.S. Department of Labor last year.

Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., countered that, saying the transfer to the Labor Department has resulted in "significant" funding delays and disruptions. She added that Education Department staff working on OCTAE activities at the Labor Department had problems accessing the internet and software needed to do their jobs.

The Trump administration has said the interagency agreements are reducing federal red tape and handing more control to local and state education systems on how they spend taxpayer funds. 

Currently, the Education Department has 14 interagency agreements with six other federal agencies. Many of the agreements move day-to-day operations such as grant management, technical assistance and reporting requirements.

U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon praised the passage of the bills in a statement Wednesday night. 

"Today’s bills put forth by the House Education and Workforce Committee move us closer to a leaner, results-driven government — one that empowers families, supports educators, and delivers better outcomes for students by ensuring each federal responsibility is carried out by the agencies best equipped to manage them," McMahon said.

As of Thursday morning, the Senate did not have companion legislation for these proposals, according to Congress.gov, which tracks legislation.

In a statement posted to X, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said, “Under NO circumstances will I let these bills pass the Senate."

The Education Department's interagency agreements and the 10-bill package have garnered both support and opposition from education advocates. 

Jeanne Allen, founder and CEO of The Center for Education Reform, said in a July 10 X post, “If enacted, these measures will ensure that the proper level of oversight continues without the overreaching bureaucracy that has, historically, stood in the way of innovation and opportunity."

But Verjeana McCotter-Jacobs, executive director and CEO of the National School Boards Association, said in a July 14 statement that rather than reducing administrative burdens, the bills "would codify chaos by rubber-stamping the ongoing dismantling of federal education programs."

McCotter-Jacobs added, "While local school boards support efforts to streamline government, shifting core educational programs across disparate federal agencies does not eliminate bureaucracy — it fragments it.”

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• Here’s the latest on the Education Department’s interagency agreements By Kara Arundel • June 18, 2026

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