Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., told Newsmax on Tuesday that his plan to dissolve the Department of Education will save taxpayers up to $1.3 billion annually in administrative expenses.
His bill, the Returning Education to Our States Act, calls for the elimination of what he called "one of the most hated departments in government" within 180 days of its enactment.
"Well, before 1979, the Department of Education did not exist, but a number of programs did," Rounds told "Rob Schmitt Tonight," adding that former President Jimmy Carter established the DOE to consolidate various education programs into a single federal bureaucracy.
Rounds said his plan ensures critical programs, such as special education initiatives and Pell Grant funding, would not be eliminated.
"We've gone back through all of those different offices that are really important and pulled those out, redistributing them back to where they were in the first place," he said.
According to Rounds, the goal is to retain essential programs while eliminating the DOE's bureaucracy, which he believes frustrates local educators and administrators. He proposed making federal education funds available to states via block grants.
"The states already have offices in place that have to comply with the federal Department of Education," Rounds said. "In doing this, we can see a savings of about $1 [billion] to $1.3 billion just in administrative expenses at the federal level."
Rounds said federal oversight hinders local schools by imposing "one-size-fits-all" regulations, which fail to address the diverse needs of urban and rural communities.
"We're just tired of having a federal bureaucrat deciding that they want to make a change, and then suddenly we're supposed to accept it," he said.
"Since 1979, you're seeing test scores going down, not going up — except math, which has gone up a whole four points in 40 years," he said. "It's time to get that back to the states, the local units of government, and get the federal bureaucracy off the backs of our local school districts."
Rounds believes that integrating these changes into broader government efficiency efforts, such as budget reconciliation, could make eliminating the department more achievable.
"As we look at government efficiencies, there may very well be the possibility through reconciliation to move some of those offices around, as long as we're trying to save money within the budget," he said.
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