Press Releases

WASHINGTON – On the House Floor, Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) spoke in opposition to the Biden administration’s efforts to radicalize the federal American history and civics grant priorities amidst the record drop in students’ history and civics scores. 

Chairwoman Foxx's remarks:

“The National Assessment of Educational Progress recently revealed that history and civics scores among students hit record lows. The scores are staggering.

“Eighty-seven percent of eighth graders have a basic or below basic knowledge of American history while only two out of ten of those students are proficient in civics.

“For a decade, we have watched these scores decline. The culprit isn’t a singular event but a culture shift where an ideologically charged curriculum is rapidly replacing a core understanding of our nation’s history and our role in it.

“Our past matters—the good and the bad. 

“Our civic responsibility matters—the duty every one of us holds.

“The moment we neglect these truths from textbooks or classroom discussions is the day America is no longer free. 

“Ronald Reagan said that ‘freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.’

“There are no easy solutions to address this problem.

“We stand at a crossroads where there are two competing visions for America: one is predicated on tearing down the pillars that built America and one is based on the principles of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence.

“I stand firmly with the vision of the latter. Unfortunately, the Biden administration stands with the vision of the former. It recently proposed to hijack the federal American history and civics grant program to redirect those efforts toward the Left’s indoctrination agenda.

“We must stand against this radical vision. America is more than a nation. It represents freedom—an ideal that countless generations protected and often died for. 

“These abysmal test scores reflect what happens when we allow ideologically charged indoctrination to trump basic instruction in our nation’s history. We can and must do better.

“We owe it to those who came before us, we owe it to those who will come after us, and we owe it to every person around the world who looks at America as that shining city on a hill—a beacon of freedom for all.

“Let us not take our Great Republic for granted.”

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