Yesterday was Constitution Day, reminding us that after 235 years, the Constitution remains the greatest governing charter devised by mankind and republicanism, the greatest form of government.
As history notes, Benjamin Franklin departed from the Constitutional Convention shortly after helping draft the Constitution to a crowd outside Independence Hall.
There, a woman asks, “What form of government did the delegates create?”
To which, he replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.”
“Keeping it” is the duty undertaken by Members of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, beginning the day they take the Oath of Office. However, that duty is made more difficult by the day as the Biden administration takes aim at our hallowed, constitutionally protected rights. In honor of Constitution Day’s passing, here are a few ways in which the Committee, led by Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC), is fighting the Biden administration’s efforts to trample on the Constitution:
Separation of Powers
- Pushing Back on Biden’s COVID-19 Mandates. Committee Republicans pushed back on OSHA’s COVID-19 mandates in the workplace, including a tyrannical vaccination-and-testing mandate and a COVID-19 standard mandating pandemic-related precautions for employers in the health care industry. This included grilling Department officials at Committee hearings, introducing a Congressional Review Act resolution, sending multiple letters, and submitting an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court urging them to stay the vaccine mandate.
- Stopping Biden’s SAVE Scheme. Hours after the Supreme Court ruled Biden’s student loan scheme unconstitutional, the Education Department unveiled the Savings on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan. It will drastically alter the Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) program that lets borrowers pay back loans based on how much they earn. Experts estimate the SAVE scheme could leave taxpayers on the hook for as much as $559 billion, making it the costliest regulation in U.S. history. Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI) and Chairwoman Virginia Foxx have introduced a CRA resolution to block the administration from enacting this radical IDR scheme.
The First Amendment
- Protecting Religious Student Organizations’ Rights. Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, joined by Reps. Tim Walberg (R-MI), Glenn Grothman (R-WI), Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Rick Allen (R-GA), Jim Banks (R-IN), Burgess Owens (R-UT), Lisa McClain, Mary Miller (R-IL), Aaron Bean (R-FL), Nathaniel Moran (R-TX), and Erin Houchin (R-IN), sent a comment letter to the Department of Education urging it to withdraw a proposed rule that removes additional protections provided to religious student organizations at public institutions of higher education.
- Defending Faith-Based Contractors. Under the Biden administration, faith-based contractors are losing invaluable protections which safeguarded their ability to compete for federal government contracts freely and fairly. Religious freedom is a fundamental right enshrined in the Constitution by the First Amendment, yet this rule infringes upon that sacred right.
The 14th Amendment
- Protecting Women’s Sports. Progressive organizations, woke universities, and the Biden administration have been working to undermine women’s rights, particularly athletic opportunities. The House-passed Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023 restores the safety, privacy, and opportunities of women and girls in sports. Boys and men should not be allowed to compete in girls’ and women’s sports– a majority of Americans agree.
- Fighting Race-Based Admissions. President Biden’s race-based college admissions regime hit a major stumbling block in the form of two lawsuits from the Students for Fair Admissions, whereby a Supreme Court ruling stated that the process violates the Equal Protections Clause of the 14th Amendment and the Civil Rights Act. As the administration scrambles to find legal loopholes in the ruling, the Committee plans on holding colleges, universities, and the federal government funding them, to account.
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