All4Ed Statement on Yesterday’s House Education and Workforce Committee Markup of the “Less Bureaucracy, Better Education” Legislative Package
Date: Thursday, July 16, 2026
Contact: Enrique A. Chaurand
Email: echaurand@all4ed.org
Washington, D.C. – All4Ed CEO Dr. Amy Loyd issued the following statement in response to yesterday’s markup of ten bills by the House Committee on Education and Workforce:
“What happened in the House Education and Workforce Committee yesterday would increase rather than decrease bureaucracy, and it is the latest step in a deliberate effort to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, piece by piece. House Republicans are cementing into law the Trump Administration’s decision to transfer core offices and programs of the Department to other agencies with no expertise in education through unlawful interagency agreements, starting with the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE).
“As I have said previously, moving OCTAE to the Department of Labor reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of what career and technical education is and who it serves. Career and technical education is not simply workforce training; it helps students learn how to navigate complexity, have opportunities for lifelong learning and economic mobility, and lead choice-filled lives. It is an integral part of our nation’s education system, connecting academic learning, career exploration, and technical skill development from as early as fifth grade through postsecondary education. Separating OCTAE from the Department of Education weakens the developmental and purposeful educational core of career and technical education, and risks undermining the very outcomes our nation’s students, employers, and communities depend on.
“Codifying the Department’s interagency agreements through these bills does not fix anything. It makes the problems our states, schools, and students are experiencing through the interagency agreements permanent. We have already seen what this looks like in practice. ED staff have been cut by 40%. States struggled to access funds. Grantees now lack guidance and expertise to support them, and they must navigate multiple systems, adding to this manufactured chaos.
“Yesterday’s markup was not a normal Committee meeting; it was an admission of guilt. Congress has said consistently and clearly that the Department of Education does not have the authority to transfer its fundamental responsibilities to other agencies. Rather than heed that direction, the administration’s allies in the House are now racing to legalize what was never legal to begin with.”
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