Republican victories in the congressional midterm elections last week will bring a new dynamic to Capitol Hill when the 114th Congress officially begins in January. This shakeup in Congress extends down to the key committees of jurisdiction for education and workforce training issues in both the House and Senate. While committee assignments will not be divvied up among the freshman and returning Members of Congress for several months, the likely successions of important leadership positions on these committees are beginning to take shape.
The most noticeable change will come in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), a veteran member of the committee and the current chairman, will retire at the end of the year. Since the Republicans took majority control over the Senate in the election, the HELP committee will not only be under the leadership of a new chair, but of a new party as well. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), the current ranking member on the committee, is the front runner for the position. Sen. Alexander is the former governor of Tennessee and served at the secretary of education under President George W. Bush. If selected, Sen. Alexander is expected to prioritize the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). He has supported efforts to provide states with greater control over federal education dollars, particularly for ESEA Title I funding. Alexander has been very critical of the Obama Administration’s efforts to provide states with ESEA flexibility waivers, as well as signature Administration education programs like Race to the Top. Under Alexander, the HELP committee is also expected to continue work on the reauthorization the Higher Education Act (HEA) as one of its early priorities, with a focus on reducing federal regulations.
A strong contender to take over the position of top Democrat on the HELP committee is Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA). As the current chair of the Senate Budget Committee and member of the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee, Sen. Murray has worked to increase federal funding for education though her efforts to replace sequestration. A signature higher education issue for Murray has been to reinstate the “ability-to-benefit” provision that was eliminated from the Pell grant program, which is one of our priorities as well. She was also one of the bipartisan sponsors of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, which reauthorized the federal job training system, and has introduced legislation focusing on career pathways.
House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman Jon Kline (R-MN) has technically reached his term limit after serving six years as the top Republican on the committee. However, Kline has expressed his desire to retain his spot, and the House leadership could grant him a waiver that would allow him to retake the gavel for the 114th Congress. During Kline’s tenure, he has overseen committee efforts to reauthorize ESEA and HEA, both of which will be top priorities in the committee when it reconvenes. Additionally, the committee held hearings on the reauthorization of the Perkins Act in the fall of 2013 and earlier this year. It is unclear when either body will take up Perkins reauthorization in the next Congress. With the new Republican majority in the Senate, Kline will have his best shot at producing reauthorization bills that could be passed by both chambers. However, he and Alexander must still contend with filibusters from Senate Democrats and the threat of a White House veto on any legislation that does not have bipartisan support. Kline will likely serve alongside Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), who is expected to replace retiring Rep. George Miller (D-CA) as the committee’s ranking Democrat.
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