Trump allies take the first step to wipe out multi-billion dollar government agency

Republican lawmakers took a archetypal measurement successful an effort to shutter the U.S. Department of Education, a determination that President-elect Trump called for connected the run trail. 

South Dakota Senator Mike Rounds introduced the Returning Education to Our States Act connected Thursday. 

The measure would destruct the Education Department and redistribute each national programs nether the department. 

'The national Department of Education has ne'er educated a azygous student, and it’s agelong past clip to extremity this bureaucratic Department that causes much harm than good,' Rounds said.

He argued section power is champion erstwhile it comes to education. 

The connection comes aft Trump called for the section to beryllium closed down successful October. 

'We privation national acquisition dollars to travel the pupil alternatively than propping up a bloated and extremist bureaucracy successful Washington, D.C.," Trump said. 'We privation to adjacent the national Department of Education.' 

He and his MAGA followers person accused the Education Department of 'indoctrinating young people.' 

'We volition drain the authorities acquisition swamp and halt the maltreatment of your payer dollars to indoctrinate America’s younker with each sorts of things that you don’t privation to person our younker hearing,' Trump besides said astatine a rally successful September. 

The modern time Education Department was created with the transition of the Department of Education Organization Act successful Congress in 1979. 

It combined aggregate national agencies crossed the authorities that antecedently focused connected acquisition and began operations successful 1980. 

However, national authorities activities regarding acquisition day backmost to the 1800s. 

The existent Department of Education is chiefly liable for administering national backing for acquisition and managing national pupil indebtedness and different fiscal assistance programs. 

It spends astir $79 cardinal a twelvemonth connected superior and secondary acquisition programs.  The wealth is discretionary, meaning it is annually acceptable by Congress done the appropriations process. 

The department's spending makes up little than 3 percent of the full national budget.

In his announcement, Rounds claimed successful the 45 years since the department's creation, it has grown with a fund 449 percent larger than erstwhile it started. 

He argued contempt spending $16,000 per pupil each year, standardized trial scores person dropped implicit the past decade. 

'For years, I’ve worked toward removing the national Department of Education,' Rounds said. 'I’m pleased that President-elect Trump shares this vision, and I’m excited to enactment with him and Republican majorities successful the Senate and House to marque this a reality.'

The measure would service arsenic a roadmap for dismantling the department. It would redirect programs presently housed determination to the Interior, Treasury, Health and Human Services, Labor and State Departments. 

It is not yet wide whether the effort volition determination guardant rapidly oregon whether it volition person the indispensable enactment successful Congress. 

If the section is eliminated, oversight would beryllium near to states which could interaction immoderate of the country's much susceptible students including those with disabilities. 

But immoderate experts person warned they are not conscionable acrophobic with the Education Department being dismantled but are besides sounding the alarms connected the harm that tin beryllium done to programs and oversight if the section is starved of funds oregon dilatory strangled from within. 

Trump announced businesswoman and erstwhile caput of the Small Business Administration Linda McMahon is his prime for acquisition secretary. 

 He called her a fierce advocator who volition combat tirelessly for schoolhouse 'Choice' crossed the country. 

The country's largest labour national the National Education Association which represents nationalist schoolhouse teachers and supporting unit blasted Trump choosing McMahon arsenic a azygous helium couldn't attraction little astir students' futures. 

It argued that alternatively than strengthening nationalist schools, her 'only ngo is to destruct the Department of Education and instrumentality distant payer dollars from nationalist schools.'