Scott Perry wants to abolish Dept. of Education in exchange for California wildfire relief spending

Congressman Scott Perry appeared on a right-wing podcast last week and proposed that Republicans should attach legislation abolishing the Department of Education to relief funding for those impacted by the Los Angeles wildfires. Advocates call this a line too far for Perry. 

Appearing on a right-wing podcast last week, Congressman Scott Perry suggested that Republicans in Washington DC should withhold relief funding for victims of the Los Angeles wildfires unless Democrats help them abolish the Department of Education. 

“Let’s not forget the fact that ever since the advent of the Department of Education, our test scores have gone down where the price has gone up for education. So it’s been a complete failure,” Perry said last week on the Jesse Kelly Show. 

Perry then went on to theorize how Republicans would be able to get a bipartisan bill through Congress that abolishes the DOE, and he goes on to suggest that it gets attached to disaster relief spending for those impacted by the wildfires.  

“The only way you’re going to be able to get that is to attach it to something that Democrats are desperately wanting, let’s say, like California disaster relief or something like that, where they desperately want it, and you’ve got to put them in a bad position to have to vote for this to get that, which is what Democrats always do to Republicans, but Republicans never do to Democrats,” the congressman added. 

Since getting elected to Congress in 2012, Perry has consistently advocated for Republicans to hold disaster relief spending hostage in order to advance a right-wing agenda. It is estimated that the Los Angeles wildfires caused between $250 billion to $275 billion in damage, making it one of the most costly natural disasters in US history according to the LA Times. 

Chris Lilienthal, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA), which represents over 177,000 teachers and support staff across the commonwealth, explained that Pennsylvania receives $1.6 billion from the DOE, with most of that money helping students with learning disabilities and special education needs or students coming from low income families. 

Labor leaders across the commonwealth fear that dismantling the DOE could affect over 7,000 teachers and support staff, leading to larger classrooms. Out of the $1.6 billion in funding at stake, over $578 million helps close to 800,000 lower income students, and $428 million helps over 358,000 students with learning disabilities. 

“It is stunning that Scott Perry would outright say that the federal agency responsible for funding education programs for hundreds of thousands of the most vulnerable Pennsylvania students cannot ‘demonstrably show that it’s done anything good for our children or our society.’ Either he has no clue or he simply doesn’t care about the students who will be hurt if the Department of Education is dismantled and tossed aside,” Lilienthal said in a statement. 

“For Scott Perry to suggest that Congress should condition critical aid for people who have lost their homes in wildfires on dismantling the Department of Education and public education as we know it is a new low, even for him.”

Matt Roan, chair of the Cumberland County Democratic Committee, added to dismay and called Perry’s comments insulting. 

“I’m not sure what is more insulting, that Rep. Perry thinks that federal disaster relief should be used as a bargaining chip or that he thinks the Department of Education does nothing good for our children or society,” Roan said. 

“Tell that to the families of students with disabilities who rely on federal education programs to ensure access to schooling, or to Pell Grant recipients who rely on federal funds that make college more affordable. Perry’s position on both disaster relief and the benefits of the work of the Department of Education are an insult to his constituents in south central Pennsylvania.” 

Perry’s office was reached for comment via email, but refused to respond.