NACIE Improvement Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 5355) to ensure that the National Advisory Council on Indian Education includes at least 1 member who is the president of a Tribal College or University.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on S. 5355.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 5355, the National Advisory Council on Indian Education Improvement, or NACIE, Act.

NACIE is the Department of Education's Tribal advisory group, composed of 15 members who are appointed by the President.

NACIE advises the Secretaries of both the Education Department and the Department of the Interior on programs serving Tribes and members.

Currently, there is no requirement that a Tribal college or university, TCU, president sit on the board. As a result, the Education Department's Tribal consultation sessions often do not provide the opportunity for TCU leaders, who are the prominent leaders in Tribal post-secondary education, to provide direct input.

S. 5355 requires at least one of NACIE's members be the president of a TCU. In doing so, the legislation would give TCUs a seat at the table when discussing Tribal education.

Simply put, this bipartisan legislation ensures TCUs have a voice in decisions that directly impact Native-American students.

Strengthening our Nation's post-secondary education system means supporting all types of colleges and universities. Today, we can take an important step to strengthen TCUs, which play an important role in serving students and expanding the opportunities for skills and a post- secondary education in communities across America.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, TCUs provide an important doorway to postsecondary education for many American students.

TCUs know best what their students and communities need. S. 5355, the National Advisory Council on Indian Education Improvement (NACIE) Act, will give TCUs a seat at the table during the decisionmaking process.

This will not only ensure that Native-American students are better served, but it will also ensure that taxpayer resources will be used more efficiently and effectively.

TCUs provide an important doorway to postsecondary education for many students. This bipartisan legislation will help strengthen that voice and the voice of the postsecondary education leaders who deserve to share their unique experiences and guidance with the rest of NACIE.

Mr. Speaker, before I yield back my time, I will take a few minutes to reflect on my time leading the Education and the Workforce Committee.

First, I applaud the committee's ranking member, Bobby Scott. You wouldn't think a Democrat with two Harvard degrees would have much in common with a Republican who grew up without running water or electricity and was the first in her family to go to college, but we are both realists who want to get things done.

We are passionate about the committee's issues. It has been a pleasure to work alongside Bobby.

Our colleagues have heard us say this before, but we both share the sentiment that you can disagree without being disagreeable.

Let me say something about the work of the committee it was my honor to lead for two terms.

My family grew up poor, but my parents always believed in the power of education and hard work. My work on the committee has centered on ensuring those who grew up like me can accomplish anything they set their minds to and that education can help them do it.

Unfortunately, students and parents have been living through an education nightmare characterized by massive learning loss, attacks on parental rights, a leftist takeover of curricula, and plummeting confidence in our education system.

To put our students on a path to success, I have worked with my colleagues to pass the Parents Bill of Rights, fight for school choice, protect women's sports, push for lower college costs and more accountability, and promote strong workforce development programs.

The committee has also fought attempts by the Department of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board to push all workers into unions and extend the Federal Government's control over the workforce.

Additionally, we have worked to protect the retirement savings of workers and retirees, save private insurance and increase healthcare affordability, protect small businesses, allow flexible work arrangements, and expand worker choice.

We have been busy, Mr. Speaker.

Of course, I can't talk about the committee's work without talking about my passion for accountability. As elected Representatives, it is our duty to hold the Federal Government to the highest standard of accountability so that hardworking taxpayer dollars are used effectively and efficiently.

When we push for answers, parents are no longer left in the dark, lawmakers are better informed when it comes time to consider legislation, and American taxpayers see where their hard-earned money is going.

None of the work accomplished by the committee was done by me alone. I was bolstered at every turn by the support and efforts of my colleagues. More importantly, I had the incredible talent of a dedicated staff.

Mr. Speaker, when I first came to Congress, I heard Members on the floor saying all these fabulous things about their staff, and it was hard for me to envision at the beginning how important the staff could be, but I have certainly come to understand that as the chair of the committee. To all of the staff, I say thank you, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate Congressman Scott's comments very much. We have worked together very well. Now I urge my colleagues to vote for S. 5355, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this legislation, which ensures that presidents of Tribal colleges and universities, TCUs, will have a direct voice on the National Advisory Council on Indian Education. This bill is a necessary step to guarantee that TCUs, institutions that serve as educational hubs for Native-American communities, always have a voice in Federal funding discussions that directly impact their colleges.

As many of my colleagues know, the Federal Government holds a unique trust responsibility to the Native and Tribal communities, a responsibility that is not just a legal obligation, but a moral one. This trust is rooted in both the U.S. Constitution and centuries of commitments to Native communities.

Tribal colleges and universities pursue a unique mission. Not only do they educate Native communities, but they also preserve and advance Native-American culture and traditions. TCUs are central to the survival of Native languages, history, and cultural practices, all while providing access to higher education and advancing economic opportunities for Native students.

Having TCU representation will help to advise the NACIE as they fulfill one of their duties in advising the Education, Health, and Labor Secretaries in ways to strengthen TCUs and increase TCU participation in Federal agency programs.

While congressional Democrats and the Biden administration made critical investments to address the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Native-American communities, including through COVID relief funds totaling over $360 million, much work still remains.

Congress must make stronger, sustained investments in TCUs to address decades of systemic underfunding that these institutions have faced. This bill is about more than just adding a voice to the commission. It is about ensuring that the leaders of these vital institutions, who are on the front lines of education, have the opportunity to advocate for the unique needs of their students.

By including TCU presidents in NACIE, we ensure that Native leaders across the educational pipeline always have a guaranteed seat at the table.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation, which will help honor our trust responsibility to Indian Tribes and support Native-American students and communities across the country.

Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of the time.

Mr. Speaker, on the legislation, I will emphasize the fact that this bill is more than just adding a voice on the National Advisory Council on Indian Education; it is about honoring our Nation's commitment to Native-American communities and ensuring that Tribal colleges and universities are properly represented to discuss the effective legislation and executive action on their future and the students they serve.

We must include TCUs in conversations on Federal funding and educational policy. This bill is a step toward ensuring Native-American students and the institutions they serve will have the resources and support they need to thrive.

I urge my colleagues to support the legislation as a demonstration of our commitment to empowering the Native-American communities through education.

Mr. Speaker, before I yield back, I will comment on the fact that this will be the last bill brought by Dr. Foxx in her capacity as chair of the committee.

I just point out that when we became chair and ranking member--we switched back and forth--we agreed that we would try to be the most dignified committee on Capitol Hill.

Regrettably, that is a mighty low bar around here, but I think we did as she has indicated. I think we demonstrated how you can disagree without being disagreeable. There were a lot of things we didn't agree on, but there were a lot of things we did. There was a lot of job training legislation that we were able to agree on, retirement savings, child abuse and prevention that we just considered, several healthcare bills, surprise billing, and things like that that took a lot of work.

We showed that it is possible to enact meaningful legislation on a bipartisan basis when you are willing to work together in a constructive way.

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate Dr. Foxx on her chairmanship and understand that there may be other leadership positions in her future, but I thank her for being able to conduct the committee as we were able to do it.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions be discharged from further consideration of S. 5355 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration.

I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.