by John Solomon
Congressional debate over federal education funding dates back to the times of Thomas Jeffersonbut for the first time since Jimmy Carter created the US Department of Education a gigantic number of lawmakers are now openly discussing cutting funding and changing the tax code to punish universities that have failed to quell anti-Israel riots and force a shift away from the far-left ideologies that have taken root on most campuses.
“I think the American people are quite outraged by this, and they expect Republicans in Congress to respond in a similar way with the power of their wallets,” House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (in the photo above, right) he said “Only news, no noise” last week after visiting George Washington University’s protest-ravaged campus.
Last week, in interviews with multiple members of Congress, he stated, Only News identified more than a dozen proposals under consideration to punish universities and groups that have fomented anti-Israel protests and riots and force a recalibration of curricula after decades of far-left drift.
These include changes to the tax code, cutting billions in research grants to universities, forcing an end to seniority-based protections for professors and teachers, and eliminating tax-exempt status for nonprofits that fund anti-Israel and anti-American agendas or taxpayer funding of organizations like NPR that are accused of about leading a leftist agenda.
Rep. Claudia Tenney, RN.Y. (in the photo above, left), a member of the influential House tax committee, said she is working on draft legislation to eliminate tax exemptions for organizations that organize violence, inject politics into education or seek to disrupt the education of Jewish students.
“There are organizations that make dark money and take advantage of our IRS structure, whether it’s 501c3, 501c4 or other parts of the IRS Code, to get around taxes and then they use it for political purposes,” Tenney said.Only news, no noise” TV show. “And we have to deal with it.”
“These people should not abuse our tax system to raise money for political purposes on these issues,” she added.
Tenney also proposed a three-point plan for universities that promoted or failed to quell violence or protect the education of Jewish students, including ending tax exemptions for the schools themselves.
“Expel these students, deport the international students who behave like this, get rid of the (internship) professors and go back again to abolishing the tax exemption, taking away their ability to collect these funds and these fees through non-profit groups and student organizations like Students for Justice in Palestine,” she said.
Last week, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan increased pressure on Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to deport foreigners on student visas who were captured on video chanting “death to America,” “I am Hamas” or making threats Jews students.
“My work asks three basic questions: How many students here on visas are involved in this radical activity? Did you move to have their visa revoked? Have you started expulsion proceedings?” he explained. “Because that’s what should happen, especially when it’s terrorist activity and these people are talking about, you know, destroying our dearest and closest ally, the state of Israel.”
Rep. Oklahoma State’s Josh Brecheen wants to take the debate further by questioning the constitutionality of the U.S. Department of Education and federal education spending. He noted that Thomas Jefferson once believed that the federal government should pass a law an amendment to enshrine funding for public or higher education in the constitution.
“I want to start there and say this cannot be justified under the Constitution,” Brecheen said of federal education spending. “So at least my colleagues who won’t go as far as Reagan did in saying we need to get rid of the Department of Education, well, at least we can agree that if you are threatening the lives of students, federal dollars should be cut off immediately on campus.”
Comer, the influential oversight chairman, agreed that there is a growing appetite to cut federal dollars in favor of elite universities with massive, multibillion-dollar endowments. These dollars include lucrative research grants. Columbia University, the epicenter of sometimes violent protests, has an endowment of $13.64 billion, by school. Harvard, which is also a hotbed of anti-Semitic and anti-American protests, has the largest funding for U.S. schools, totaling more than $49 billion, according to Harvard data. National Association of College and University Business Officers.
“There seems to be overwhelming support for this,” Comer said. “These universities make a lot of money. “The majority of these protests are occurring throughout the United States, where there are large universities that have huge federal budgets in their research and development budgets and in other areas of the overall campus budget.”
Rep. Pennsylvania’s Scott Perry wants to continue reporting on federal spending cuts on National Public Radio, arguing that its content is biased and fuels a leftist ideological movement nationally and on campuses.
“If they want to propagate and promote left-wing ideology, this is America, they can do it,” Perry said. “They simply should not receive a single red cent of hard-earned taxes. And that’s what we say; they can collect money from their donors, George Soros, or whoever they want. But taxpayers should not be forced to pay for these things.”
Lawmakers said the next step in implementing these ideas would be for Ways and Means to propose changes to the tax code while House owners begin working out funding cuts in the 2025 budgets.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, D-Georgia, who is pushing for a vote this week to oust Speaker Mike Johnson on the grounds that he has not cut spending or secured the border as the GOP has promised, is vowing to put maximum pressure on other lawmakers to do so something that will impact the next budget.
“This is a common sense solution. We have $34 trillion in debt, so the easiest way to deal with these colleges and universities is to fund them,” she told The Times. John Solomon reports podcast. “And that saves the American taxpayer some money and reduces government spending, which also helps with inflation. I mean, it’s a win-win.”
As Congress ramps up its efforts, states are also using their power to force behavioral changes. Florida and Oklahoma are just two states that have taken action in recent days.
Ryan Walters, Oklahoma’s superintendent of public education, said the next substantial battle will be ending the tenure of college professors and unwarranted protections for failed K-12 teachers.
“I want to encourage the best people to teach. And honestly, if you’re not good at your job, I don’t want you to teach because I think it’s a job that makes a difference,” he told podcast host Amanda Head last week. “So I want to build a system that encourages the best and brightest to work. And if not, we will find another job for you. But let’s not let kids have a negative impact on their experience because we don’t have the best students in the class.”
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John Solomon is an award-winning investigative journalist, author and digital media entrepreneur who serves as CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Just the News. Before founding Just the News, Solomon played key reporting and leadership roles at some of America’s most significant journalism institutions, including The Associated Press, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, Newsweek, The Daily Beast and The Hill.
Photo “Claudia Tenney” by Claudia Tenney for Congress. Photo “James Comer” by James Comer. Cover photo “Campitol Building in the USA” by Patrick Morris.
