During the June 3 House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on the State Department's budget request, Representative Madeleine Dean pressed Secretary of State Marco Rubio on how much of the more than $690 million that Congress appropriated for international basic education in Fiscal Year 2025 has actually been spent. Dean, a member of the Appropriations Committee, raised concerns about whether the administration is honoring Congress's constitutional authority over federal spending. She also pointed out that support for basic education has long been a bipartisan priority, noting that Secretary Rubio himself backed the READ Act while serving in the Senate.
The Basic Education Coalition thanks Representative Dean for asking this question and for holding the administration accountable to the funding that Congress approved. Basic education gives children the tools to learn, grow, and build better futures, and it is an investment that both parties have supported for years. We appreciate lawmakers who continue to push for clear answers on how these funds are being used.