16th In Line of Succession - Arne Duncan

The Department of Education (DoED) Secretary, Arne Duncan, has made it clear that, with or without Congress passing the Gainful Employment Regulation, he intends to move forward with overhauling the No Child Left Behind law. According to Secretary Duncan, it’s better if Congress acts but he is frustrated with the “slow motion train wreck” and is prepared to take action unilaterally.

Education & Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) issued a statement earlier this month which in part states: “With this regulation, the (Obama) administration has chosen to disregard the concerns of countless Americans and blatantly ignore the bipartisan will of the House of Representatives.”

According to PR Newswire, on May 9, 2011, Harry Alford, president of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, Lanny Davis, former Clinton White House Special Counsel and Mario H. Lopez, president of the Hispanic Leadership Fund, called upon the DoED to stop the potentially harmful Gainful Employment Regulation, at least until potential impacts on minority students has been evaluated.

Members of the Tea Party Patriots expressed the opinion that Mr. Duncan’s stance reflects the current Administration’s goal of neutering the Legislative Branch. They cite the EPA’s conflict with Congress over Cap & Trade and the illegal war in Libya as examples. However, it should be noted that power struggles between the Executive Branch and Legislative Branch did not begin with the election of Barrack Obama.

When asked if Mr. Duncan’s position was yet another attempt by the Obama Administration to circumvent and diminish the authority of Congress, Tom McClintock (R-CA) gave this reply: “The single most important thing the federal government can do to improve our public schools is to get its nose out of classrooms.”

Glen A. Amos
Tea Party Patriots - Citizen Journalist
glenn.amos@tppjournalism.org
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