Budget hawk Virginia Foxx of North Carolina will chair the House Education Committee in the session that begins in January, Republican leaders announced. Barring a resolution by lawmakers in the next few days, the committee will have to write a child-nutrition bill next year, repeating the work it did this year.
The bill approved by the committee has not been called for a floor vote. It would create a three-state test of a block grant for school meals and restrict access to program that allows schools in poor neighborhoods to serve lunch and breakfast for free to all pupils.
According to Education Week, Foxx “said she doesn’t really think the federal government should be involved in education policy at all but recognized this goal isn’t realistic at the moment … And she’s a budget hawk who talks frequently about using taxpayer dollars wisely.” Foxx was co-chair of the platform committee at this year’s Republican National Convention. In a statement, Foxx said as chair, “At all times, we will strive in our service to hold government institutions to the highest standards of accountability and transparency, with a constant eye towards eliminating waste and inefficiency. Our creative, ambitious pursuit of good policy will be guided by the Constitution.”
“She’s frequently opposed regulations and proposals from President Barack Obama’s administration, including attempting to block the Department of Labor’s 2016 overtime rule, which would make more employees across the country eligible for overtime pay,” said the Charlotte Observer. The newspaper quoted Foxx as saying, “Republicans are not anti-government. We’re not anti-rules. We want reasonable rules.”
House Republicans also tabbed Michael Conaway of Texas for another term as chair of the Agriculture Committee.