GOP senator says she will vote against DeVos
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U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has announced that she will vote “no” when the Senate takes the final vote on the nomination of Betsy DeVos to be Secretary of Education.
“I have serious concerns about a nominee to be Secretary of Education who has been so involved in one side of the equation – so immersed in the push for vouchers – that she may be unaware of what actually is successful in the public schools, and what is broken or how to fix them,” Sen. Murkowski said.
“Betsy DeVos must show us that she truly understands the children of Alaska and across America, both urban and rural, who are not able to access an alternative choice in education as in so many of my communities. She must show us that she will work to help the struggling public schools that strive to educate children whose parents are unable to drive them across town to get to a better school. That she will not ignore the homeless students whose main worry is finding somewhere safe to sleep and for whom their public school is truly a refuge. That she will fight for the children whose parents do not know how to navigate these educational options.”
Noting that she had “heard from thousands of Alaskans who have shared their concerns about Mrs. DeVos as Secretary of Education, by phone, in person, by email and through petition” and had carefully considered everything she learned from her private meetings with Mrs. DeVos, listening to her answers at her confirmation hearing, and reading her written responses, Murkowski added: “I conclude my remarks to make clear that my colleagues know firmly that I do not intend to vote, on final passage, to support Mrs. DeVos to be Secretary of Education.”
Senator Lisa Murkowski is the first Alaskan-born senator. She is the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and also serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee, where she is the chairman of the Interior and Environment Subcommittee. She is a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and a senior member of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. She earned a B.A. in economics from Georgetown University in 1980 and a law degree from Willamette University in 1985.
“I have serious concerns about a nominee to be Secretary of Education who has been so involved in one side of the equation – so immersed in the push for vouchers – that she may be unaware of what actually is successful in the public schools, and what is broken or how to fix them,” Sen. Murkowski said.
“Betsy DeVos must show us that she truly understands the children of Alaska and across America, both urban and rural, who are not able to access an alternative choice in education as in so many of my communities. She must show us that she will work to help the struggling public schools that strive to educate children whose parents are unable to drive them across town to get to a better school. That she will not ignore the homeless students whose main worry is finding somewhere safe to sleep and for whom their public school is truly a refuge. That she will fight for the children whose parents do not know how to navigate these educational options.”
Noting that she had “heard from thousands of Alaskans who have shared their concerns about Mrs. DeVos as Secretary of Education, by phone, in person, by email and through petition” and had carefully considered everything she learned from her private meetings with Mrs. DeVos, listening to her answers at her confirmation hearing, and reading her written responses, Murkowski added: “I conclude my remarks to make clear that my colleagues know firmly that I do not intend to vote, on final passage, to support Mrs. DeVos to be Secretary of Education.”
Senator Lisa Murkowski is the first Alaskan-born senator. She is the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and also serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee, where she is the chairman of the Interior and Environment Subcommittee. She is a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and a senior member of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. She earned a B.A. in economics from Georgetown University in 1980 and a law degree from Willamette University in 1985.