Arizona Democratic Party Statement On Betsy DeVos Visit

PHOENIX — Arizona Democratic Party spokesperson Brad Bainum issued the following statement on U.S. Education Sec. Betsy DeVos’s visit to Arizona to attend a meeting hosted by the corporate special interest group ALEC:

“With support from Arizona Republicans like Martha McSally, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has a long record of siding with corporate special interests and predatory for-profit schools, while working to undermine public education, slash funding, and sell out defrauded student borrowers.

“DeVos’ Arizona visit highlights Martha McSally’s long record of alignment with DeVos’ war on public education, which has earned McSally robust support from anti-public education special interests — including at least $66,000 from Betsy DeVos’ extended family.”

In August, the Arizona Democratic Party released a report on McSally’s anti-public education record, entitled, “The McSally-DeVos War On Public Education,” which can be accessed here.

Key points from the report:

• McSally pledged “No legislation… to address rising [tuition] costs.” In 2012, McSally said that the rising cost of education is “not a federal government responsibility.” To underscore her position, McSally even pledged, “I would propose no legislation in order to address these rising [tuition] costs.”
  • McSally has since claimed to have flip-flopped on the issue, but she has taken no meaningful action to improve college affordability.
  • And true to her 2012 campaign promise, McSally has repeatedly voted to block measures to allow student borrowers to refinance their loans at lower interest rates — and McSally even attacked a bipartisan bill that prevented student loan interest rates from doubling.

• McSally voted for deep cuts for students loans and aid. In 2017, McSally voted for a Republican budget plan to impose deep cuts to federal higher-education funding and slash $78.5 billion in Pell Grant funding over a 10-year period.
  • Two months later, McSally voted for the 2017 Republican tax law, a trillion-dollar tax cut giveaway to large corporations like Chevron and Big Pharma giant Eli Lilly, but hiked taxes on low- and middle-income college students‘ financial aid packages.
  • Previously, McSally also supported a Paul Ryan budget proposal that would have caused “More than 1 million students [to] lose Pell grants entirely” over a 10 year period.

• McSally proposed eliminating the Department of Education & backed deep cuts to K-12 education. McSally has pushed for the elimination of the federal Department of Education entirely, arguing, “I think the federal government needs to stay out of the business of education.”
  • McSally said she supported a Paul Ryan budget proposal that would have imposed deep cuts on K-12 education funding, gutted early childhood education funding, and cut Pell Grant access.
  • McSally’s Washington Republican allies have pushed deep cuts to the Department of Education, proposing to slash as much as $8.8 billion in federal funding from public education. One Republican budget cut proposal out of Washington would have cost Arizona more than $38 million in grants that support teacher salaries and professional development.
• McSally took thousands in campaign contributions from for-profit colleges, then took no action while Betsy DeVos gutted regulations on predatory for-profit schools. On McSally’s watch, the Betsy DeVos-led Department of Education has repeatedly gutted regulations intended to protect students from predatory for-profit colleges.
  • While staffing the Department of Education with former for-profit education executives, DeVos has stopped investigating predatory colleges, stopped loan relief for students defrauded by predatory institutions, and even pushed to make it easier for shady schools to get accredited.
  • McSally has done nothing to stop DeVos’ dangerous, for-profit college agenda — but McSally has received at least $13,000 in corporate PAC money from for-profit schools and colleges.
  • And in November 2019, McSally twice voted to give a lifetime judicial confirmation to Steven Menashi, who infamously helped DeVos devise a plan to “screw” student borrowers defrauded by predatory, for-profit schools.
• McSally has received robust financial support from the DeVos family, while declining to conduct oversight on the DeVos-run Education Department. Given their shared hostility toward the public education system, it’s no surprise that Betsy DeVos’ extended family has in 2019, alone supported McSally with more than $22,000 in campaign contributions.

Read the full report here.