Education nominee DeVos grilled, but not about Ohio fine

WASHINGTON — In a sometimes-contentious confirmation hearing Tuesday, Education secretary-designate Betsy DeVos pledged not to dismantle public education and promised to work to address "the needs of all parents and students."

Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., a former education secretary, expressed confidence that DeVos is an "excellent" choice. "She is on the side of our children," he said.

But as other Republicans praised DeVos, Democrats grilled her on a range of issues, from child care to serving students with disabilities and making public colleges and universities tuition-free.

On the latter topic, DeVos said: "I think we also have to consider the fact that there is nothing in life that is truly free. Somebody is going to pay for it."

Ohio Republicans and Democrats, meanwhile, engaged in a second battle over whether DeVos should pay $5.3 million in fines for state campaign-finance violations.

DeVos, a Michigan-based businesswoman and philanthropist, has spurred a political clash between high-profile Republicans and Democrats in the state, with the former saying she'll be an effective advocate for school choice and the latter saying she's refused to pay a nearly decade-old fine imposed by the Ohio Elections Commission on a group she directed.

The accusations surround All Children Matter, a political action committee founded by DeVos and her husband, billionaire Richard DeVos, in Michigan in 2003. The organization, which advocated for school vouchers, spent some $870,000 on state Republican candidates.

In 2008, the elections commission found the organization guilty of violating the $10,000-per-candidate donation limit. An attorney for DeVos told The Dispatch last year that DeVos was not found individually liable for any of the fines imposed on the group.

"Could you imagine if a student refused to pay something that they owed to a university or state?" asked Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Jefferson Township.

Beatty said the PAC demonstrated "contempt" for state campaign-finance laws and " its refusal to pay these fines to the State of Ohio is disgraceful." Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Niles, said he wanted to "raise the strongest possible objection" to DeVos' nomination.

But state Rep. Andrew Brenner, R-Powell, chairman of the House Education and Career Readiness Committee, said DeVos is not responsible for the fines: She was not the treasurer, nor did she conduct the day-to-day activities or campaign decisions of the organization, he said.

"Mrs. DeVos has absolutely no legal obligation to pay this trumped-up fine," he wrote in a piece posted on Facebook.

But no U.S. senators at the Tuesday night confirmation hearing brought up the Ohio issue.

They did, however, express concern about her political contributions, with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., asking her point blank if she believed she would have been nominated were it not for her political contributions. "I do think there would be that possibility," she said.

She also skirted Sanders' question on whether she would support making child care free or much more affordable for low-income families, as is the case in many countries, saying only that she feels strongly about "parents having opportunities for child care for their children."

"But it's not a question of opportunity," Sanders fired back, raising his voice. " It's a question of being able to afford it!"

Responding to fierce criticism from teachers unions, DeVos told the committee she will be "a strong advocate for great public schools."

"But," she added, "if a school is troubled, or unsafe, or not a good fit for a child — perhaps they have a special need that is going unmet — we should support a parent's right to enroll their child in a high-quality alternative."

DeVos, 59, also said she will seek to address rising higher education costs and massive student debt, but also advance trade and vocational schools as well as community colleges because "craftsmanship is not a fallback — but a noble pursuit."

Another priority for DeVos will be weakening "burdensome" federal regulations and giving local communities greater control over education policies.

Ohio Sen. Rob Portman did not say whether he'd vote for DeVos' confirmation, but he called her a "well-respected education reform advocate."

Former House Speaker John Boehner also weighed in, writing Tuesday that "Betsy DeVos understands the need for constant innovation in our education system."


This article first appeared on the Columbus Dispatch's website on January 18, 2017.