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LAMAR ALEXANDER, TENNESSEE, CHAIRMAN

M ICHAEL B. ENZI, WYOMING , WASHINGTON , NORTH CAROLINA BARBARA A. M IKULSKI, MARYLAND JOHNNY ISAKSON, GEORGIA BERNARD SANDERS (I) , VERMONT , KENTUCKY ROBERT P. CASEY, JR., PENNSYLVANIA SUSAN M . CO LLINS, MAINE AL FRANKEN, M INNESOTA , ALASKA MICHAEL F. BENNET, COLORADO MARK KIRK, ILLINOIS SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, tinitrd ~tatrs ~rnatr , SOUTH CAROLINA , WISCONSIN , UTAH CHRISTOPHER S. MURPH Y, CONNECTICUT CO MMITTEE ON HEALTH , EDUCATION, PAT ROBERTS, KANSAS , MASSACHUSETTS , M.D., LOU ISIANA LABOR, AND PENS IONS

DAVID P. CLEARY, STAFF DIRECTOR WASHINGTON, DC 20510-6300 EVAN SCHATZ, DEMOCRATIC STAFF DIRECTOR

http://help.senate.gov January 23, 2017

The Honorable Lamar Alexander Chairman Senate HELP Committee 428 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Chairman Alexander:

We were extremely disappointed at what happened at the hearing last week for Elisabeth "Betsy" DeVos, President Trump's nominee to be Secretary of Education. We believe it is our job as Senators to question nominees, fully explore their records, and understand, on behalf of our constituents, the positions they will take at the agencies. Last week, however, instead of anything approaching an appropriate and reasonable level of robust scrutiny, Democrats were cut off from asking additional questions beyond a single round, which is unprecedented in the Committee.

Education is too important an issue, and the Secretary of Education is too important a position for the country and for this Committee, to jam a nominee through without sufficient questioning and scrutiny. This is not about politics, it should not be about partisanship--it should be about doing the work we were elected by our states to do to ask questions of nominees on behalf of the people we represent.

Now that we have received all of the paperwork from the Office of Government Ethics (OGE), we request Ms. De Vos appear for a second day of hearings before the HELP Committee prior to the Committee scheduling a mark-up on Ms. De Vos' nomination. We would like to ask Ms. De Vos additional questions we were prevented from asking this week given we did not know all of the financial and ethical information that has now been shared with us, as well as address additional questions that have arisen from the OGE paperwork. In particular, we believe it is important to ask her questions around companies she will continue to own that are directly impacted by the Department of Education and this administration's education agenda. We believe the opportunity to ask such questions is consistent with the responsibilities and practices of this committee.

We appreciate your consideration of this request and look forward to the opportunity to more fully understand Ms. De Vos' views and positions. Sincerely,

PATTY MURRAY BERNARD SANDERS United States Senator (}}r)1__ ~ I~' ROBERT P. CASEY, Jr. Od~-ALFRANKEN United States Senator United States Senator . £ ~,.,...... ___. ___,/ ~F-.-B~E-NN~E-T~~~~~­ United Statesi.u:. Senator U~ Senator

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