LAMAR ALEXANDER, TENNESSEE , CHAIRMAN

M ICHAEL B. ENZ I, WYOM ING

RICHARD BURR , NORTH CAROLINA
JOHNNY ISAKSON, GEORGIA
RAND PAUL, KENTUCKY
SUSAN M . CO LLINS, MAINE
LISA MURKOWSKI, ALASKA
MARK KIRK, ILLINOIS
TIM SCOTT, SOUTH CAROLINA
ORRIN HATCH, UTAH
PAT ROBERTS, KANSAS
BIL L CASSIDY, M.D., LOU ISIANA

PATTY MUR RAY, WASHINGTON

BARBARA A . M IKULSKI, MARYLAND
BERNARD SAN DERS (I) , VERMONT
ROBERT P. CASEY, JR., PENNSYLVANIA
AL FRANKEN, M INNESOTA
MICHAEL F. BENNET, COLORADO
SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, RHODE ISLAND
TAMMY BA LDWIN, WISCONSIN
CHRISTOPHER S. MUR PH Y, CONNECTICUT
ELIZABETH WARREN, MASSACHUSETTS

DAVID P. CLEARY, STAFF DIRECTOR

EVAN SCHATZ, DEMOCRATIC STAFF DIRECTOR

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CO MMITTEE ON HEALTH , EDUCATION,
LABOR, A ND PENS IONS
WAS HIN GTO N, DC 20510-6300

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. DeVos appear for a second day of hearings before the HELP Committee prior to
the Committee scheduling a mark-up on Ms. DeVos' nomination. We would like to ask Ms.
DeVos 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
United States Senator

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ROBERT P. CASEY, Jr.

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