WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) joined several of his Republican Senate colleagues in a letter calling on U.S. Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to investigate Chinese Communist Party (CCP) influence in America’s K-12 educational system.
The senators expressed their concerns over a new report which shows millions of dollars of funding from the CCP have flowed into America’s K-12 classrooms.
“The report found that programs vetted and managed by the Government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have infiltrated 34 states nationwide, impacting more than 170,000 students across 143 school districts,” the senators wrote. “We urge you to conduct a thorough, nationwide audit to determine how much funding from hostile foreign governments has flowed to America’s K-12 schools. We also urge you to analyze the extent to which other hostile foreign governments, in addition to the PRC, may have already gained access to our K-12 schools.”
“The CCP is the greatest threat to America’s security today. The CCP’s involvement in the K-12 education system further demonstrates how far the Chinese government is willing go to expand its influence and promote its authoritarian agenda,” the senators wrote. “We cannot sit idle and allow this expansion of CCP propaganda. Parents deserve transparency and policymakers must know the extent of the problem so we can work on solutions to protect both our students and our national security.”
Joining Senator Cramer are U.S. Senators Tim Scott (R-SC), Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Jim Risch (R-ID), John Barrasso (R-WY), John Cornyn (R-TX), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), James Lankford (R-OK), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Rick Scott (R-FL), John Thune (R-SD), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), and J.D. Vance (R-OH).
Click here to read the letter.