After eight years as the Republican leader on the House Education and Workforce Committee, Congresswoman Virginia Foxx of North Carolina will step down this January. A former community college president, Foxx is the natural Republican leader on higher education policy. Few individuals have played a more important role in the rising salience of higher education reform as an issue for Republicans. With a GOP trifecta in Washington next year, a conservative higher education agenda is on the table like no other time in recent memory.
I caught up with Foxx at an American Enterprise Institute event on December 9, where we discussed her accomplishments during the last eight years and what comes next for higher education policy. A full video recording of our conversation is available here. The quotes I include below have been lightly edited for clarity.
How higher ed became a Republican issue
When I applied to college in 2010, 58 percent of Republicans said that colleges and universities were having a positive impact on the way things were going in the country. Today just 31 percent say the same.
Foxx attributes this loss of confidence to high tuition costs and student debt, as well as the fact that over 40 percent of recent graduates are working in jobs that don’t require a college degree. But the “real nail in the coffin” for universities’ reputation were the riots that started on campus after the October 7, 2023 massacre of Israelis. This laid bare the “moral rot that exists on college campuses,” Foxx says.
These developments have brought Republicans on board with a sweeping higher education reform agenda. Foxx’s College Cost Reduction Act (CCRA), which would overhaul the federal role in higher education, has over 200 supporters in the House. It hasn’t been easy to build that support. She explains Republican members of Congress are “still sensitive to being called by college presidents” who ask them to vote against reform.
But members have come around when confronted with statistics on college costs and debt—and they are increasingly hearing from business owners in their districts that they cannot find workers with the skills they need. That’s where CCRA comes in.
Breaking down the College Cost Reduction Act
The primary concern of CCRA, according to Foxx, is ensuring that students get a good return on their investment when they go to college. “And not just for their money,” she adds. “Time is finite, and people can go to school and waste their time, and never get that back.”
CCRA creates a system of carrots and sticks which reward some colleges with extra funding when they produce strong economic outcomes for low-income students. Community colleges in particular come out well. “Community colleges have been the red-headed stepchild of education for a long time,” says Foxx. But “they have an important role to play, both in short-term education, and in preparing students for more education.”
Colleges where debt burdens are high and students struggle to repay their loans don’t do as well. It’s “all to the advantage of universities to saddle students with debt,” explains Foxx. CCRA proposes requiring colleges to make the government whole when their former students fail to repay their loans in full. “We’re saying to colleges, you pony up. Not the taxpayers. You, because you have not done your job.”
“This is a very popular idea with Republicans,” she adds.
On oversight and committee work
Legislation isn’t the only responsibility of a congressional committee. Foxx has also taken oversight seriously, especially regarding the Biden administration’s mishandling of FAFSA simplification and student loan cancellation. “I’ve written hundreds of letters to the Biden administration, gathering information for the American people,” says Foxx. “If the executive branch messes up, it’s not going to be forthcoming to the American people.”
In recent years, Foxx’s committee oversight has extended to prestigious universities that have failed to protect their Jewish students from harassment and violence. A series of Congressional hearings into universities’ mishandling of campus unrest has resulted in the resignations of four Ivy League presidents.
I then ask Foxx about her decision to extend oversight to private universities. “When the private universities want to stop taking taxpayer money, we will stop doing oversight,” she says. “It’s really up to them whether they want the scrutiny that they get, because they’re taking our money. There’s an old saying: He who pays the piper calls the tune.”
What’s on the agenda for next year
While Foxx is stepping down as chairwoman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, she will remain in Congress next year. I ask her how she rates the chances of major higher education reform becoming law, especially given other priorities such as extending the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
“Good, very good,” says Foxx, noting that the College Cost Reduction Act fits neatly into next year’s broader Republican agenda. “That tax bill is called the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. If you want people to have the skills they need to take those jobs and pay those taxes, then you’re going to need really good education programs.” Moreover, CCRA will produce nearly $200 billion in fiscal savings, according to the Congressional Budget Office, which will provide money for tax cut extensions.
There are potential areas for bipartisan cooperation as well. Foxx and her Democratic counterpart, Congressman Bobby Scott, have collaborated on a bill to expand Pell Grant funding to high-quality workforce education programs. “We’re not bosom buddies, but we’re realists. We want to get things done,” says Foxx of her relationship with Scott. Workforce education is a particularly fruitful area for bipartisan cooperation these days. “Both sides hear from employers that they’re not getting the workers they need,” she explains.
Final thoughts on her tenure as Chair
When I ask Foxx about her greatest accomplishments as Chair of the Education and Workforce Committee, she tells me she is proud to have laid the groundwork for future conservative leaders to build on in higher education policy. “I haven’t accomplished everything I want to accomplish,” Foxx says. “The Lord hasn’t put me in charge yet!”
As for what comes next: “I’m always looking ahead at the next challenge that’s out there, and how much more we need to do. I hope I will continue to be a lifelong learner.”