Today, Rep. Burgess Owens (UT-04) introduced the Less Bureaucracy, Better Tribal Education Act (H.R. 9604), legislation that permanently moves federal Native education and workforce training programs out of the Department of Education and into the Department of the Interior, the agency that already carries the federal trust responsibility to Tribal communities. The bill is part of the House Education and Workforce Committee’s “Less Bureaucracy, Better Education” legislative package to right-size the Department of Education and put students ahead of bureaucracy.
“President Trump was elected with a mandate to restore common sense and accountability to a bloated federal bureaucracy and cut out the waste, fraud, and abuse found across government. In 1980, when the Department of Education was founded, it came with a promise of improved education and outcomes. 46 years later, and $3 trillion of taxpayer funds later, we can see that didn’t happen. With my bill and the others included in the “Less Bureaucracy, Better Education” package, we’re putting the focus back on students, families, and results and cutting unnecessary layers of Washington bureaucracy that have failed them. The era of decline is over.
Rep. Burgess Owens (UT-04).
“For decades, Washington has measured success by how much government grows instead of how well students do. The legislative package reflects a simple principle: education policy should be focused on helping students succeed—not preserving a federal bureaucracy for its own sake. Rather than allowing unnecessary layers of Washington bureaucracy stand between families and the services they rely on, the bills would transfer key statutory authorities to agencies better equipped to carry them out while maintaining continuity for students and stakeholders.”
Chairman Tim Walberg (MI-05)
BACKGROUND
On September 30, 2025, the Department of Education and the Department of the Interior entered into an Interagency Agreement to share administration of Native education and workforce training programs. The Less Bureaucracy, Better Tribal Education Act builds on that agreement by permanently transferring these programs to the Department of the Interior and officially ending the Department of Education’s administration of them.
Before any program transfers, the bill requires the Department of Education to consult with Indian Tribes and publish a written response, ensuring Tribal voices are heard. Following that consultation, the bill moves Native education programs currently spread across the Department of Education back to the Department of Interior, which already holds the federal government’s trust responsibility to Tribal Nations and works with these communities every day.
The bill also protects continuity for students and families. Existing grants, contracts, and proceedings continue uninterrupted, transferred funds may be used only for their original purpose, and the Office of Management and Budget must certify that the Act creates no net increase in federal employees.
Following the consultation with the Tribes, the programs housed in the Department of Education that serve Native Americans within the Offices of Elementary and Secondary Education, Postsecondary Education, Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, and Career, Technical, and Adult Education are transferred to the Department of the Interior.
