WASHINGTON, DC —Today, Congressman Scott Fitzgerald (WI-05) and Chairman Jim Banks (IN-03) introduced the National Educational Association Charter Repeal Act. This important bill repeals the federal charter granted to the National Education Association (NEA).
Since its charter in 1906, the NEA has abandoned its core mission to “elevate the character and advance the interests of the profession of teaching; and to promote the cause of education in the United States.”
Said Congressman Fitzgerald: “The National Education Association has strayed far from its original mission. Rather than supporting students, the NEA consistently put the interests of progressive teachers’ unions over the learning of students. It is time for Congress to say enough is enough and revoke the NEA’s federal charter.”
Said Chairman Banks: “I was happy to partner with Rep. Fitzgerald on this important piece of legislation. There is now no daylight between the NEA’s agenda and the radical left’s agenda. Worst of all, the NEA strongly supports teaching 5-year-old children about adult sexual behavior. Their mission used to be education, now it’s indoctrination and pitting American children against their parents’ values.
Congress represents all Americans, and this bill will end Congress’s tacit support for an organization that now only represents narrow, partisan interests.”
Said former Governor Scott Walker: “The union bosses at the National Education Association stand in the way of ensuring access to an excellent education for every student. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald stood with me as we fought their efforts to intimidate officials in Wisconsin. Now he is leading the way to ensure that taxpayers are not forced to sanction the NEA’s radical agenda with a Congressional charter.”
The National Right to Work Committee said: “Government union bosses have spent decades successfully lobbying for unique privileges from union-label politicians, including monopoly bargaining power over public employees and, until the Janus decision, the power to force workers to pay union dues or fees as a condition of employment. For the National Education Association, the largest union in America, one of those privileges has been the tacit endorsement of Congress for over a century in the form of a federal charter. The National Right to Work Committee supports legislation that would rescind this charter, or any of the many other special privileges that union bosses currently enjoy under federal law.”
The bill is supported by American Principles Project, America First Policy Institute (AFPI), Club for Growth, Concerned Women for America LAC, ForAmerica, FreedomWorks, Heritage Action for America, Independent Women’s Voice (IWV), National Right to Work Committee, and Young America’s Foundation (YAF).
Background:
In recent years, the NEA has supported partisan initiatives like closing our nation’s schools, abortion, the inclusion of critical-race theory and radical gender-ideology in curriculums and open borders.
The NEA was officially chartered by an Act of Congress in 1906 and is the only congressionally chartered labor union. In the 2020 cycle, the NEA gave 95.7 percent of its candidate campaign donations to Democrats. In addition, according to disclosures made to the Office of Labor-Management Standards, from September 2019 to August 2021 the NEA spent over $116.7 million on political activities and lobbying.
