Smucker Presses Education Secretary on Failed Financial Audits

Washington—Rep. Lloyd Smucker (PA-11), a member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, questioned Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona about the department’s problematic financial audits during a committee hearing. Click to watch Rep. Smucker’s questions to Sec. Cardona.

“I am deeply concerned about the fact that your department failed two financial audits for two consecutive years. After inspecting your numbers, your independent auditor was unable to complete the audit and instead was forced to issue what’s known as a “Disclaimer of Opinion” – which hasn’t happened in two decades,” said Rep. Smucker.

Rep. Smucker noted that throughout the Department of Education’s 2023 audit, millions of anomalies were discovered in the data which is used in the department’s student loan portfolio.

“All in all, this is highly irresponsible financial management from the department, particularly of a $1.6 trillion dollar portfolio owned by 43 million borrowers,” continued Rep. Smucker.  

 Additionally, Rep. Smucker questioned Sec. Cardona about the department’s recently finalized regulation which would prevent students attending certain career and technical education schools from accessing federal financial aid. Career-oriented programs and some community colleges measure a student’s progress by time spent on the subject matter, or “clock hour programs”, rather than the credit-based system traditional colleges use. The Biden administration’s regulation would impact students attending clock hour programs.  

Earlier this year, Rep. Smucker introduced The Clock Hour Rule Student Protection Act to stop the implementation of the Biden administration’s regulation.

Upon introducing the legislation, Rep. Smucker questioned: “With more jobs available across the nation than there are individuals looking to fill them, why would the Biden administration make it harder for students to access programs that will prepare them for the workforce? We should be doing everything we can to assist individuals to upskill and find their pathway to success, not holding them back.”