A bill to establish an executive department to be known as the Department of Education.
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Government Operations.
Establishes an executive department to be known as the Department of Education. Provides that the function and purpose of the Department shall be to promote the cause and advancement of education throughout the Nation. Establishes in the Department the offices of Secretary, Under Secretary, four Assistant Secretaries, and a General Counsel, each of whom shall be appointed by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Transfers to the Department, the United States Office of Education, together with all of its functions, personnel, property, records, obligations, commitments, unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations and other funds. Provides that the Secretary shall, as soon as practicable after the end of each calendar year, make a report to the President for the submission to the Congress on the activities of the Department during the preceding calendar year. Establishes a Federal interagency Committee on Education to study and recommend such actions as may be necessary to assure effective coordination of Federal programs affecting education. Authorizes to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to enable the Department to carry out the provisions of this Act and to perform any other duties which may be imposed upon it by law.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on January 3, 1973. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on January 3, 1973: Referred to House Committee on Government Operations.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 93rd Congress (1973-74), 651 of the 23,396 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.8 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
WILLIAM SCHERLE (R-IA) introduced it on January 3, 1973. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on January 3, 1973, 19608 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 19608 days ago, on January 3, 1973.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 93rd Congress has not finished by January 3, 1975 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers