U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor
07/23/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 07/23/2024 19:29
Hearing Recap: Haskell Indian Nations University Edition
The Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee and the Natural Resources' Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations convened today for a joint hearing to discuss the disaster that is Haskell Indian Nations University (HINU or Haskell).
The hearing comes on the heels of numerous allegations of misconduct, bullying, and sexual harassment endemic at Haskell. What's more, the Office of Inspector General released a scathing investigation earlier in the month that reveals a potential attempt by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) to cover up the scandal.
The hearing unfolded in two panels, the first featuring federal bureaucrats responsible for overseeing HINU and then with current and former faculty members of the university. Both panels painted a similar picture of gross negligence and widespread mismanagement.
Chairman Burgess Owens (R-UT) opened the hearing by identifying the real victims of HINU's dysfunction: the students. "The issues we're discussing today are not only a disgrace to the university and federal government entities responsible but also to students and faculty harmed due to lack of metrics and accountability," said Chairman Owens.
Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) traced the timeline of BIE's potential coverup of the AIB Report when it came her turn for questioning. She said the report detailing Haskell's disfunction was finalized in January 2023, withheld from the public even following FOIA attempts, then finally released a year later after the requester followed a lawsuit. Still, the report made available to the public was heavily redacted.
She asked, "Why didn't the agency turn over the report when it was released and how will the BIE be more transparent moving forward?"
"I too am frustrated by how that was handled," responded Assistant Secretary Bryan Newland. He continued, "The bottom line is that our team did not handle that as well as we should. I know we have sent an offer to the Committee to make available copies of that report with minimal redactions."
Whereas Rep. Bonamici seemed satisfied with his answer, Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) did not let Mr. Newland evade responsibility for his previous lack of transparency so easily. Regarding the report's allegation that BIE ignored student emails, Rep. Takano asked, "Why was there a failure to respond?"
In a long and winding answer, Mr. Newland eventually revealed, "Oftentimes, people send things to me at the wrong email address."
Seriously?
Over the course of the hearing, a consistent theme emerged among Mr. Newland's answers. He consistently declared his need for more "resources," aka taxpayer money. Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) pressed him on the issue.
"Do you believe the federal government has been effective at running this school or this has been a satisfactory return on investment?" asked Rep. Good. Then asking specifically, "By what standard of measurement has it been an effective use of taxpayer dollars?
"I don't know how else to answer your question other than to tell you that I believe we have a trust obligation to do better," Mr. Newland demurred.
Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) pursued a similar line of questioning and raised doubts around Mr. Newland's claim that the presidents weren't paid enough.
"Is that your position that you can't get people with good morality unless you pay them a lot of money?" asked Chairwoman Foxx.
"I hope that… no Congresswoman," he replied.
"You mean you have to bring people in to tell them the difference between right and wrong. You can't hire people to start with who know whether to report rapes or not?" she added.
Regarding Mr. Newland's general unresponsiveness and lack of transparency, she asked, "And you wouldn't object to a forensic search?"
"A forensic search? Congresswoman uh… how the... however we would respond to that type of request for the Committee, I mean I… I have… you know my emails are often subject to FOIA requests," he struggled in response.
If the hearing were a polygraph test, Newland's answer, among others, may have sent the needle off the chart.
Bottom Line: The Committees are united in holding the government to account for the mismanagement at Haskell.
The hearing unfolded in two panels, the first featuring federal bureaucrats responsible for overseeing HINU and then with current and former faculty members of the university. Both panels painted a similar picture of gross negligence and widespread mismanagement.
Chairman Burgess Owens (R-UT) opened the hearing by identifying the real victims of HINU's dysfunction: the students. "The issues we're discussing today are not only a disgrace to the university and federal government entities responsible but also to students and faculty harmed due to lack of metrics and accountability," said Chairman Owens.
Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) traced the timeline of BIE's potential coverup of the AIB Report when it came her turn for questioning. She said the report detailing Haskell's disfunction was finalized in January 2023, withheld from the public even following FOIA attempts, then finally released a year later after the requester followed a lawsuit. Still, the report made available to the public was heavily redacted.
She asked, "Why didn't the agency turn over the report when it was released and how will the BIE be more transparent moving forward?"
"I too am frustrated by how that was handled," responded Assistant Secretary Bryan Newland. He continued, "The bottom line is that our team did not handle that as well as we should. I know we have sent an offer to the Committee to make available copies of that report with minimal redactions."
Whereas Rep. Bonamici seemed satisfied with his answer, Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) did not let Mr. Newland evade responsibility for his previous lack of transparency so easily. Regarding the report's allegation that BIE ignored student emails, Rep. Takano asked, "Why was there a failure to respond?"
In a long and winding answer, Mr. Newland eventually revealed, "Oftentimes, people send things to me at the wrong email address."
Seriously?
Over the course of the hearing, a consistent theme emerged among Mr. Newland's answers. He consistently declared his need for more "resources," aka taxpayer money. Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) pressed him on the issue.
"Do you believe the federal government has been effective at running this school or this has been a satisfactory return on investment?" asked Rep. Good. Then asking specifically, "By what standard of measurement has it been an effective use of taxpayer dollars?
Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) pursued a similar line of questioning and raised doubts around Mr. Newland's claim that the presidents weren't paid enough.
"Is that your position that you can't get people with good morality unless you pay them a lot of money?" asked Chairwoman Foxx.
"I hope that… no Congresswoman," he replied.
"You mean you have to bring people in to tell them the difference between right and wrong. You can't hire people to start with who know whether to report rapes or not?" she added.
Regarding Mr. Newland's general unresponsiveness and lack of transparency, she asked, "And you wouldn't object to a forensic search?"
"A forensic search? Congresswoman uh… how the... however we would respond to that type of request for the Committee, I mean I… I have… you know my emails are often subject to FOIA requests," he struggled in response.
If the hearing were a polygraph test, Newland's answer, among others, may have sent the needle off the chart.
Bottom Line: The Committees are united in holding the government to account for the mismanagement at Haskell.