Texas Sen. Ted Cruz introduced a measure Thursday to prohibit federal funding of critical race theory trainings, a month after Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah., put forth the companion bill in the House.
“The federal government has no right to force a political agenda onto Americans, especially one that aims to tear down our institutions and divide us based on race,” Cruz said. “Critical Race Theory originated out of the critical race studies movement. It is a Marxist ideology that sees the world as a battle, not between the classes – as classical Marxism does – but between the races. This is inherently bigoted.”
The bill, called the END CRT Act, seeks to restrict federal agencies from acting in a way contrary to former President Donald Trump’s 2020 executive order banning agencies, contractors, and grant recipients from imposing diversity trainings on employees. President Joe Biden repealed Trump’s order on his first day in office.
“I grew up attending segregated schools in the Jim Crow South during a time when people were treated differently based on the color of their skin,” Owens said in a statement. “Critical Race Theory preserves this way of thinking and undermines civil rights, constitutionally guaranteed equal protection before the law, and U.S. institutions at large. This is the United States of America, and no one should ever be subjected to the discrimination that our laws so clearly prohibit.”
Republicans and concerned parents have ramped up efforts to oppose critical race theory. Last week, Wisconsin GOP Rep. Glenn Grothman introduced a measure to ban Washington D.C. schools from having “anti-racism” trainings. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds took action Wednesday to ban the doctrine in public schools, which will take effect July 1.
Source: The Federalist
