A Republican-led request for documents related to federal school reopening guidance was denied by the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee. Accusations about special interests and political collusion over national school reopening guidance during the COVID-19 pandemic dominated a markup hearing held by the House Education and Labor Committee.

Lawmakers debated House Resolution 1273, which calls for President Joe Biden to provide certain documents to Congress relating to communication between the executive branch and the American Federation of Teachers, a teacher union, regarding reopening of schools and supporting safe, in-person learning.

The committee voted along party lines, 28-21, to report the resolution unfavorably, which means it recommends the full House not consider or pass the measure. The vote also rejected two higher education-specific inquiries of documents related to service loan forgiveness and federal student loan debt.

The resolutions were introduced and supported by Republican members of the committee, including ranking member Virginia Foxx of North Carolina. Specifically, House Res. 1273, a resolution of inquiry, requests documents relating to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky’s decision to change school reopening guidelines at the request of AFT President Randi Weingarten, said Foxx at the markup.

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