House Republicans have appointed Rep. Virginia Foxx as chair of the subcommittee on higher education. Representative Foxx, a conservative from North Carolina, previously taught or served as an administrator at Appalachian State University, Caldwell Community College, and Mayland Community College.
Update (1/5): The Chronicle has published a longer, more in-depth report on Representative Foxx’s appointment.
Some gems from Ms. Foxx’s record:
Matthew Shepard Act
In April 2009, Foxx expressed opposition to the Matthew Shepard Act, claiming that the murder of Matthew Shepard was not a hate crime. While debating the act at the House of Representatives, which was attended by Matthew Shepard’s mother, she called the incident a “very unfortunate incident” but also “we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn’t because he was gay.” She continued that “It’s really a hoax that that continues to be used as an excuse for passing hate crimes bills.”
Health care debate
When commenting on the House version of the reform bill that funds counseling for end-of-life issues, Foxx said, “Republicans have a better solution that won’t put the government in charge of people’s health care,” and “(The plan) is pro-life because it will not put seniors in a position of being put to death by their government.”[7] She later said that “we have more to fear from the potential of [the Affordable Health Care for America Act] passing than we do from any terrorist right now in any country.”
2222 – Her name rang a (rather unpleasant) bell for me when I saw it in the article. Thanks for reminding me why. Your examples, backed up her own quotes, serve as a dubious reminder of the ride were all in for under the 112th Congress.
And she knows what about anything? I can’t imagine a worse person to champion higher education!
No worries! She certainly won’t!
And the people have voted!
“Foxx is a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill where she earned her A.B. in English and her M.A.C.T. in Sociology and of UNC-Greensboro where she earned an Ed.D. in Higher Education/Curriculum.”
( http://foxx.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=55§iontree=54,55&itemid=1572 )
Wasn’t she one of the townsfolk in “Blazing Saddles”?
Yes I remember which one she was the one that said up ______s, N_____r.
Since she studied about education maybe she can have the Reps break up into groups and share their feelings.
Virgiania Foxx is a dream-come-true for John Daly. It is a nightmare for the country.
I don’t know anything about Rep Foxx, but after reading the comments here, she must be a wonderful rep. It warms the cockles of my heart to see liberals whine and cry so. . . And even better, the comments from 11200222 and henr1005 who prove that, despite what liberals say about conservatives, when it comes to hurtful name-calling and mean-spiritedness, libs always take the cake! And by the way, barbzirk, hopefully she will be a champion for not wasting my tax dollars!
On a U-tube video Foxx makes the statement on the Floor of the House that the “US should not fund education” as a litany of “no fund” statements based on her reading of the constitution. She is full of “conservative platitudes” about federal funding.
In the past, representativs with negative attitudes about H.Ed. have been moved by spokespeaople for H.Ed. Perhaps the women now presidents of colleges and unversities will be able to sway — or, at least, educate — her. The Ed.D. she apparently earned fair and square is a hopeful sign. It would be good if the higher education administrators I’ve metnioned see this post and keep it in mind.
livefreeordie2 — But do you deny that the things that Rep. Foxx says are somewhere between odd, on the one hand, and evidence of a near total lack of judgment, on the other? Given the amount of name calling that goes back and forth between both parties — and the GOP has been hardly a set of innocents in this regard — we can just cancel out the name calling, and go to the factual record. And when we look there, and see the utterances of Rep. Foxx, it’s really hard to understand how any responsible citizen could conclude that Rep. Foxx is a responsible public official. Her background in higher education provides little comfort in the face of her manifestly nutty utterances.
Anyone who has seen video of Rep. Foxx speaking on the House floor knows that she is a raving lunatic. She gives North Carolina a bad name.
Rep. Foxx continues to represent the majority of her district. The high level of unemployment and low average education level of her constituency match the opportunity choices in these mountainous NC counties. Her presentations are a continued embarrassment to some of North Carolina and especially Appalachian State University. However, two years from now please check back and see how many earmarks have been awarded to the locals in Ashe and Watauga counties. For further examples of Rep. Foxx’s vision, clarity, and political wisdom stop by http://www.mountaintimes.com. It’s reality entertainment at its finest and best read under a plate of cathead biscuits with chocolate gravy.
Ask Rep. Foxx about Stokes County, a county in her district that has one of the highest depression rates, narcotic addiction rates and suicide rates in the whole of NC. Ask her whether she supports the early college high school program (ECHC) paid for by taxpayers or whether it is a complete free for all citizens in the county with regard to education. Ask her why Stokes Co. has no community college presence, no viable health care (not an internist in the entire county and a “nursing home wanting to be a hospital Critical Access “Hospital”" according to the prior hospital administrator who can cite how much support Foxx gives (or even lends) to education and health care in the county. She is all talk and no action. Ask her and Senator Burr why there has been no support to put a VA Community-based Outpatient Clinic in this only county in the country that has a self contained mountain range within it. It is isolated and cut off from modern education and health care and she could care less.
One can accuse Rep Foxx of being a “terrorist” in Stokes Co because of her de facto denial of the only way that county will be able to continue to have a “hospiital” and higher education presence of any sorts in the county. Stokes county is a “living example” of what the Republicans want to do to the USA: promote isolation, stupidity, depression, suicide, narcotic addiction and very poor health care.
tee_bee – She’s a Congress person. How could I deny that she’s odd and shows a lack of judgment? And of course she probably gets things wrong. But she’s only “nutty” and “an embarrassment” and all the other names the sensitive, caring lib commenters have used because she disagrees with them politically. I’m sure the very same commenters would sing the praises of Harry Ried, Nancy Pelosi, and Barry Obama as public servants dedicated to helping the people of this country, blah, blah, blah, whereas I seem them as socialist fools trying to drive the US off a financial cliff. The difference? Libs are always looking for a handout – either to receive, or to give to “the less fortunate” using someone else’s money. There’s nowhere in the Constitution that says the government should give money to Higher Ed. There’s nowhere in the Constitution that says it should be running a loan operation for people who want to go to college. I believe we should do away with all of that nonsense – a position you would consider “nutty” I’m sure. Why? Because then institutions and individuals would lose their handouts – as I mentioned above. Ms Foxx may be a dingbat, but if she helps slow the fiscal bleeding in Washington, she’s a hero to me!
Wonder how her views toward “liberal education” will come through in her new role, given that she was, at least once upon a time, invested in the notion (here’s her dissertation abstract):
“The ideal of a liberal education has been in existence for over 2,000 years. However, many factors in American higher education have mitigated against the liberal education concept. One pedagogical response designed to foster the ideals of a liberal education is the residential college which became very popular in the 1960′s and 1970′s. The curriculum of many of these programs was interdisciplinary. Research presented depicts the characteristics of residential colleges in the United States and six residential colleges are described briefly. A history of Watauga College, the residential college at Appalachian State University, is also presented. Beginning in 1972, and continuing to the present, Watauga College has attempted to combine an emphasis on community with an interdisciplinary curriculum for freshmen and sophomores; this curriculum satisfies a portion of the University’s general education requirements. In addition, research was conducted to assess the attitudes of administrators, faculty, and students at Appalachian State University toward Watauga College. Based on the research, a review of the literature, and perceptions of the challenges facing higher education, a set of recommendations regarding the future of Watauga College and the residential college concept at Appalachian are offered. The interdisciplinary curriculum of residential colleges such as the one in Watauga College combined with an emphasis on building community makes the residential college a strategy that can be effective in fostering the ideals of a liberal education and responding to some of the challenges facing higher education.”
The Constitution says that the federal government should indeed provide for the “common defense” and “general welfare”. The Declaration of Independence does not just mention “liberty”; it also says something about “pursuit of happiness” and “life” itself as a human right. Try asking the 22 year old that went into Stokes-Reynolds Memorial Hospital ER with a bicarb of 1.5, pH of 7.1, wide-based complex rate of 200, potassium of 8.3 and attendance by a Plastic Surgery physician in training physician how her “general welfare”, “life” and “pursuit of happiness” are now. “Nutty” to expect that she would have received reasonable emergency care before being shipped out to another ER with a cardiac arrest happening in the ambulance prior to arrival at that other ER? You might not receive a coherent answer.
@ cbeauchamp, you are obviously not a poly sci major as you are making ridiculous criticisms of Foxx. She is a CONGRESS person, elected to a FEDERAL position. Her responsibilities should be to enact laws that benefit the nation as a whole, not just her district or state. Now, of course we know that congress people do earmark things for their constituents, but as far as I am aware, most people on both sides of the political spectrum don’t really like the pork barrel politics. But you on the other hand are criticizing her presumably because she hasn’t somehow funneled federal funds to her state. If her district is screwed up, it is the blame of STATE legislators and local politicians. You are just angry because someone who isn’t of your party is getting their chance and grasping at straws to find a way to impugn them.
Want to really slow the “fiscal bleeding”? Try national negotiations for medication costs like the VA and DOD do. Try having the USA use a Public Option to integrate and coordinate care of all “public care” such as the care provided to Medicare, Medicaid, uninsured, CHC’s, FQHC’s, VA’s…etc. Use commercial versions of the VA’s VisTa/CPRS and its succssor to integrate and coordinate the continuity and spectrum of ALL “public care”. Emulate Sweden and New Zealand and go to a “no fault” health care injury adjudication system with democratic access to local EDUCATED (in Public Health Biology) citizen councils who decide just compensation by the Federal Government for health care injury claims. Assemble ALL health care injury claims into a national database with the goal of promoting a continuous quality improvement model for all publically financed health care. Promote Direct Primary Care models for reimbursement of validated visit claims within three business days by payers with a national claims surveillance system to prevent fraud and abuse. Require all medical schools that receive public funds to migrate to models of education that provides the following outcomes for graduates: 1) education in dissemination and implementation (D&I) of medical evidence; 2) education in Population Health, Clinical Prevention & Outcomes Analysis; 3) education in the integration and coordination of clinical prevention and clinical care; 4) education in the interdisciplinary-related factors & interventions that affect onset, progression and recovery from illness/disease; 5) 50% of whom or more practice away from a major medical center AND/OR in a rural or urban area of designated primary care need; 6) education in the use of clinical skills and decision support systems that enhance effectiveness and efficiency of care; 7) education in complementary education (that reduces health care disparities / chronic disease adverse outcomes / rates of incarceration), effective health education, distant care, local citizen council participation, K-12 student education in Public Health Biology and its practical care correlates such as high school certification of expertise in medical assistanceship. Saving money, whether you like it ideologically or not, involves education. Eventually one could project net savings of more than one billion dollars a year if this is done correctly.
Should have said “Eventually one could project net savings of more than one TRILLION (not one billion or even 100 billion) dollars a year if this is done correctly.”
No I am not a “poly science major” but am very proud of having served the primary care needs of veterans for ~29 years and I know the value of working within a true System of care supported by all people, local, state and federal. And I know it takes the push of federal politicians to assure the “common welfare” of all and the wise spending of monies that are spent, including for the “common defense”. Having taken care of WWI to Afganistan veterans, I understand the meaning of politicians making very unwise decisions about the “common defense” while wraping themselves in the Constitution and the American flag. I have experienced and assisted the VA’s efforts in going from one of the poorest quality health care systems (with a little s) to being the best Health Care System (with a capital S) in the universe, all of which was publically financed by our tax dollars. I also understand the stupidity of politicians who play word games and are all show and no good. I believe there is a common “civic duty” to contribute to the “civic order”, local, state and national that transcends political parties. There is ample blame at all levels and in all parties why we are wasting tremendous amounts of money in both education and health care. The Republicans are, nonetheless, becoming masters of obfuscating this situation and making it worse (the “common defence” and “general welfare”).
A critique of Democrats for wasting huge amonts of money based on a basic lack of education follows. The State legislature in NC has a 258,000,000 dollar contract with CSC to develop a Service Oriented Architecture-based look at the Medicaid claims data on NC Medicaid patients (~900,000 people at present). The chief lobbyist for CSC getting that contract was appointed by the Democratic governor, Purdue, to be the head of the government agency, Dept of Human Services, that judges whether the 55,000,000 dollar per year contract goes forth to completion. The country of Sweden (population of about 9 million dollars) is aggregating all of its health care information (that is excellent at the local level) so that it can be analyzed for health care money allocation to local citizen councils. Sweden is doing this for 19,000,000 dollars using Intersystems Corp’s HealthShare that was derived from the VA database system. So the taxpayers of Sweden are benefitting from our tax dollar expenditures while the taxpayers of North Carolina are getting taken to the cleaners for a far inferior (GIGO) health information aggregation and analysis system. All because the foxy former (Republican) lobbyist is managing the chicken coop at the request of a health care system brain dead Democratic governor. And why is the governor and legislature brain dead? In the whole state of North Carolina there is not one System Science much less Health Care System Science academic major available. There is no interdisciplinary effort at creating System Science / Dynamics educational programs in North Carolina. Maybe, perhaps maybe, the new Republican dominated legislature with see the efficacy of doing so AND in looking at VA-based technology to create an across the state HIE for quality of care improvement as well as claims analysis purposes. This will require educational dollars as a starter. After retiring from the VA I have worked as a locum tenens physician at the state psychiatric hospital system that was planning on implementing a very cost-effective version of VA VisTa / CPRS for integration and coordination of public mental health care inside and outside the state hospitals. BUT the Democratic governor and legislature in their infinitie wisdom withdrew that money because they did not understand the rationale for creating a System of Public Care. Who knows, maybe the current legislature will save money by closing all the state psychiatric hospitals and throw monies at private facilities to take care of these patients in an ever more fragmented and ill-coordinated manner. All the better to waste more money and lives.
Foxx says the only role of the federal government according to the Constitution is to “provide for the common defense”. Why not ignore the Constitution’s edict regarding the federal government’s role in providing for the “common welfare”. So the logical conclusion is there is no real need to provide any health care, education or research dollars from federal coffers, is that not logically so according to the Foxx reading of the Constitution? Certainly Foxx has not made use of the Federal Employee Health Care System, has she? Certainly, Foxx should argue that the University of North Carolina system of higher education should receive NO education or research dollars from the federal government, should she not. Has she propose the elimination of all health care, education and research dollars from the federal government? And what about agricuture subsidies. Did she refuse the tobacco subsidy dollars that came from the Federal government for the state of North Carolina? She represents some pretty hard core former tobacco producing counties. Has she argued that all the earmarks, subsidies, health care dollars, education dollars and research dollars should be withheld from her district at the very least? And what about federal support for local law enforcement? Should even those monies be allocated to her district given they do not really contribute to the “common defense” in a federal way of reasoning out this issue.
North Carolina State University is subsidized from the Federal coffers. NCSU researchers (who received federal dollars) assisted a former Stokes Co. farmer in the production of the “Stokes Purple” sweet potato, that was derived ultimately as a virus free sweet potato from an Okinawa purple sweet potato infested with viruses. Now, former tobacco farmers in Stokes Co. are growing purple sweet potatoes in soil that formerly grew tobacco and a private consortium is selling those potatoes to Whole Foods with a distribution that points out the potential health benefits of purple sweet potatoes. There is, afterall, nutritional epidemiology research that shows the potential health value of purple sweet potato consumption on the contributing to the longevity of folks in Okinawa. There is in vitro research that demonstrates the anthocyanins in the purple sweet potato might have an anti-Alheimer’s Disease effect. The yield per acre is such that former tobacco farmers can make more per acre growing purple sweet potatoes than they made growing tobacco, given the 4 dollar+ per lb cost of purple sweet potatoes at Whole Foods. BUT, and this is a BIG BUT, there needs to be research subsidized by the federal government for a huge randomized control trial of the addition of purple sweet potatoes and their anthocyanin extracts (www.foodcolor.com) in the diet of “high risk” people, at least for Alzheimer’s disease, much less for increased longevity. AND, if these trials establish the effectiveness of purple sweet potatoes in health care outcome improvement, who will pay for the dissemination and implementation of this research to all high risk individuals? Surely Foxx opposes all federal involvement in these R&D efforts even though it could result in the redemption of some NC former tobacco farmers, especially those in Stokes Co. Surely research and education should not be subsidized by the federal government given the Foxx reading of the Constitution.
CMS (Center for Medicare Services) subsidizes Medicare payments to “Critical Access Hospitals” in rural areas such Stokes Co. in order to assist those hospitals in serving a rural population. This is “socialized medicine” for sure. And for sure Foxx should be against this unconstitutional allocation of federal dollars. Foxx should immediately demand the cessation of the Critical Access Hospital federal subsidy system, all the better to assure that these hospitals will close and the rural population that Foxx represents so well will receive ever poorer health care services. And surely Foxx is against federal subsidies for the education of primary care physicians who can best serve the fullest spectrum of rural health care needs.
Surely Foxx is against this federal program (NBCCEDP), Surely Foxx is against educsting rural providers of care of its very existence.
Surely Foxx is against facilitating access to Medicaid for those uninsured females who are found to have a malignancy through this “socialized medicine” program. Has Rep. Foxx ever had a federally subsidized mammogram? If she did have breast cancer would she personally refuse federal subsidization of her very expensive health care? Would she refuse, on principle, to be treated by a physician whose education has been subidized by the federal coffers? And where in federal treaties does it say that Native Americans should be eligible for this program?
Through the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides low-income, uninsured, and underserved women access to timely breast and cervical cancer screening and diagnostic services.
To improve access to screening, Congress passed the Breast and Cervical Cancer Mortality Prevention Act of 1990, which guided CDC in creating the NBCCEDP. Currently, the NBCCEDP funds all 50 states, the District of Columbia, 5 U.S. territories, and 12 American Indian/Alaska Native tribes or tribal organizations to provide screening services for breast and cervical cancer. The program helps low-income, uninsured, and underinsured women gain access to breast and cervical cancer screening and diagnostic services. These services include—
•Clinical breast examinations.
•Mammograms.
•Pap tests.
•Pelvic examinations.
•Diagnostic testing if results are abnormal.
•Referrals to treatment.
In 2000, Congress passed the Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Act, which gives states the option to offer women in the NBCCEDP access to treatment through Medicaid. To date, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have approved this Medicaid option. In 2001, with passage of the Native American Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Technical Amendment Act, Congress explained that this option also applies to American Indians/Alaska Natives who are eligible for health services provided by the Indian Health Service or by a tribal organization.
And by the way, once upon a time the state of Oklahoma use to be the only state in the union that refused to participate in this program, no doubt with the blessing of its esteemed physician senator for cost savings reasons.
Thomas Jefferson advised that the greatest threat to our Democracy is “ignorance!” Thomas Jefferson believed that our nation’s survival as an independent democracy absolutely depended upon its success in educating the people. He understood “that knowledge is power, that knowledge is safety, that knowledge is happiness. “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.
Rep. Foxx represent the ‘ignorance’ about which Thomas Jefferson warned! Ignorance is eroding our freedom! Conservatives are inflicting a greater terror on America through ‘ignorance’ than any enemy of this country. Considering Thomas Jefferson’s warning, survival of our democracy is in peril because obviously Rep. Foxx’s behavior is not synonymous with an education and the 5th district is suffering the consequence of her displayed ignorance! I weep for those hallowed halls of congress built by Protestants and Deists.
I believe Rep. Foxx was forced to resign as President of Mayland Community College because by her own account, the college’s board of trustees worked against her. This insidious ingrates is inimical to our Democracy and our Constitution for which many brave people, excluding hers, fought, sacrificed and died!