Education

In her opening statement, Democrat Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon said, "Many of my colleagues claim to care about the rise of antisemitism in this country, but when white supremacists marched in Charlottesville, Va., with burning torches and chanting, 'Jews will not replace us,' the president at the time, Donald Trump, said there were very fine people on both sides."

Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., criticized Republicans for their focus on antisemitism in liberal school districts while ignoring statements by Donald Trump.

“Despite these persistent examples of comments that others have called antisemitic and continued relationships with well-known antisemites, I have not heard one word of concern for my colleagues across the aisle. In fact, what we have seen is consolidation of support for the former president,” said Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.), ranking member of the subcommittee.

“Many of my colleagues claim to care about the rise of antisemitism in this country, but when white supremacists marched in Charlottesville, Va., with burning torches and chanting, ‘Jews will not replace us,’ the president at the time, Donald Trump, said, ‘There were very fine people on both sides,’ ” said Rep.

Attendees at Monday’s discussion talked about what changes they would like to see with the federal government’s student loan system to make it work better for students. Accountability and simplification were the keywords thrown out again and again.

“I talk all the time with students who, even though they have enough (from various sources) to have their tuition covered, do not have enough to live on to pay their rent or go for food,” she said.