GRACE Act

SI-generated grade · five published checks · not individually reviewed by a person · methodology

The GRACE Act is a federal statute that directs the Department of Education to eliminate an internal enforcement office. It does not expand federal power, restrict rights, or take property. It is a modest administrative change that reduces federal oversight, which aligns with constitutional principles of limited government and decentralization. However, it raises minor concerns about the federal government's continued involvement in education and the potential for reduced accountability in federal student aid programs, which are areas of significant federal entanglement.

• ✓ Passes · Enumerated powers
  The federal government has authority to administer federal student aid programs under the Spending Clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 1) and the Necessary and Proper Clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 18). Eliminating an enforcement office within the Department of Education is within the scope of managing those programs. The bill does not exceed enumerated powers; it merely reorganizes an exis…
• ✓ Passes · Bill of Rights
  The bill does not implicate any of the first ten amendments. It does not affect speech, religion, assembly, press, petition, arms, quartering, search and seizure, self-incrimination, due process, takings, trial rights, jury rights, cruel and unusual punishment, unenumerated rights, or reserved powers. It is purely administrative.
• ✓ Passes · Individual sovereignty
  The bill does not restrict individual liberty. It reduces federal enforcement against postsecondary schools, which arguably increases the freedom of educational institutions to operate without federal oversight. It does not impose new restrictions on individuals or their property, speech, labor, or belief.
• ✗ Concern · Decentralization
  The bill fails the decentralization test because it operates at the federal level in an area that could be handled by states or localities. Education is traditionally a state and local concern, and the federal government's involvement in student aid is a constitutional stretch under the Spending Clause. However, the bill itself reduces federal enforcement, which is a step toward decentralization, …
• ✓ Passes · Due process and takings
  The bill does not bypass due process or take property. Eliminating an enforcement office does not deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process. It does not affect the presumption of innocence or any legal proceedings. It is a structural change to an agency, not a substantive action against any individual or entity.

Sources: Congress.gov: HR 1825 summary