Republican leader says Biden turning work-study program into ‘crooked’ ‘vote-buying sweepstakes’
Penn State University is no longer advertising a taxpayer-funded student job that involved working with a left-leaning political organization to register voters this fall.
The job ads were removed after The College Fix reported about the work-study position with the League of Women Voters in late August.
It is not clear why posts advertising the job on the university’s website and DE Jobs were removed recently. University media relations staff did not respond to several requests for comment from The Fix, asking why the job post was removed, if students were hired for the position, and, if so, how many.
Another post on LinkedIn advertising the job states that applications are no longer being accepted.
The position, offered through Penn State’s Community Service Federal Work Study Program, invited students to apply to work as “civic engagement ambassadors” with the Centre County chapter of the League of Women Voters.
The chapter did not respond to several emails from The Fix asking if students were hired for the position.
The job ad listed a number of desired skill sets, including “equity and inclusion,” which it describes as “expanding awareness, attitude, knowledge, and skills to engage equitably and include people from different local and global cultures and engage in anti-racism practices.”
The League of Women Voters is non-partisan and it does not endorse candidates. However, its policy positions align more with the Democratic Party, including on abortion, guns, climate change, and male athletes who identify as female competing in women’s sports.
The work-study ad attracted criticism from the Republican leader of the U.S. House Education Committee.
Spokesperson AnnMarie Graham-Barnes for Rep. Virginia Foxx told The Fix in August the job is “another attempt by the Biden-Harris administration to federalize elections and use taxpayer funds to advance the Democrats’ agenda.”
Foxx also criticized the Biden-Harris administration on the U.S. House floor in March for allowing work-study jobs to include registering voters.
“Here’s the truth: the Biden administration is turning the Federal Work-Study program into a vote-buying sweepstakes,” Foxx said at the time. “Enough with the smoke and mirrors already – the American people are not fooled.”
The U.S. Department of Education issued guidance on the change in late February, stating the work-study jobs must be non-partisan and “not associated with a particular interest or group.”
Additionally, a “student’s political support or party affiliation” can not be “taken into account in hiring,” the guidelines state.
Biden administration leaders have said higher education is a critical area to target in supporting civic engagement and the democratic process. The voter participation rate among college-age citizens is consistently the lowest of any age group.
However, Congressional Republican leaders like Foxx have said the recent changes to the work-study program will be misused for Democrats’ gain.
“It’s about as crooked as it gets,” Foxx told The Fix in March. “Every time I think this administration can’t stoop any lower, I’m proven wrong.”
MORE: Penn State wants pro-DEI students for taxpayer-funded voter registration job
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