Committee on Education and Workforce

WASHINGTON – House Committee on Education and Workforce Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) and Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee Ranking Member Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10) demanded the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) Assistant Secretary Daniel Aronowitz share a detailed accounting of the agency’s staffing, the damage done by the Trump-Musk federal workforce cuts, and its actions to effectively enforce the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).

WASHINGTON –One hundred ninety Members of Congress demanded that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) withdraw its proposalto remove more than 90 percent of Head Start’s standards that ensure children receive a high-quality early education. Under the proposed rule, nearly one in ten children currently enrolled in Head Start could become ineligible overnight. In the House, the letter is led by Education and Workforce Committee Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA-03), House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY-08), Early Childhood and Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee Ranking Member Bonamici (D-OR-01), and Representative Nikki Budzinski (D-IL-13).

WASHINGTON – Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03), House Committee on Education and Workforce, released the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the economy gained 29,000 jobs in September, and the unemployment rate increased from 4.1 percent to 4.2 percent. “This Trump economy might be working for the wealthy and the well connected, but it clearly is leaving workers behind. CEO pay is skyrocketing, while for working people, it's a daily struggle just to cover groceries and rent. Workers’ wages are failing to keep up with inflation, and the increasing cost of daily expenses are eating into workers’ paychecks. According to the Century Foundation, inflation-adjusted debt payments grew faster than income in recent years as working families have struggled to make ends meet.

WASHINGTON – Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03), House Committee on Education and Workforce, released the following statement after the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s new proposed rule, entitled “Federal Scholarship Tax Credit. America's public school system is founded on the promise that all students should have access to a high-quality public education. Today, the Treasury Department issued a proposed rule to implement the massive federal voucher scheme that was included in the Republicans’ ‘Big Ugly Bill.’ The program effectively diverts billions of taxpayer dollars away from public schools through the voucher program to subsidize private school education.

WASHINGTON— Today, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Education and Workforce Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA-03) touted three bills to secure workers’ retirement savings. The first, the Workers’ Retirement Savings Protection Act of 2026, would ensure workers are not ripped off when investing their retirement savings. The second, the Protecting Workers’ Benefits Act of 2026 would better enable workers, retirees, and their families to enforce their rights under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). And the third, he co-sponsored the Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act of 2026, with Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittee Ranking Member Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA-10) and Senator Tina Smith (D-MN), to ensure workers can fight back when they are denied benefits under an employee benefit plan.

WASHINGTON – Today, House Education and Workforce Committee Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA-03), Representative Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ-07), Representative Teresa Leger Fernández (D-NM-03), Representative Madeleine Dean (D-PA-04), and Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) introduced the America’s College Promise Act of 2026. The bill would make community college and two-year Tribal Colleges and Universities more accessible by waiving tuition fees for eligible students “Community colleges play a unique and vital role in providing students access to a quality postsecondary degree. Regrettably, the chronic underfunding of community colleges is jeopardizing their ability to support their students and communities,” said Ranking Member Scott (D-VA-03). “The America’s College Promise Act is a major investment in expanding opportunities for students and rebuilding a stronger economy.”

WASHINGTON – Today, House Committee on Education and Workforce Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03), Rep. Adelita Grijalva (AZ-07), and Rep. Susie Lee (NV-03) announced plans to reintroduce the Direct Creation, Advancement, and Retention of Employment (CARE) Opportunity Act of 2026. The legislation invests in training and increasing opportunities for our nation’s direct care workers. Between 2025 and 2035, the direct care workforce is projected to add more than 886,000 new jobs. Despite this growing demand, direct care workers still earn low wages and experience unstable working conditions.

WASHINGTON – Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03), House Committee on Education and Workforce, released the following statement following the Department of Education’s funding of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCU) at the expense of Minority Serving Institutions (MSI), such as Predominantly Black Institutions (PBI), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISI). "In 2019, Congress passed the bipartisan FUTURE Act which authorized $255 million in mandatory funding to HBCU, TCUs, and MSIs.