Committee on Education and Workforce

WASHINGTON – Education and Workforce Committee Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03), led over 85 House Democrats’ opposition to the Department of Education’s proposed rule on federal student loans. The proposed rule, titled “Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE),” implements changes that Republicans’ “Big Ugly Law” made to the federal student loan program in the Higher Education Act of 1965, including new graduate loan limits and the elimination of affordable repayment options.

WASHINGTON – Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03), House Committee on Education and Workforce, released the following statement after the Department of Labor (DOL) announced a proposed rule on the classification of independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). DOL’s rule would narrow its interpretation of who is considered an employee under the FLSA. “Today, the Department of Labor proposed a rule that will make it more difficult for workers who have been misclassified as independent contractors to receive overtime pay, fair wages, and other basic rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

WASHINGTON – Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03), House Committee on Education and Workforce, released the following statement after the Department of Education announced 31 resolution agreements with institutions of higher education to cease their partnerships with The Ph.D. Project. The agreements reportedly also require the institutions to audit partnerships they have with other organizations that “restrict participation based on race.” “In 2025, roughly 24 percent of Business Ph.D. students were Black or Hispanic.

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 added 130,000 jobs in January, and the unemployment rate ticked down from 4.4 percent to 4.3 percent. “The economy is not working for the American public. Since President Trump’s so-called ‘Liberation Day,’ more Americans are out of work and struggling to find a good job. And even people who have found stable employment are being squeezed by the high cost of living, health care, housing, childcare, and utilities. Too many people who work hard can't afford the little extras to have a good life – like owning a home, taking your family on vacation, or going out to eat.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after voting in favor of H.R. 7148, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026, which funds the Departments of Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development. “I voted in favor of this Consolidated Appropriations Act because it rejects the President’s extreme cuts proposed in his FY26 budget. I commend Ranking Member DeLauro for advancing core Democratic priorities in the bill, including investments in public health, affordable housing and childcare, and safe transit infrastructure, and many others. Democrats were also successful in eliminating dozens of extreme, partisan poison pill policy provisions pushed by Congressional Republicans and President Trump. These provisions would have prohibited access to reproductive healthcare services, eliminated gun violence prevention research, allowed junk health insurance plans, harmed Americans struggling to repay their student loans, cut funding for infrastructure projects in states that did not support President Trump in 2024, and repealed critical worker protections against wage theft.

WASHINGTON – Today, Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA-03), House Committee on Education and Workforce, and Representative Morgan McGarvey (D-KY-03), reintroduced the Black Lung Benefits Improvement Act, legislation that would help miners who have suffered from black lung disease access the workers’ compensation and benefits they are entitled to receive under the federal Black Lung Benefits Program. This legislation significantly reduces barriers, such as complex claims processes and lack of legal representation, that prevent miners and their survivors from accessing benefits.

WASHINGTON – Today, House labor leaders will introduce the Labor Enforcement to Securely (LET’S) Protect Workers Act. The LET’S Protect Workers Act is a transformative bill that will protect America’s workers and crack down on dishonest employers and corporations by raising penalties for violations of workers’ rights and protections. The bill introduction is accompanied by a damning report entitled, “A Slap on the Wrist: How it Pays for Dishonest Employers to Take Advantage of Workers” which illustrates how current civil monetary penalties for labor violations fall short, allowing dishonest employers to exploit workers.

WASHINGTON — Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA), House Committee on Education and Workforce and Ranking Member Ilhan Omar (D-MN), House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, urged the Department of Labor (DOL) to enforce the Black Lung Self-Insurance Rule, which requires coal operators to contribute their fair share to the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund (BLDTF). Under federal law, coal mine operators are required to provide cash assistance and medical care for miners they employ who become disabled by black lung disease.