Committee on Education and Workforce

WASHINGTON, DC – Education and Labor Committee Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) delivered the following remarks during today’s floor debate on passage of the Improving Access to Workers’ Compensation for Injured Federal Workers Act (H.R. 6087). “Madam Speaker, more than 2 million federal employees provide key services to the public.  In fact, during the height of the pandemic, federal workers were critical to delivering vaccines, personal protective equipment, and other COVID-19 relief to the American people. So, it stands to reason that, when federal workers get sick or injured on the job, we are obligated to provide them—and their families—with the resources and medical care they need.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Biden-Harris Administration announced it will deliver $5.8 billion in debt relief to roughly 560,000 student borrowers, clearing borrower defense claims for those who attended the now defunct Corinthian Colleges, Inc. dating back to 1995. Today’s actions build on efforts to restore access to debt relief for students who were defrauded by predatory colleges. To date, the administration has approved $25 billion in loan forgiveness for more than 1.3 million borrowers. “I applaud Biden-Harris Administration for finally clearing a cloud of uncertainty for defrauded student borrowers who attended the now defunct Corinthian Colleges, Inc. Hundreds of thousands of students were promised that a Corinthian degree would lead to a meaningful career.

NEWPORT NEWS, VA – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), the Chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor, issued the following statement in response to the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas: “My heart is broken for the entire Uvalde community. Parents send their children to school with the basic expectation that they will come home safe at the end of the day. The Uvalde community sadly joins an unfortunately long list of other communities across our country to face such unspeakable atrocities — and less than two weeks since the horrific mass shooting in Buffalo. Yet not one new federal law has been enacted in response to any of those tragedies in order to prevent another.

WASHINGTON, DC – Education and Labor Committee Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) delivered the following remarks during today’s floor debate on passing H.R. 7791, the Access to Baby Formula Act. “Madam Speaker, across the country, the ongoing shortage of formula is disproportionately hurting women and children who rely on the benefits through the WIC program, leaving them with few options to purchase safe formula for their infants. That is because about half of the infants in America participate in the WIC program. In times of crisis, one of our core responsibilities as lawmakers is to ensure that families in need can continue to feed their children and keep them healthy. While I'm encouraged that the Biden administration and Abbott Nutrition have reached an agreement to restart formula production following the company's recall, the immediate consequences facing our children require additional action.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) and Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee Chairman Mark DeSaulnier (CA-11) introduced comprehensive legislation, the Mental Health Matters Act (H.R. 7780), to help confront the mental health crisis for children, students, workers, and families. The proposal includes a series of mental health policy priorities that would help support the behavioral health of students and school staff, strengthen school-based behavioral health care, and ensure access to mental health and substance use disorder benefits for workers and their families.

WASHINGTON, DC – Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Justice released technical assistance documents to help employers prevent disability discrimination when using artificial intelligence and other software tools in the hiring process. “I am grateful that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have taken this important step to ensure that new hiring technologies do not discriminate against job applicants

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Education and Labor Committee Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) delivered the following remarks during today’s floor debate on passing H.R. 2499 Federal Firefighters Fairness Act of 2022. “Across the country, roughly 15,000 firefighters employed by the federal government currently work to fight wildfires, respond to hurricanes, protect military and Veterans Affairs facilities, and keep our communities safe. Like all firefighters, federal firefighters face enormous health risks in order to carry out their heroic work.  On any given day, federal firefighters will be exposed to dangerous levels of carbon monoxide, diesel smoke, toxic chemicals, and other serious hazards.

WASHINGTON, DC – Education and Labor Committee Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) submitted the following statement for the record in support of House staff’s right to organize and form a union. “I rise in support of ensuring that House staffers have the same fundamental rights to organize and collectively bargain as workers across the nation. Unions play an essential role in providing higher wages, better benefits, and safer workplaces. For decades, unions workers have consistently enjoyed 10- to 20-percent higher wages than their non-union counterparts. The benefits of union membership are so strong that studies show even the children of union workers enjoy greater economic mobility.