Committee on Education and Workforce
More on Committee on Education and Workforce
December 16, 2020
NEWPORT NEWS, VA – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) announced the winners of the annual Congressional App Challenge in Virginia’s Third Congressional District. Abdalla Elrahhal, a junior at Denbigh High School and New Horizons Regional Education Center, was selected as the winner. Elrahhal submitted “SpeedyCPR,” an app designed to call 911 while displaying video instructions and demonstrations for performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
December 15, 2020
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Robert C. “Bobby" Scott (VA-03), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee released the following statement in response to the Department of Labor announcing its final fiduciary rule. “This weak rule will hurt workers, retirees, and families across the country by letting unscrupulous financial advisors put their own interests ahead of their clients.
December 15, 2020
WASHINGTON, DC – Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General (OIG) released the findings of its investigation into the Department’s rulemaking process for its 2017 proposed tip rule. The report found that, among other errors, the Department improperly withheld information regarding the expected impact of the rule on tipped workers. The 2019 proposed tip rule places no limitation on the amount of time a tipped employee can perform related, non-tipped activities and still be paid the subminimum wage.
December 15, 2020
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) expressed deep concern to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Chair Janet Dhillon regarding the plan to limit the EEOC attorneys’ authority. Under this proposal, all lawsuits must first be subject to a Commission vote before they can be filed, which could significantly delay and hinder the enforcement of civil rights laws. The Commission attempted the vote in July 2019, but it was ultimately withdrawn. “This change will significantly delay the administration of justice. Additionally, taking litigation filing authority away from attorneys familiar with the cases is likely to lead to decisions being made based more on a political agenda rather than the merits of any case,” wrote Chairman Scott.
December 14, 2020
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Departments of Education, Labor, and Health and Human Services – along with several other agencies – finalized a sweeping set of rules that would allow broad religious discrimination against employees, beneficiaries, and students in federally funded programs. “The finalization of eight department rules to undermine the rights of employees and beneficiaries of federally funded programs underscores this administration’s fundamental misunderstanding of ‘religious liberty.’
December 12, 2020
WASHINGTON, DC – Key House and Senate Committee leaders announced a bipartisan agreement on legislation to protect patients from surprise medical bills and establish a fair framework to resolve payment disputes between health care providers and health insurance companies. The deal was agreed to by House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA) and Ranking Member Virginia Foxx (R-NC), House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Ranking Member Greg Walden (R-OR), House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-MA) and Ranking Member Kevin Brady (R-TX), and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA).
December 10, 2020
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). “Five years ago, we came together to pass the Every Students Succeeds Act (ESSA) with the intent of bringing our country one step closer to achieving equity in education – the promise enshrined in the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education.
December 7, 2020
WASHINGTON, DC – Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after President-elect Biden nominated California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
“I applaud President-elect Biden’s nomination of California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to be the next Secretary of Health and Human Services. Becerra has an extensive career from serving in the California General Assembly, the U.S. House of Representatives – including as a Member of the Education and Labor Committee – and, most recently, fighting on behalf of Californians as the attorney general.
December 7, 2020
WASHINGTON, DC – Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) finalized a rule to gut nondiscrimination protections by vastly expanding religious exemptions to Executive Order 11246, which prohibit discrimination in hiring by federal contractors. “Today, the Trump administration finalized a rule to weaken anti-discrimination protections in federal contracting. The new rules gives taxpayer-funded contractors, including some for-profit corporations, the power to hire and fire employees for any potentially discriminatory reasons, except race, under the guise of religious freedom.
December 4, 2020
WASHINGTON, DC – Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statisticsannounced that the economy added 245,000 jobs in November with the unemployment rate at 6.7 percent.
“Today’s report signals that economic recovery is continuing to slow as our nation faces one of the worst economic and public health crises in history. As COVID-19 cases and deaths skyrocket in nearly every state across the country, we continue to confront the disastrous impacts of the Trump Administration’s failed response to the pandemic. Let’s be clear: Record-high jobless claims are not a reflection of a successful economy. Just last week, more than 700,000 Americans filed new unemployment insurance claims—continuing to exceed the record-high number of claims under previous administrations (695,000 claims in October 1982). Initial unemployment claims under President Trump for each of the last 37 consecutive weeks have exceeded unemployment claims under any other president in the history of the program.