Committee on Education and Workforce

WASHINGTON, DC – Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the House passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201)—a legislative package to address the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Americans’ health and financial security. “The spread of COVID-19 will present increasingly severe challenges for students, workers, and families across the country.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03), Workforce Protections Subcommittee Chair Alma Adams (NC-12), Rep. Mark Takano (CA-41), and Rep. Susie Lee (NV-03) introduced the Emergency Family and Medical Leave Expansion Act (H.R. 6220) to ensure workers have access to extended, job-protected leave to care for themselves and their families amid the COVID-19 epidemic.

WASHINGTON, DC — House Democrats introduced the Families First Coronavirus Response Act to bolster the federal government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak and address the severe impacts of the coronavirus on Americans’ personal safety and financial security. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act, expected to be considered in the House on today, is sponsored by Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita M. Lowey (D-NY) and co-sponsored by Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (D-VA), Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-MA), and Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN).

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the House unanimously passed the Supporting Older Americans Act of 2020 (H.R. 4334), a bipartisan proposal that increases funding for vital programs that help aging Americans live independently and with dignity. The legislation – which passed the Senate last week – reauthorizes the Older Americans Act (OAA), the primary legislation that covers social and nutrition services for older Americans and their caregivers.

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Reps. Bobby Scott (VA-3), Chair of the Education and Labor Committee and Marcia L. Fudge (OH-11), Chair of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition, Oversight and Department Operations, introduced the Pandemic EBT Act to provide states the option to extend Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits (or “Pandemic EBT”) to households with children attending schools that are closed due to a public health emergency based on the coronavirus disease.

WASHINGTON, DC – Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Senate passed S.J.Res.56, the Senate version of House Democrats’ first use of the Congressional Review Act that reverses the Department of Education’s Borrower Defense rule, which would deny debt relief to students defrauded by predatory colleges. "Student borrowers who are defrauded by predatory colleges should have access to timely and meaningful debt relief.

WASHINGTON, DC – Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced guidance to weaken protections for health care workers and emergency responders caring for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19. “I recognize that individual facilities may face shortages of certain types of personal protective equipment, including N95 respirators, but there is no evidence that surgical masks are adequate to prevent exposure of frontline health care workers to the virus that causes COVID19.

WASHINGTON, DC – Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Department of Labor issued a final rule on Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAPs). “Registered Apprenticeship programs have a proven record of providing workers in-demand skills and a pathway to the middle class. According to the Department of Labor, there is now a 94 percent placement rate for workers who complete a Registered Apprenticeship, with an average starting salary of $70,000 a year.