Committee on Education and Workforce
More on Committee on Education and Workforce
October 1, 2019
WASHINGTON, DC – Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after a district judge in Boston upheld Harvard's admissions process in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. Harvard Corporation.
“The District Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. Harvard Corporation affirms the constitutionality of admissions policies that recognize that there is a compelling interest in advancing a diverse student body. There is extensive research that diverse campuses expand access to a quality, well-rounded education.
“The statistical analysis highlighted in this case reveals an important fact about current admissions policies. Race and ethnicity are among the many criteria that institutions of higher education evaluate in their quest to ensure a diverse learning environment. It is curious that this lawsuit seeks to cast aside these criteria without giving similar scrutiny to the role of legacy admissions and familial connections.
September 27, 2019
WASHINGTON, DC – Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced today that it is vacating the June 27, 2017, proposed rule to roll back protections for construction and maritime workers from exposure to beryllium. That proposal would have eliminated ancillary protections that had been included in OSHA’s final beryllium standards issued on January 9, 2017. The compliance date for the ancillary provision will now be extended from March 2018 to September 2020. “I am relieved that OSHA has finally reversed course on its plan to eliminate essential health and safety protections for maritime and construction workers exposed to beryllium.
September 24, 2019
WASHINGTON, DC – Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Department of Labor published a final rule to raise the overtime salary threshold to $35,568 from $23,660. Under the Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA), hourly workers and salaried workers who earn below a salary threshold set by the Department of Labor are automatically eligible for overtime pay of one-and-a-half times their regular rate of pay for any hours worked over 40 in a workweek. “American workers have not seen a meaningful update to the overtime rule for nearly four decades. As a result, millions of salaried workers are putting in 50- and 60-hour weeks while still being paid for just 40 hours of work.
September 19, 2019
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03), Representative Susie Lee (NV-03), along with Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), introduced legislation to invest in and support direct care workers. The Direct Creation, Advancement, and Retention of Employment (CARE) Opportunity Act (H.R. 4397) invests in training and employment advancement opportunities for America’s direct care workers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than a million direct care workers will be needed by 2024.
September 17, 2019
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the House voted to pass the FUTURE Act, a bipartisan proposal to preserve funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges or Universities (TCUs), and other Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs). The legislation extends funding for these institutions that was set to expire on September 30, 2019. “The funding that supports Minority-Serving Institutions is the only program authorized in the Higher Education Act that expires if it is not reauthorized this year."
September 6, 2019
WASHINGTON, DC – Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the economy added 130,000 jobs in August and the unemployment rate held at 3.7 percent. “Despite a consistently low unemployment rate, today’s jobs report adds to extensive evidence showing that millions of Americans are suffering from inadequate wage growth in an economy that is simply not working for everyone. Moreover, President Trump’s needless trade war with China has actually hurt the American manufacturing sector and done nothing to raise workers’ wages.
September 5, 2019
WASHINGTON, DC – Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement on the retirement of Chair Susan Davis (CA-53), Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Investment. “Throughout her nearly two decades representing California’s 53rd Congressional District, Congresswoman Susan Davis has been an effective and tireless advocate for her constituents. Through her leadership on this committee, she has championed efforts to strengthen registered apprenticeship programs, make college more affordable and accessible for all, and combat campus sexual assault.
August 15, 2019
WASHINGTON, DC – Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Contracting Compliance Programs proposed a new rule which would gut nondiscrimination protections by vastly expanding religious exemptions to Executive Order 11246, which prohibit discrimination in hiring by federal contractors, including on the basis of both sexual orientation and gender identity. “The administration’s proposal to weaken anti-discrimination protections in federal contracting would give taxpayer-funded for-profit corporations extraordinary power to hire and fire employees based on religious beliefs.
August 12, 2019
WASHINGTON, DC – Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security released a final rule to expand grounds for denying legal U.S. residency to immigrants. “The administration’s final ‘public charge’ rule will inflict severe and unnecessary hardship on immigrant families. The rule will force hundreds of thousands of immigrants to choose between forgoing basic assistance for food, shelter, and health care, or risk being separated from their families. According to the Urban Institute, one in seven families chose not to receive public benefits in 2018 for fear of risking future green card status.
August 2, 2019
WASHINGTON, DC – Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the economy added 164,000 jobs in July and the unemployment rate held at 3.7 percent. “After 106 straight months of private sector job growth, workers and middle-class families are still not receiving a fair share of economic growth. Today’s jobs report adds to an extensive body of evidence showing that the low unemployment rate is not resulting in sufficient wage growth for millions of Americans.