Committee on Education and Workforce
More on Committee on Education and Workforce
March 9, 2018
WASHINGTON, DC – Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Department of Education (ED) published a ‘notice of interpretation’ of state’s rights to protect federal student loan borrowers. “In recent years, there have been numerous credible claims of servicing failures stemming from potentially unethical practices and purposeful misinformation provided to student loan borrowers. States under both Democratic and Republican leadership have rightly increased their investigation of such claims; implemented additional consumer protections for borrowers in their states; and where appropriate, taken legal action. States are well within their rights to enact and enforce consumer protection laws.
March 6, 2018
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), ranking member of the Education and the Workforce Committee, released the following statement after the Department of Education (ED) Office of Inspector General (OIG) released their recommendations for H.R.4508. “Independent analysis continues to confirm what we have said about H.R. 4508 from the beginning, it makes college more expensive for students and is a wish list for for-profit schools. Our claim that it will make college more expensive was supported by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office’s analysis that the bill slashes $15 billion from federal student aid. And today, the Office of the Inspector General has confirmed that the ‘accountability’ provisions in H.R. 4508 could result in less scrutiny of the sector responsible for the overwhelming majority of OIG investigations and monetary recoveries.
March 5, 2018
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), ranking member of the Education and the Workforce Committee, released the following statement after the Department of Education announced their final list of priorities last Friday March 2, 2018. “As with many recent actions by the Department, I am deeply disappointed with Friday’s announcement. I am disappointed by the Secretary’s failure to heed the advice of many commenters, including Members of Congress, who urged her to abandon school privatization proposals and focus on making sure every public school succeeds. I am disappointed that the words espoused in the final priorities –‘ to support the needs of students with disabilities and improve school climate’ – do not align with recent actions taken by the Department to remove protections for students of color with disabilities and undermine the efficacy of the Office of Civil Rights.
March 1, 2018
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to rise, on behalf of Congressman Morgan Griffith and myself, to recognize the achievements of Ron Carson who has made the plight of tens of thousands of disabled coal miners a central part of his life's work. Through his decades of work directing three black lung clinics in Southwest Virginia, and tireless advocacy efforts across the coal fields of this country, he offered help and hope to miners whose lungs were irreversibly scarred with the scourge of black lung disease.
February 27, 2018
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA), ranking member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for a two year delay of the Equity in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) rule, which addresses disproportionate identification, placement, and disciplinary treatment of students of color in special education. When Congress last reauthorized the IDEA in 2004, it sought to correct disparate treatment of students of color with disabilities by requiring states, for the first time, to identify school districts with, and direct federal resources to address, gross inequities.
February 23, 2018
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after being appointed by House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi to the Joint Select Committee on Solvency of Multiemployer Pension Plans (Joint Select Committee). Ranking Member Scott is one of only 16 Members of Congress to be appointed to it. Established by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, the Joint Select Committee is responsible for putting forward solutions to Congress before the year’s end to significantly improve the solvency of multiemployer pension plans and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).
February 15, 2018
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Chair, H.R. 620, the so-called ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017, is an attack on the civil rights of Americans with disabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act, or the ADA, is a civil rights law passed in 1990 to protect people with disabilities from discrimination in all aspects of society.
I recognize that the ADA falls within the committee jurisdiction of the Judiciary Committee, and I am here as the ranking member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce because, if H.R. 620 were to become law, it would have a profound effect on students and workers with disabilities who are trying to learn, work, or just generally access their community.
February 15, 2018
WASHINGTON, DC – Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the House passed H.R. 620, the ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017. The legislation attacks the civil rights of Americans with disabilities. “Passage of H.R. 620 is the latest attack on the rights of individuals with disabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a bipartisan civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities and ensures access to places of employment and schools, as well as public buildings and services. H.R. 620 undermines the goals of the ADA to create a more inclusive society and provide equal participation for all members of the community."
February 12, 2018
WASHINGTON, DC – Ranking Member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the White House released an outline of its Fiscal Year 2019 budget priorities. “The administration’s budget proposal does not prioritize America’s students and workers. President Trump’s budget hurts students by eliminating vital early childhood and K-12 education programs to divert $1 billion to private school vouchers; slashing federal grant aid to make college more expensive; and, continuing to woefully underfund special education. Additionally, a separate infrastructure proposal by this administration would siphon funds from the Pell grant program to fund short term workforce training initiatives which also lacks a dedicated federal funding stream."
February 7, 2018
WASHINGTON, DC -- Representative Bobby Scott (VA-03), ranking Member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and Representatives Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) released the following statement in response to the paid parental leave proposal announced today by Senate Republicans: “This proposal would put pressure on Social Security’s already strained resources,” said Ranking Member Bobby Scott. “While I’m encouraged there’s bipartisan support for paid family and medical leave, we should not shortchange Social Security benefits for seniors to accomplish that desirable goal.”