Committee on Education and Workforce
More on Committee on Education and Workforce
May 17, 2016
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Committee on Education and the Workforce Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) and Committee on the Judiciary Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (MI-13) unveiled the findings of a new report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on actions needed to reduce racial and socioeconomic segregation, and address disparities in K-12 public schools. Ranking Members Scott and Conyers, along with retired Congressman and former Ranking Member George Miller, first requested this report in May 2014.
Sixty-two years ago, the Supreme Court struck down lawful school segregation in the Brown v. Board of Education decision, stating that “it is doubtful that any child may reasonable be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the opportunity of an education” The decision also affirmed that education was a right that “must be made available to all on equal terms.” GAO gathered data for this report from the Department of Education and confirmed that increasing segregation along the lines of race and poverty continue to be a driver for inequities in education.
May 17, 2016
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA), ranking member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee released the following statements after the Department of Labor announced its final overtime rule. The new rule would raise the salary threshold to $47,476, expanding overtime eligibility to 4.2 million workers and boosting wages for workers by $12 billion over the next 10 years. The rule will also give overworked Americans back precious time with their families by incentivizing employers to hire additional workers or give part-timers more hours that they want and need. Employers will no longer be able to force low-paid employees to work those extra hours for free. Murray and Scott have been the leading voices in Congress encouraging the Obama Administration to update overtime protections.
May 11, 2016
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4843, the Infant Plan of Safe Care Improvement Act.
Mr. Speaker, one of our highest national priorities should be to ensure that children have early quality opportunities to remove barriers to success in future life. But children born dependent on addictive substances face severe obstacles to overcome, and we know that many of these obstacles can be removed.
April 29, 2016
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.R. 4901, which would reauthorize the D.C. voucher program, known as the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, through 2021.
We don't spend enough money on education, so it is hard to justify diverting scarce public resources in order to finance private school education for a handful of students at the expense of the vast majority who attend public schools. Instead, we should focus our limited public resources on initiatives that improve education for all of our children. This is the promise of a public school education in the United States, but the voucher programs undermine that promise while hiding behind the guise of school choice for students in need.
April 28, 2016
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.J. Res. 88. This Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval would undo the Department of Labor's final rule that simply ensures financial advisers act in the best interests of their clients with retirement funds.
Now, this is a Department of Labor rule that only applies to workers' retirement funds. In times past, people would retire and receive a defined benefit. They would just retire and get their promised income. But now, we have what are called defined contribution plans, where the money is invested and, over the years, if someone, even a modest-income person, invests over his 40-year career, he could easily amass a fund of hundreds of thousands of dollars, even $1 million if they start early and invest consistently.
April 27, 2016
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, more than 60 years ago, Congress responded to the Defense Department's concern that so many children were malnourished, they would be unfit for military service, that they passed the National School Lunch Act as a measure of national security to safeguard the health and well-being of our Nation's children.
Through the enactment of the first Federal child nutrition program, Congress recognized that feeding hungry children is not just a moral imperative, it is vital to the health and security of our Nation.
Mr. Speaker, I serve as the ranking member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. Our committee is tasked with making sure that all children have an equal shot at success, so it is only fitting that child nutrition programs fall within our committee's jurisdiction.
April 6, 2016
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released the final “conflict of interest” rule to protect workers’ retirement savings and ensure they receive investment advice that’s in their best interest.
“I strongly support the Department of Labor’s ‘conflict of interest’ rule, which finally closes gaping loopholes in a critical retirement savings regulation that dates back to 1975. When workers seek out personalized financial advice on how to invest their retirement nest egg, they are making one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives. These workers and their families often place their full trust and confidence in their financial advisor.
April 1, 2016
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement today after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that during the month of March, the economy added 215,000 jobs:
“Today’s job report represents the 73rd consecutive month of private sector job growth with unemployment steady at 5 percent. This extends the longest streak of job growth on record, which was previously set in April 2000 at 51 months. This is welcome news, however more work must be done to support the economic recovery and strengthen working families.
March 21, 2016
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the legislation today, which provides for a 3-year reauthorization of the Older Americans Act.
Mr. Speaker, the Committee on Education and the Workforce has been committed to seeing this legislation through. I want to particularly thank, on our side, the ranking member of the subcommittee, Mr. Hinojosa, and Representative Bonamici. I want to thank them and Chairman Kline, Representative Curbelo, and all of the members of our committee, for making the passage of this bill a reality.