Committee on Education and Workforce
More on Committee on Education and Workforce
May 1, 2015
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, Congressman Walter Jones (R-NC), Congressman Trey Gowdy (R-SC) and Congressman Tony Cárdenas (D-CA) introduced the Youth Prison Reduction through Opportunities, Mentoring, Intervention, Support, and Education (“Youth PROMISE”) Act (H.R. 2197).
The Youth PROMISE Act will provide resources to communities to engage in comprehensive, evidence-based prevention and intervention strategies to decrease violence, gang crime, illegal drug activity and other crime. Under the Youth PROMISE Act, communities facing the greatest youth gang and crime challenges will each form a local council of representatives from law enforcement, court services, schools, social service organizations, health and mental health providers, the business community, and other public and private community-based organizations, including faith-based organizations. The council will develop a comprehensive plan for implementing evidence-based prevention and intervention strategies for young people who are at-risk of becoming involved, or who are already involved, in gangs, or the criminal justice system to redirect them toward productive and law-abiding alternatives.
April 30, 2015
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA) and U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) introduced the Raise the Wage Act, legislation that would increase the minimum wage to $12 by 2020. The Raise the Wage Act would also index the federal minimum wage to the median wage, and gradually eliminate the subminimum tipped wage. The legislation would raise wages for nearly 38 million American workers.
“Raising the minimum wage to $12 by 2020 will give hardworking, underpaid workers a pay raise that has been long overdue,” said Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA). “Bigger paychecks for working families not only help them make ends meet, it also increases consumer demand and grows our economy. No one working full-time should live in poverty, and we can’t build a strong economy on the backs of impoverished workers. America deserves a raise.”
April 7, 2015
WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) released the following statement today after Senators Lamar Alexander and Patty Murray released details on their agreement on the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
“I commend Senators Alexander and Murray for their efforts to bring forward a bipartisan Elementary and Secondary Education reauthorization bill in the Senate. While we recognize this as an important step in the process, there is still work to do to ensure that the needs of our most vulnerable students are met. Students, teachers, parents, and communities deserve a bill that fulfills ESEA’s original civil rights promise – ensuring that all students, regardless of where they live – have access to high quality public education that prepares them for college and the workplace.
March 24, 2015
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the underlying Republican budget for fiscal year 2016, and I also rise to commend the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Van Hollen) for his strong opposition.
Mr. Chairman, this budget is not a serious plan. It contains trillions of dollars in tax cuts, but it doesn't show a dime's worth of tax increases when they say it is going to be revenue neutral. It includes trillions of dollars in unspecified cuts that will not be made. For example, are we really going to repeal Medicare as we know it?
March 19, 2015
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.), U.S. Congresswoman Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), and U.S. Congressman Danny K. Davis (D-Ill.) were joined by original cosponsors U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and U.S. Congressman Bobby Scott (D-Va.) in introducing the Supportive School Climate Act of 2015, legislation that would address the so-called school-to-prison pipeline by reducing suspensions, expulsions, and other overly harsh school disciplinary actions to improve youth outcomes. The bill would give every student – especially those who face abuse, neglect, or other forms of trauma – ample opportunity to form positive and trusting relationships with adults in a school environment that is supportive of their complex needs, and would encourage the use of evidence-based strategies that promote positive behavior.
March 3, 2015
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Tomorrow, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in David King, et al v. Sylvia Burwell, Secretary of Health and Human Services, et al. The Ranking Members of the House Committees on Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and the Workforce today reiterated their support of the affordability provisions within the Affordable Care Act, as previously noted in an Amicus Brief before the Court. Ranking Members Sander Levin (D-MI), Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), and Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA) released the following joint statement:
“Since day one, our commitment has been to provide quality and affordable health insurance for all Americans, regardless of whether a state chose to operate its own marketplace or let state residents purchase insurance in the federal marketplace. Let us be clear: the Affordable Care Act was structured and designed to improve health insurance coverage and access across the entire country
February 27, 2015
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA) led a bicameral group of Democratic lawmakers in filing an amicus brief opposing the District Court ruling that would maintain the outdated exclusion of home care workers from basic worker protections like minimum wage and overtime. “For too long, home care workers have been denied bedrock minimum wage and overtime protections,” said Congressman Scott. “ As this workforce grows, these workers deserve to be recognized as the professionals they are. I hope that the D.C. circuit court will overturn this misguided decision and extend Fair Labor Standards Act protections to the nearly 2 million workers who would benefit from the Department of Labor’s rule.”
February 25, 2015
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 5, a bill to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, ESEA, a landmark civil rights law enacted under President Lyndon B. Johnson. As we approach the 50-year anniversary of its enactment, we cannot take lightly ESEA's mission, goals, and achievements over the course of five decades. It is by that yardstick of history that we must judge H.R. 5 today and determine if it will move our education system closer to meeting the challenges of the 21st century and prepare our students for the global economy.
February 23, 2015
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, released the following statement today after President Barack Obama announced that the Department of Labor will lay out new standards to ensure retirement advisors act in the best interest of their clients when giving investment advice:
"Today's announcement by the President is another critical step toward improving every American family's retirement security. Too many middle-class and working families are worried about saving enough for retirement. According to recent data, 71 percent of Americans who are not yet retired say that it is too hard keep up with their bills and also save for retirement. And more than half of American households are at risk not saving enough to maintain their current standard of living in retirement. While we need to do more to help families save for retirement, the very least we can do is safeguard the retirement investments they have already made.
February 10, 2015
WASHINGTON, DC – Representatives Jared Polis (D-CO), Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) today introduced the Student Non-Discrimination Act (SNDA), which would help protect public school students from bullying, harassment, and discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Senator Al Franken (D-MN) will be introducing the companion bill in the Senate today. “Evidence shows that discrimination against LGBT students deprives them of equal educational opportunities by increasing their likelihood of skipping school, underperforming academically, and dropping out,” said Rep. Scott, ranking Democratic member on the House Education and the Workforce Committee. “School must be a place where all students feel welcome and safe to thrive.”