Press Releases

WASHINGTON – Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) of the Committee of Education and Workforce demanded answers from Secretary McMahon of the Department of Education (ED or the Department) regarding recent reports that the Office for Civil Rights (OCR)’s recent mass layoffs resulted in pending cases being abandoned without adequate caseworkers. As of January 2025, OCR reported a backlog of over 12,000 cases.

WASHINGTON– Today, Congressional Democrats urged Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to reject any efforts by states to undermine the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which specifically directs funding to high-poverty schools, English as a Second Language programs, afterschool and summer learning, and more.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Mark R. Warner (both D-VA) and U.S. Representatives Bobby Scott (D-VA-03), Gerry Connolly (D-VA-11), Don Beyer (D-VA-08), Jennifer McClellan (D-VA-04), Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA-10), and Eugene Vindman (D-VA-07) wrote to Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. expressing their grave concerns about President Donald Trump’s efforts to undermine the mission of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which have resulted in the dismantling of CDC programs aimed at addressing America’s maternal health crisis. In the letter, the members urge the Trump Administration to protect these vital programs and to strengthen the CDC’s public health efforts.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) and Congresswoman Lucy McBath (GA-06) led 24 other House Democrats in sending a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi urging her to reverse course on the Trump Administration’s plans to eliminate the Community Relations Service (CRS), which was established by the Civil Rights of 1964. CRS is known as “America’s Peacemaker” and brings together law enforcement and local communities to address the root causes of tension and violence in the wake of a mass shooting or other community conflict.

WASHINGTON – Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03), House Committee on Education andWorkforce, issued the following statement after President Trump released his proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2026. “In the first 100 days since Donald Trump has returned to the White House, he has made one thing abundantly clear: he has no plan to improve the lives of students, workers, and families. Instead, he has decimated federal agencies that provide key services, stripped away workers’ rights, and imposed reckless tariffs that threaten to skyrocket prices.

WASHINGTON – Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statisticsannounced that the economy added 177,000 jobs in April, and the unemployment rate remained the same at 4.2 percent. During President Biden’s first 100 days in office, the economy created 1.7 million jobs.  In President Trump’s first 100 days in office, he created less than half a million jobs, and the economy shrank at a rate of 0.3 percent. Under President Biden, the economy added 16.1 million jobs in total and did not have a single month of seasonally adjusted job loss during his entire term.

WASHINGTON – Today, on Workers’ Memorial Day, Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) and Rep. Joe Courtney (CT-02), a senior member of the House Committee on Education and Workforce reintroduced the Protecting America’s Workers Act as the Trump Administration dismantles workplace protections. This bill would meaningfully strengthen and modernize the Occupation Safety and Health Act (OSH-Act) for the first time in over 50 years by ensuring employers promptly correct hazardous working conditions, protect whistleblowers from retaliation, and hold unscrupulous employers accountable for violations that cause illness, serious injury, or death to workers.

WASHINGTON – Today, Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03), Ranking Member of the Committee on Education and Workforce, and Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (VA-11), Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a letter to Catherine Eschbach, Director of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) regarding the Trump Administration’s drastic cuts to OFCCP staff.  These cuts will leave millions of federal contract workers vulnerable to discrimination in the workplace, and without the resources to advocate for themselves.