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WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) and Subcommittee on Workforce Protections Chairwoman Alma Adams (NC-12), introduced the Black Lung Benefits Disability Trust Fund Solvency Act of 2019 (H.R. 3876). This legislation would extend the black lung excise tax, which expired at the end of last year, to fund future benefits and health care for miners suffering from black lung disease. Without revenue from the tax, the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund is at-risk of becoming insolvent at a time when the number of black lung cases is rapidly increasing. A May 2018 GAO report found that failure to extend the tax rate will increase the Fund’s debt from approximately $5 billion to $15 billion by 2050.
WASHINGTON, DC – Following the announcement of a proposed rule this morning from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that would eliminate broad-based categorical eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, the Chairmen of the House Committees on Education and Labor, Ways and Means, and Agriculture issued statements on the potential of the rule to keep millions of Americans from the temporary food assistance they need. “Despite clear evidence that nutrition is critical to a child’s health and development, the administration’s proposed rule would jeopardize access to free school meals for more than 500,000 low-income children.”
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor, sent a letter to Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos expressing deep concern over the Department’s role in the abrupt closure of Dream Center Education Holdings—a recently defunct, for-profit higher education company.
The letter details newly obtained documents suggesting that the Department of Education enabled Dream Center to mislead students regarding the accreditation status of two Dream Center-owned schools. The documents also reveal that despite knowledge of Dream Center’s false claims of accreditation, the Department did not immediately require the for-profit company to take corrective action. Instead, the Department supported efforts to retroactively accredit the institutions in question by rewriting Department policy.
WASHINGTON, DC – Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the House voted to pass the Raise the Wage Act, which gradually raises the minimum wage to $15 by 2025. “Today, House Democrats took a major step toward raising wages for up to 33 million American workers. After more than 10 years with no increase in the federal minimum wage – the longest stretch in history – the minimum wage is now a poverty wage everywhere in America.
July 18, 2019
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Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, the idea behind the Federal minimum wage is simple: Hardworking Americans should be paid at least enough to provide for themselves and their families.
After nearly seven in 10 voters in Arkansas decided to increase the state’s minimum wage, Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Newport News, is betting the four GOP members of Congress who represent that state will have a tough time voting against his proposal for a gradual increase in the federal minimum. That federal minimum wage has been set at $7.25 an hour since 2009. Arkansas began raising its minimum in 2014, and voted again last November for another increase.In fact, says Scott, even by 2021, the $11 an hour minimum wage that Arkansas voters set will be higher than the gradual increases his measure would phase in. Scott aims to bring the national minimum to $15 an hour in gradual steps over the next six years.
July 17, 2019
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Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3305, Designating the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 2509 George Mason Drive in Virginia Beach, Virginia as the ``Ryan Keith Cox Post Office Building.'' I appreciate my colleague, the gentlelady from Virginia, Mrs. LURIA, for introducing this bill.
Issues:Civil Rights
July 15, 2019
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Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, we are considering the Raise the Wage Act later this week. That proposal will gradually increase the Federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025, and after that, adjust for inflation.
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2500, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2020, including two amendments offered by Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03). “This NDAA provides funding for a strong, smart national defense strategy, including an important bipartisan amendment to prohibit federal funds from being used for any military force against Iran without congressional authorization."
Issues:Defense & National Security
WASHINGTON, DC – Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after Department of Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta resigned. “Given the serious questions about his handling of the Epstein case and his failure to take responsibility for his conduct, Mr. Acosta was no longer entitled to public confidence. Accordingly, he made the appropriate decision to step down. However, Mr. Acosta’s resignation does not absolve the Justice Department of its obligation to release a full review of the Epstein case, which I requested along with other Members more than six months ago.