News
House Democrats unveil higher education plan to lower college costs
by Danielle Douglas-Gabriel
10.15.19 The Democratic-controlled House is expected Tuesday to release a plan to make college more affordable and schools more accountable for students' success, reviving fraught efforts to reauthorize the main federal law governing higher education. Compared with some of the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates' higher education proposals, including student debt forgiveness, the House bill is pretty tame. Still, the legislative package - provided in advance to The Washington Post - delivers ref… Continue Reading
Report Reveals Department of Education Ignored Warnings About Public Service Loan Forgiveness
by Sara Weissman
10.12.19 A new report by the House Committee on Education and Labor shows that the Department of Education disregarded signs that Public Service Loan Forgiveness wasn't being implemented properly. The report - "Broken Promises: How the Department of Education Failed Its Public Servants" - reveals internal audits in 2016 and 2017 that raised concerns about FedLoan, the single servicer contracted to implement the program. Borrowers have complained about misinformation, miscounted qualifying payments and u… Continue Reading
Congressman Bobby Scott hosts student roundtable at Hampton University
10.09.19 Congressman Bobby Scott convened a forum at Hampton University with students and administrators from across Hampton Roads to discuss the cost of college. This roundtable comes as Congress is working to reauthorize the Higher Education Act. Higher education is still out of reach for too many Americans. As Chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, Congressman Scott will be introducing a comprehensive higher education bill to cut the cost of college, lift the burden of student loa… Continue Reading
Lawmakers call for OSHA emphasis program after CDC report on silicosis among stone fabrication workers
10.08.19 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning of "an emerging public health threat" after researchers identified an increase in cases of silicosis - an incurable lung disease - among workers who handle engineered stone used to make household countertops. Silicosis is caused by inhaling particles of crystalline silica. Researchers identified 18 silicosis cases between 2017 and 2019 involving stone fabrication workers in four states using a California hospital's discharge data, a Colo… Continue Reading
Lawmakers seek protections for workers against lung damage tied to making countertops
by Neil Greenfieldboyce
10.07.19 Lawmakers in Congress are calling on the Department of Labor to do more to protect workers who may be unsafely cutting "engineered stone" used for countertops. The material contains high levels of the mineral silica, and breathing in silica dust is dangerous. While silica is found in natural stones, like granite, engineered stone made of quartz can be more than 90 percent silica. This type of artificial stone has become increasingly popular among Americans for kitchen and bathroom countertops … Continue Reading
EBSA ready for reorganization, though Congress has questions
by Brian Croce
09.30.19 The Employee Benefits Security Administration is slated to be reorganized Oct. 1 with the creation of another deputy assistant secretary position, but calls for delay are coming from Capitol Hill. Preston Rutledge, the assistant secretary of labor who leads EBSA, told staff in an Aug. 27 email that the agency will soon have three deputy assistant secretaries who report directly to him instead of the two in place today. Additionally, oversight responsibilities will be allocated differently among… Continue Reading
House Committee Advances Sweeping Labor Rights Bill
by Lisa Nagele-Piazza
09.30.19 A bill that's working its way through the U.S House of Representatives would strengthen union power and create stiffer penalties for employers who violate federal labor law. The House Education and Labor Committee recently voted 26-21 to advance the bill, with Democrats voting for and Republicans voting against the measure. The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, H.R. 2474, was introduced by Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., and is co-sponsored by more than 200 Democratic House members. The b… Continue Reading
House panel advances labor rights bill
by Eleanor Mueller
09.25.19 The House Education and Labor Committee on Wednesday advanced a labor rights bill, H.R. 2474 (116), by a party-line vote of 26-21. The bill is "the most comprehensive legislation in recent history to strengthen workers' right to organize and bargain for higher wages, better benefits and safer working conditions," Chairman Bobby Scott (D-Va.) said at the markup. Ranking member Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) countered that the legislation was nothing more than "a sweeping and radical wishlist designed t… Continue Reading
House labor committee to mark up major labor overhaul bill
by Rebecca Rainey
09.23.19 The House Education and Labor Committee will hold a full committee markup on Wednesday of Democrats' sweeping legislation to overhaul federal labor laws, a committee aide confirmed to POLITICO. The "Protecting the Right to Organize Act," H.R. 2474 (116), would strengthen collective bargaining rights and increase penalties on employers. Notably, the "PRO Act" would allow workers in some circumstances to form a union through "card check" - an informal process that avoids a secret ballot election… Continue Reading
House Committee Hearing Probes Problems with the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
by Sara Weissman
09.19.19 Kelly Finlaw, a middle school art teacher at I.S. 128 in New York City, thought she qualified for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), a federal program that forgives student loans for public servants with 10 years of on-time payments. Her loan servicer at the time told her she was on track for the program every year for a decade. But in 2017, her application was denied. "I need to resign myself that I'm going to die with this debt," Finlaw said. "This program was supposed to protect me. I … Continue Reading
House panel advances bill collecting data on school shootings amid GOP protests
by Nicole Gaudiano
09.18.19 Members of the House education committee clashed Wednesday on a data-gathering bill for school shootings, with Democrats voting to approve it during a markup session over the objections of Republicans who called it a political stunt. The heated debate over H.R. 4301 (116) offers yet another example of the challenges Congress faces in addressing gun violence. The bill, which was approved 27-22 on a party-line vote, calls for a wide range of data on school shootings and would also define "mass sh… Continue Reading
Obama-era rule to collect worker pay data is headed for the chopping block
by Jena Mcgregor
09.13.19 The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Wednesday it plans to shelve an Obama-era rule to collect pay data in what Democratic lawmakers and advocates said was a setback to efforts to achieve equal pay for women and people of color. The decision - yet another twist in the years-long fight to get employers to share more data about how they pay their employees - marks another win for the business community and the Trump administration's deregulation agenda. The EEOC is charged with … Continue Reading
In A Truly Fair America, Every Day Would Be Labor Day
by Congressman Elijah Cummings
09.13.19 On our national Labor Day just passed, I paused to recall how, for my family, like so many others, our struggles for civil rights and economic rights have always been intertwined. We must remember and never hesitate to speak this truth. Labor Day must be about more than the momentary pleasures of fireworks or a parade. Labor Day must be both a remembrance of our past hardships and progress and a collective recommitment to our continuing struggles today. The Lessons of our History Our hist… Continue Reading
Congress Promised Student Borrowers A Break. Education Dept. Rejected 99% Of Them
by Cory Turner
09.05.19 A new report from a government watchdog, first obtained by NPR, says an expanded effort by Congress to forgive the student loans of public servants is remarkably unforgiving. Congress created the expansion program last year in response to a growing outcry. Thousands of borrowers - nurses, teachers and other public servants - complained that the requirements for the original program were so rigid and poorly communicated that lawmakers needed to step in. But, documents show, even this expansion o… Continue Reading
Democrats Want More Review of DOL’s Religious Defense Rule
by Paige Smith
08.29.19 House Democrats are calling for the Labor Department to extend the public comment period on a proposal that would codify current religious defenses that federal contractors can use when accused of discrimination. House Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Bobby Scott (D-Va.) and Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Human Services Chair Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.) requested the deadline for comments on the proposed rule be extended to Oct. 16, according to a letter obtained by Bloomberg Law. The … Continue Reading
House education chairman slams Trump 'public charge' immigration rule
by Nicole Gaudiano
08.12.19 The chairman of the House education committee on Monday strongly criticized a Trump administration "public charge" rule, saying it will "inflict severe and unnecessary hardship" on immigrants. "It is inconsistent with our principles and it will have terrible consequences for communities across the country," Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) said in a statement, warning that immigrants could be forced to choose between basic assistance for food, shelter and health care and potential separation from thei… Continue Reading
School Lunch Could Be Slashed For Thousands of California Children Under Federal Proposal
by Zaidee Stavely
08.09.19 Thousands of children in California would no longer qualify for free school lunches if a federal proposal to cut the number of food stamp recipients is finalized. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is asking for public comment on a proposal to restrict the number of families eligible for food stamps to only those with gross incomes of 130 percent of the federal poverty level (about $33,000 for a family of four) or less. Currently many states, including California, allow fami… Continue Reading
Congressman calls for action to combat exploitation in senior residential care industry
by Jennifer Gollan
08.06.19 Rep. Robert C. Scott, D-Va., has called on the nation's top labor regulator to crack down on the rampant exploitation of caregivers in senior residential care homes, many of whom earn as little as $2 an hour to work around the clock with no days off, while some industry operators rake in millions. In a letter to the U.S. Department of Labor, Scott asked the agency to provide a full accounting of its efforts to combat the "troubling trend of wage and hour violations" in senior board-and-care hom… Continue Reading
School lunch could be slashed for thousands of California children under new proposal
by Zaidee Stavely
08.02.19 Thousands of children in California would no longer qualify for free school lunches if a federal proposal to cut the number of food stamp recipients is finalized. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is asking for public comment on a proposal to restrict the number of families eligible for food stamps to only those with gross incomes of 130 percent of the federal poverty level (about $33,000 for a family of four) or less. Currently many states, including California, allow families with higher inc… Continue Reading
500,000 Children May Lose Free School Meals Under Tighter Access to Food Stamps
by Lola Fadulu
07.30.19 More than 500,000 children would lose automatic eligibility for free school meals under a rule proposed last week by the Agriculture Department intended to tighten access to food stamps. The impact on school meals, revealed by Representative Robert C. Scott, Democrat of Virginia and the chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor, was not disclosed when the proposed food stamp rule was published last week. Agriculture officials said the new rule would close a loophole that they said … Continue Reading