News
Alex Azar, Health Secretary, Denies Sabotaging Insurance Markets
by Robert Pear
06.06.18 Alex M. Azar II, the secretary of health and human services, denied on Wednesday that Trump administration policies were driving up health insurance costs, which many experts expect to surge again in 2019. Mr. Azar, testifying before a House committee, vigorously disputed suggestions by Democrats that President Trump had sabotaged Affordable Care Act marketplaces, where millions of people obtain insurance subsidized by the federal government. In the market as it now exists, he said, "there's n… Continue Reading
CNN Obtains Report Showing Fund for Coal Miners with Black Lung is in Trouble
by Elizabeth Cohen and John Bonifield
06.04.18 A US government fund that helps coal miners sickened with black lung disease is beset by billions of dollars in debt, according to a government watchdog report obtained by CNN. Now, some congressional leaders worry the miners could lose their benefits. More than 14,000 miners depend on the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund to pay their medical bills and help with other expenses when they're too sick to work. The report from the US Government Accountability Office finds that by 2050, the tru… Continue Reading
Coal Miners' Fund Set For Deep Cuts As Black Lung Epidemic Grows
by Howard Berkes
06.04.18 A new government report says that the federal black lung trust fund that helps sick and dying coal miners pay living and medical expenses could incur a $15 billion deficit in the next 30 years. That's if a congressionally mandated funding cut occurs as planned at the end of the year. The cut in the funding formula comes as NPR has reported and government researchers have confirmed an epidemic of the most advanced stages of black lung, along with unprecedented clusters of the disease in the cent… Continue Reading
Coal lobby fights black-lung tax as disease rates surge
by Valerie Volcovici
06.01.18 As a young man, Barry Shrewsbury dug coal in the West Virginia mines and spent his time off hunting and fishing in the rolling hills. Now, at 62, he struggles to breathe and accomplish basic tasks such as shopping and showering, and relies on a federal fund for ex-miners with black lung disease to pay for an oxygen tank and doctor visits. "The benefits are a lifeline," Shrewsbury said between labored breaths after a treatment at the Bluestone Health Center, an industrial-style building set aga… Continue Reading
Did Betsy DeVos Just Suggest that Schools Roll Back Students’ Civil Rights?
by Catherine Lhamon
05.30.18 Education Secretary Betsy DeVos' testimony during Congress' first oversight hearing in nearly a year and a half of her tenure confirmed the crisis moment at which the nation now teeters with respect to civil rights in education. After repeated past failures even to commit that the federal Department of Education would enforce federal civil rights laws in schools, Secretary DeVos inexplicably claimed during this month's oversight testimony that local school administrators retain a choice whether… Continue Reading
Democrats grill DeVos on school shooting response, transgender students
by Juana Summers
05.22.18 Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Tuesday addressed the deadly shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas, telling House lawmakers the shooting "was only the most recent, devastating reminder that our nation must come together to address the underlying issues that create a culture of violence." "Our commitment to every student's success is one we must renew every day, but first we must ensure our children are safe at school," she said. DeVos also said the school safety commission she oversee… Continue Reading
Education Secretary DeVos Acknowledges Problems With Teacher Grant Program
by Cory Turner
05.22.18 AUDIE CORNISH, HOST: Lawmakers have asked Education Secretary Betsy DeVos about an NPR report about a troubled grant program for public school teachers. Here's NPR's Cory Turner. CORY TURNER, BYLINE: It's called the TEACH Grant Program, and it's supposed to give teachers money for college or a master's degree if they promise to teach a high-need subject like math in a low-income school for four years. But NPR revealed that for years now, potentially thousands of teachers have had their grants … Continue Reading
Five basic things Education Secretary Betsy DeVos wouldn’t — or couldn’t — answer at House hearing
by Valerie Strauss
05.22.18 Education Secretary Betsy DeVos appeared before the House Education Committee on Tuesday to discuss the policies and priorities of the department she leads, but there were some things she just wouldn't - or couldn't - say. DeVos has been running the department for a little more than a year, and the controversy that marked the start of her tenure - her Senate confirmation was secured only after Mike Pence became the first vice president in history to break a tie for a Cabinet nominee - has not d… Continue Reading
Predatory Colleges, Freed to Fleece Students
by New York Times Editorial Board
05.22.18 Try as they might, the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress cannot disguise that they continue to do the bidding of the for-profit college industry, which has saddled working-class students with crushing debt while providing useless degrees, or no degrees at all. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos claimed ignorance when she was asked during a congressional hearing last Tuesday how many of the college students who told her department that they had been ripped off were complaining about … Continue Reading
Unions, Allies Blast SCOTUS on Arbitration Ruling
by Andrew Hanna
05.21.18 Unions and their allies blasted the Supreme Court for Monday's decision allowing businesses to bar employees from filing class-action lawsuits. "Five justices on the Supreme Court decided that it is acceptable for working people to have our legal rights taken away by corporations in order to keep our jobs," AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said in a written statement. SEIU International President Mary Kay Henry agreed that the justices "made it more difficult, if not impossible, for working pe… Continue Reading
On 'Brown v. Board of Education' Anniversary, Dems Blast Trump's Civil Rights Record
by Andrew Ujifusa
05.17.18 House Democrats on Thursday vowed to fight back against what they called the Trump administration's moves to roll back progress on civil rights in education, and highlighted research that they said proves ongoing disparties in schools disproportionately harm students of color. In a forum on Capitol Hill hosted by Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., the top Democrat on the House education committee, Democratic leaders spoke about the importance of the Brown v. Board of Education decision by the U.S. Suprem… Continue Reading
Lawmakers Urge Devos to Rescind Guidance on Student Loan Collectors
by Michael Stratford
05.16.18 A bipartisan group of House lawmakers is calling on Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to withdraw her recent guidance that says states don't have the power to regulate some student loan companies. Two Democrats and two Republicans today urged DeVos to rescind the policy, arguing that it tramples on states' rights to police the companies and protect students from predatory practices. The Trump administration's guidance "attempts to create broad new legal standards not intended by Congress under t… Continue Reading
Labor Department Has Health Care Pitch for GOP Candidates
by Madison Alder and Ben Penn
05.15.18 The Trump administration's fast-tracked effort to bolster small business health coverage is poised for release just in time for GOP candidates to tell midterm voters that relief from Obamacare is on the way after all. For the past seven months, Labor Department officials have been rocketing the association health plan rulemaking through the typically plodding regulatory process. Now one bureaucratic step removed from final publication, the rule is on the cusp of helping 11 million people sign u… Continue Reading
Education Department Unwinds Unit Investigating Fraud at For-Profits
by Danielle Ivory, Erica Green, and Steve Eder
05.13.18 WASHINGTON - Members of a special team at the Education Department that had been investigating widespread abuses by for-profit colleges have been marginalized, reassigned or instructed to focus on other matters, according to current and former employees. The unwinding of the team has effectively killed investigations into possibly fraudulent activities at several large for-profit colleges where top hires of Betsy DeVos, the education secretary, had previously worked. During the final months of… Continue Reading
Protest, Reassurance Greet Shift in Student Loan Watchdog Office
by Emily Wilkins
05.09.18 A move by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to reorganize an office that helped student borrowers has triggered protests by Democrats in Congress and student advocates.The Students and Young Consumers Office will become a part of the bureau's Financial Education Office, according to a May 9 memorandum from Mick Mulvaney, acting director of the CFPB. Mulvaney said that and other structural changes will help "make the Bureau more efficient, effective and accountable."The office's responsibi… Continue Reading
Don’t Kill Loan Forgiveness in Higher Ed Bill, Republicans Say
by Emily Wilkins
05.07.18 Don't eliminate the program that discharges student loans for qualified public workers, 13 Republicans urged the House education panel's chairwoman in a letter acquired by Bloomberg Government May 7. The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program would be eliminated under a House GOP bill called the PROSPER Act (H.R. 4508) that would update the education law by simplifying the program and cutting regulations. The Republicans' letter comes as lawmakers discuss whether to bring the higher education … Continue Reading
Appointee Violated Trump Ethics Pledge, Second Official Says
by Hassan Kanu
04.26.18 A labor board ethics official agrees with the agency inspector general that member William Emanuel (R) violated the Trump administration's conflict-of-interest rule, according to two memos obtained by Bloomberg Law. "We agree with the IG's determination that, under the totality of the circumstances, Member Emanuel violated the Ethics Pledge," Lori Ketcham, the labor board's designated agency ethics official, and a deputy wrote in a Feb. 21 memo to the board. The memo had previously not been mad… Continue Reading
DeVos Education Dept. Begins Dismissing Civil Rights Cases in Name of Efficiency
by Erica L. Green
04.20.18 WASHINGTON - The Education Department's Office for Civil Rights has begun dismissing hundreds of civil rights complaints under a new protocol that allows investigators to disregard cases that are part of serial filings or that they consider burdensome to the office. Department officials said the new policy targeted advocates who flooded the office with thousands of complaints for similar violations, jamming its investigation pipeline with cases that could be resolved without exhausting staff an… Continue Reading
Betsy DeVos Has Been Scarce on Capitol Hill; Why Is That?
by Alyson Klein
04.13.18 U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos hasn't testified before the House or Senate education committees since becoming secretary more than a year ago-and Democrats aren't happy about that. For one thing, it's a departure from the record of her recent predecessors, each of whom had appeared before the two education committees at least once-and in many cases, more often-by this point in their tenures. And even when you widen the lens to look at other committees on Capitol Hill, DeVos is still be… Continue Reading
Democrats Push to End Trump's Expansion of 'Junk' Healthcare Plans
by Robert King
04.13.18 House and Senate Democrats are pushing the Trump administration to scrap a rule that expands the duration of cheap, short-term plans, and argue the rule will sabotage Obamacare. Democratic committee leaders in the House and Senate wrote to top administration officials on Friday calling for the removal of a proposed rule that expands the duration of short-term plans from 90 days to nearly 12 months. Short-term plans skirt Obamacare's patient protections, such as rules that prevent insurers from … Continue Reading