Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee
New Watchdog Report: ED Needs to Streamline Process for Students Impacted by School Closures
08.10.22 WASHINGTON - Today, Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott released a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which found that student loan borrowers whose schools close need more timely and complete information to know if they are eligible to have their loans discharged. Under closed school discharge, student loan borrowers—who suffer school closures and do not complete their education elsewhere—may be eligible to have their loans discharged. Unfortunately, the GAO found that, be… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Helped Hundreds of Constituents Apply for Public Service Loan Forgiveness
05.06.22 WASHINGTON— Last night, Office of Federal Student Aid and the Student Borrower Protection Center— where they provided constituents with the resources and information they needed to seek Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). The previous Administration did not faithfully implement PSLF and despite the Chairman holding hearings, sending letters, and making public statements, they never took meaningful action to address borrowers concerns. “The … Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Statement on Need to Extend Student Loan Payment Pause
03.16.22 WASHINGTON – Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) released the following statement urging the Biden administration to extend the pause on student loan repayment, collections, and interest accrual through 2022. “I am urging the Biden-Harris administration to extend relief for student loan borrowers through the end of this year. Throughout the pandemic, the pause on student loan payments has been critical to helping borrowers and families cope with… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Statement on HBCU Bomb Threats
01.31.22 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after at least six historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) received bomb threats on Monday. This is the second time bomb threats have been made at HBCUs in less than a month. "For the second time this month, bomb threats were made to at least half a dozen historically Black colleges and universities. Campuses were closed, classes disrupted, and HBCU students, faculty and staff once again feared f… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Applauds Biden Administration for Restoring Relief for Victims of Predatory Colleges
08.24.21 WASHINGTON - Today, House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Biden-Harris administration announced that it is replacing the Trump-era formula for determining student debt relief for defrauded borrowers. Multiple independent analyses found that the Trump formula was "nonsensical and harmful to students." "I applaud President Biden and Secretary Cardona for restoring access to debt relief for students who were defrauded… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Calls on Education Department to Hold Executives Personally Liable for the Cost of For-Profit School Closures
08.17.21 WASHINGTON -Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott sent a letter urging the Department of Education to hold the executives of failed for-profit colleges and converted for-profit colleges personally liable for money the institution owes to the federal government. Committee investigations—including a 2020 report on the defunct Dream Center Education Holdings—have found that, when fraudulent for-profit and converted for-profit schools have abruptly closed, college executives have escap… Continue Reading
As Nation Faces Record Unemployment, Bipartisan Group Unveils Legislation to Expand Apprenticeships, Invest in Workforce Training
01.25.21 WASHINGTON - Today, Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) led a bipartisan group of Members in unveiling a proposed reauthorization of the National Apprenticeship Act that would create nearly one million new Registered Apprenticeship, youth apprenticeship, and pre-apprenticeship positions over the next five years. The National Apprenticeship Act of 2021 (H.R. 447) invests nearly $3.5 billion over five years to scale-up apprenticeship opportunities, streamline … Continue Reading
Education Leaders Celebrate Higher Education Agreement in FY21 Omnibus
12.20.20 WASHINGTON - Today, following the release of the Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) Omnibus bill text, Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03), Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Investment Chair Susan Davis (CA-53), and Subcommittee on Workforce Protections Chair Alma Adams (NC-12) celebrated the major Democratic priorities for higher education included in the spending bill. The bill expands the Pell Grant program, which will result in hundreds of thousands of students becoming newly eligi… Continue Reading
Scott, DeLauro Call on Scalia to Support Extension of Contracts for Equity Intermediaries, the National Urban League and the Chicago Women in Trades
09.08.20 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03), Education and Labor Committee, and Chair Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, sent a letter to Department of Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia in support of the renewal of the Department's Equity in Apprenticeship contracts for equity intermediaries, the National Urban League (NUL) and the Chicago Women in Trades (CWIT). These contracts are necessary to effectively … Continue Reading
Scott, Trahan Seek Explanation for Education Department’s Scheme to Deny Full Debt Relief for Thousands of Defrauded Borrowers
02.03.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) and Representative Lori Trahan (MA-03) sent a letter to Education Department Secretary Betsy DeVos requesting documents and further information regarding the Department's deeply flawed partial relief formula and the Department's efforts to alter the formula. Two days before Secretary DeVos' testimony before the Committee, the Department unveiled a new formula to process claims by defrauded borrowers … Continue Reading
Democrats Promote Benefits of Registered Apprenticeships, Increase Economic Mobility for American Workers
09.05.18 WASHINGTON - Today, at a hearing of the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development (HEWD), Committee Democrats promoted high-quality registered apprenticeship programs as a proven path to help American workers develop the skills they need to qualify for good-paying jobs and rewarding careers. The hearing, entitled "On-The-Job: Rebuilding the Workforce Through Apprenticeships," gave Democrats an opportunity to highlight the benefits of registered apprenticeships programs, which a… Continue Reading
Democrats Promote Solutions to Reduce Barriers to Employment, Increase Economic Mobility for American Workers
06.20.18 WASHINGTON - Today, at a hearing of the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development, Democrats promoted a range of policies that would reduce barriers to employment and increase economic mobility for American workers. The hearing, entitled "Occupational Licensing: Reducing Barriers to Economic Mobility and Growth," gave Democrats an opportunity to expand the conversation from licensing policies - which are set by the states and mostly outside the federal government's jurisdiction … Continue Reading
As Demand for Skilled Workers Rises, Committee Democrats Push to Restore Public and Private Support for Training and Education
05.09.18 WASHINGTON - Today, the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development held a hearing to discuss the role of the public and private sector in supporting education and workforce training to meet the rising demand for skilled workers. The hearing, "Closing the Skills Gap: Private sector solutions for America's workforce," comes at a time of declining private sector investment in worker training and significant cuts to federal funding for workforce development. Researchers estimate tha… Continue Reading
Democrats Oppose Harmful Work Requirements that Take Away Benefits
03.15.18 WASHINGTON - TODAY, the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development held a hearing entitled, "Strengthening Access and Accountability to Work in Welfare Programs." Low-wage workers often rely on federal programs, such as SNAP, TANF and Medicaid, to help meet their basic needs and maintain employment. "Research shows that most low-income people on these programs are already working," said Ranking Member Susan Davis, Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development. "The … Continue Reading
Hearing Testimony Shows More Funding is Required to Address Opioid Crisis
11.08.17 WASHINGTON - TODAY, the Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee (ECESE) and the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development (HEWD) held a joint subcommittee hearing on how opioids are impacting communities across the nation. In 2015, more than 33,000 Americans died of an opioid overdose, and more than 2 million individuals had a prescription opioid use disorder. Congress must address a crisis of this magnitude - and treatment alone is not enough to stem th… Continue Reading
Joint Subcommittee Highlights Need To Invest In Cybersecurity Workforce Development
10.24.17 WASHINGTON - TODAY, the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development held a joint hearing with the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection on the need to invest in the development of a strong and diverse talent pipeline for cybersecurity professionals in federal, state, and local governments, as well as the private sector to ensure America's security in the 21st century. "This an urgent problem that has serious ramifications for our national security," said Con… Continue Reading
Democrats Oppose Republican Attempts to Dismantle Worker Protections
09.13.17 WASHINGTON - TODAY, the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions (HELP) and the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held a joint subcommittee hearing on the so-called "Save Local Business Act" (H.R. 3441). Labor and employment laws have long held, where more than one employer controls terms and conditions of employment, an employee may hold multiple or joint employers accountable for violating wage and hour laws or refusing to collectively bargain. By creating a new, narrow defin… Continue Reading
Subcommittee Democrats Push for Stronger Investments in Apprenticeship Programs
07.26.17 WASHINGTON - TODAY, the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development held a hearing titled, "Expanding Options for Employers and Workers Through Earn-and-Learn Opportunities." There is broad bipartisan support for building a highly skilled workforce through proven models such as registered apprenticeship programs. "Registered apprenticeships have been training students for quality, high-paying jobs for decades," said Subcommittee Ranking Member Susan Davis (CA-53). "These programs… Continue Reading
Trump Budget Cuts Harm America’s Workforce Development System, Committee Learns
06.15.17 WASHINGTON - TODAY, the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development held a hearing on the implementation of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). Passed with strong bipartisan support in 2014, WIOA is the cornerstone of efforts to put Americans back to work and prepare workers for better jobs. The drastic cuts proposed in the Trump Administration's budget would harm the implementation of WIOA by shifting costs onto states, localities, and employers while denying wor… Continue Reading
Subcommittee Members See Need for Better Data in Higher Education
05.24.17 WASHINGTON - Today the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development held a hearing entitled "Empowering Students and Families to Make Informed Decisions on Higher Education." Through witness questioning and testimony, it became clear that students, institutions, and policymakers need better information about how students are faring in our higher education system. Improvements to the postsecondary data infrastructure must provide information in ways that better serve students while … Continue Reading