Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Oversight
Chairman Scott: Independent Watchdog Report Reveals Administration Is Improperly Denying Workers Paid Leave During Pandemic
08.11.20 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) released the following statement in response to a report from the Department of Labor's Inspector General that found the Department's implementation of the paid leave provisions in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act needlessly excluded too many workers. The report also finds the Department has not developed a clear plan to enforce paid leave protections. "The Department of Labor Inspector General's report confirms that the Trump adm… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Asks Department of Education Watchdog to Investigate Department Role in Dream Center Misconduct
08.10.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Education and Labor Committee Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) sent a letter to the Department of Education Office of Inspector General (OIG) requesting an investigation into the Department's role in the misconduct of Dream Center Education Holdings, a for-profit higher education company that actively defrauded students and taxpayers. The request follows a report released by the Committee on Education and Labor, which indicates that Under Secretary Diane Auer Jones -… Continue Reading
Committee Report Reveals Senior Education Department Official Aided For-Profit Higher Education Company in Misleading Students Using Taxpayer Dollars
07.28.20 WASHINGTON - A report released today by the Committee on Education and Labor reveals that a high-ranking official at the Department of Education quietly worked on behalf of a for-profit higher education company that was actively defrauding students and taxpayers. New documents published in the Committee's oversight report strongly suggest that Under Secretary Diane Auer Jones - a former for-profit education lobbyist - went to extraordinary lengths to aid Dream Center Education Holdings despite k… Continue Reading
Congressional Education Leaders to DeVos: Stop Robbing Vulnerable Students of Emergency Aid
07.15.20 WASHINGTON - In a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, congressional education leaders expressed deep concern about the Department's interim final rule to prevent millions of students from getting the emergency relief Congress provided under the CARES Act. The letter was sent by Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA), House Committee on Education and Labor, Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA), Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Health, and Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)… Continue Reading
House Health Leaders Condemn Final Rule to Erode Anti-Discrimination Protections Under the ACA
07.09.20 WASHINGTON - The chairs of the House committees with jurisdiction over health care condemned the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for finalizing a rule that weakens protections under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for LGBTQIA+ individuals, women, people with limited English proficiency, immigrants, people of color, people with disabilities, and patients from other marginalized communities and urged HHS Secretary Alex Azar to immediately rescind it. The letter was signed by House Edu… Continue Reading
Committee Report Details Secretary DeVos’ Efforts to Delay and Deny Debt Relief for Defrauded Student Borrowers
06.25.20 WASHINGTON - A report released today by the Committee on Education and Labor details the Department of Education's efforts to delay and deny debt relief for student borrowers who were defrauded by predatory institutions. The report captures nearly two years of congressional oversight and provides a comprehensive look into how Secretary Betsy DeVos prevented hundreds of thousands of defrauded borrowers from receiving the relief they deserved. The Committee released the report, entitled "Delayed… Continue Reading
Scott, Nadler Statement on Education Department’s Final Title IX Rule
05.06.20 WASHINGTON - Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (NY-10) issued the following statement after the Department of Education finalized a rule to revise standards for schools' responsibility under the Title IX to respond to campus sexual assault and harassment. "It is alarming that instead of focusing on helping students, educators, and institutions cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department wasted valuable time finalizing a rule that will erode … Continue Reading
Committee Democrats Call on Secretary DeVos to Fix Borrower Defense Application Process
05.04.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Committee on Education and Labor Democrats sent a comment letter to Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos opposing some of the Department's proposed changes to the application to the Borrower Defense program. The Members expressed serious concerns that some of Department's proposed changes are unnecessary and may deter applicants. The Borrower Defense program allows student loan borrowers to seek debt relief if they are defrauded by their institution. In the letter, the Memb… Continue Reading
House Chairs Condemn President Trump’s Assault on IGs
04.10.20 WASHINGTON - Today, the chairs of multiple House Committees sent a letter condemning President Donald Trump's assault on Inspectors General (IGs) and requesting direct input from the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency on legislative and other proposals to increase the independence of IGs and protect them from retaliation. "Unlike any President in modern history, President Trump has engaged in offensive and unjustified attacks against Inspectors General, criticizing th… Continue Reading
Committee Leadership Celebrate Final Passage of Supporting Older Americans Act
03.11.20 WASHINGTON - Today, the House unanimously passed the Supporting Older Americans Act of 2020 (H.R. 4334), a bipartisan proposal that increases funding for vital programs that help aging Americans live independently and with dignity. The legislation - which passed the Senate last week - reauthorizes the Older Americans Act (OAA), the primary legislation that covers social and nutrition services for older Americans and their caregivers. The OAA serves roughly 11 million older Americans every year,… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Asks Education Department Watchdog to Investigate DeVos’ Plan to Deny Full Debt Relief for Defrauded Borrowers
03.09.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) sent a letter to the Education Department's Office of Inspector General (OIG) requesting an investigation into the Department's plan to deny full debt relief for borrowers defrauded by for-profit colleges. The request comes after multiple independent analyses found that the Department's new plan to provide only partial relief to defrauded borrowers was "nonsensical and harmful to students." On Decembe… 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
Lawmakers Question Education Department and Accreditor About Fake Universities Used to Entrap Foreign-National Students
01.16.20 Text of the Letter to Education Department (PDF) | Text of the Letter to Accreditor (PDF) Washington, DC - House Education and Labor Committee Vice Chair Andy Levin (D-Mich.), House Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Investment Chair Susan Davis (D-Calif.); and United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee; sent letters to the Department of Education and the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools an… Continue Reading
Top Committee Democrats Call on Labor Secretary to Quantify How Much Workers Will Lose Under Proposed Tip Rule
10.24.19 WASHINGTON - Today, top Democrats on the Education and Labor Committee submitted a letter to Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Eugene Scalia calling on the Department to publish legally required estimates about the full impact of its proposed tip rule on American workers. The proposed rule, published earlier this month, included a provision codifying a repeal of the 80/20 rule but failed to include an economic analysis of the potential costs to workers, as required by law. The 80/20 rule proh… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on Revisions to OSHA’s Beryllium Standards for Construction and Shipyards
09.27.19 WASHINGTON - Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced today that it is vacating the June 27, 2017, proposed rule to roll back protections for construction and maritime workers from exposure to beryllium. That proposal would have eliminated ancillary protections that had been included in OSHA's final beryllium standards issued on January 9, 2017. The compliance date for the ancillary… Continue Reading
GAO Report Reveals Education Department’s Failure to Implement Temporary Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
09.05.19 WASHINGTON - A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released today reveals that the Department of Education is denying 99 percent of student borrowers applying for loan forgiveness under the Temporary Expanded Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (TEPSLF). Congress established the emergency TEPSLF program last year in response to extremely high denial rates for the original Public Loan Service Forgiveness (PSLF) program, giving the Department specific instructions to simplify and exp… Continue Reading
Committee Chairs to Secretary DeVos: Weak Oversight of Student Loan Industry is Hurting Students and Families
08.13.19 WASHINGTON - Today, Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03), Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters (CA-43), and Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (MD-07) sent a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos expressing deep concern over the Education Department's failure to protect students and families from student loan companies. The letter addresses recent reports that the Department is shielding student loan servicing companies from sta… Continue Reading
Scott, Cummings, and Norton Seek Compliance in D.C. School Voucher Investigation
07.30.19 WASHINGTON-Today, Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA), Chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD), Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and Oversight and Reform Committee Member Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) sent a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos seeking a response to a document request made in March 2019 for documents and information on the federal private school voucher program in the District of Columbia. "We w… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Statement on Closing of Dream Center-Owned College Chain
03.07.19 WASHINGTON - Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued a statement following the announcement that 22 Dream Center-owned colleges will close tomorrow. "The closure of Dream Center-owned college chains, including Argosy University, will have terrible, life-altering consequences for thousands of students on 22 campuses across the country. Many students are now left with burdensome debt and few options to finish their degree. Students should never be put in this situation. "The Department of Education … Continue Reading
Murray, Davis Request Information from U.S. Department of Education on Mismanagement of Federal Student Loan Program
03.05.19 WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-CA), Chair of the House Higher Education and Workforce Investment Subcommittee, sent two letters today to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos on the recent Office of Inspector General (OIG) report that found internal failures at the Department to appropriately oversee student loan servicers that receive federal contracts. The first l… Continue Reading