Press Releases
Scott Statement on February Jobs Report
03.10.23 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the economy added 311,000 jobs in February as the unemployment rate edged up by .2 percent to 3.6 percent. “Under the leadership of the Biden-Harris Administration, the unemployment rate is near record lows, job growth continues to reach all-time highs, and workers’ wages are rising. This is no accident. It is a direct result of the investments Congre… Continue Reading
Ranking Member Scott: Biden Budget is a Roadmap to a Stronger America
03.10.23 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after President Biden released his proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2024. “The Biden-Harris Fiscal Year 2024 budget proposal is a clear roadmap to a stronger America. It calls for transformational investments that would grow our economy and improve the lives of students, workers, and families across the country. “The proposed budget would take significant steps to ensure every student has access to hig… Continue Reading
DeLauro, Murray Introduce the Paycheck Fairness Act
03.09.23 WASHINGTON, DC - Today, U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), reintroduced the Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation that would combat wage discrimination and help close the wage gap by strengthening the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and ensuring women can challenge pay discriminations and hold employers accountable. Ahead of Equal Pay Day on March 14, Representative DeLauro and Senator Murray joined advocates in underscoring the need to pass their Paycheck Fairne… Continue Reading
Higher Ed Leaders Reintroduce LOAN Act to Lower Cost of College
03.09.23 WASHINGTON - Today, Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03), Higher Education and Workforce Development (HEWD) Subcommittee Ranking Member Frederica Wilson (FL-24), and the other Democratic Members of the HEWD Subcommittee unveiled plans to reintroduce the Lowering Obstacles to Achievement Now (LOAN) Act. The LOAN Act would lower the cost of college for current and future student borrowers and their families. The LOAN Act would build on President Bid… Continue Reading
Under the Cloak of Darkness, Republicans Force Through Anti-Student, Parent, and Educator Legislation
03.09.23 WASHINGTON - Democrats showed up for work today and introduced legislation to meet the real challenges facing students, parents, and educators. Committee Republicans played political games and voted against 25+ good-faith efforts to help students succeed. “We all agree that parental engagement is essential for student success, and that Congress has a role in promoting students’ participation in sports. Unfortunately, neither of the bills before us today addresses the real challenges facing… Continue Reading
What People Are *Actually* Saying About Transgender Athletes’ Right To Participate In Sports
03.08.23 WASHINGTON - Last month, House Republican lawmakers introduced legislation that needlessly scapegoats some of our most vulnerable students as the cause of inequity in athletics. Athletes, advocates, and experts agree that the inclusion of transgender athletes in women’s sports is not a threat to survivial or success of women’s sports. Here is what they say about including transgender youth in women’s sports: Billie Jean King (Tennis champion, Womens Sports Foundation Founder): “There is no plac… Continue Reading
Ranking Member Opening Statement at Markup of Legislation to Politicize Schools, Discriminate Against Trans Athletes
03.08.23 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) delivered the following opening statement at today’s full committee markup of H.R. 5, the Parents Bill of Rights Act, and H.R. 734, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2023. “Thank you, Dr. Foxx, and good morning. “Madam Chair, we all agree that parental engagement is essential for student success, and that Congress has a role in promoting students’ participation in sports. Unfortunately, neither of the bills before us … Continue Reading
House Health Leaders Praise Rollback of Trump Rule that Supported Taxpayer-Funded Discrimination Against Patients
03.08.23 WASHINGTON - Yesterday, Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03), Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06), and Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard E. Neal (MA-01) wrote to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in support of its proposal to rescind detrimental provisions from the 2019 Trump-era rule that would have allowed discrimination against health care patients, including those seeking abortio… Continue Reading
What People Are Saying: The Protecting the Right to Organize Act
03.02.23 WASHINGTON - This week, a bipartisan group of House and Senate Members introduced the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act of 2023 (H.R. 20), a comprehensive proposal to protect workers’ right to come together and bargain for higher wages, better benefits, and safer workplaces. Here is what leading advocates and experts are saying about the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, H.R. 20: President Joe Biden: “A union is about working people having… Continue Reading
Ranking Member Scott: “Politics Should Never Prevent a Student from Receiving a High-Quality Education”
03.01.23 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) released the following statement in response to recent House Republican proposal to undermine public K-12 schools under the guise of parents’ rights. “Politics should never prevent a student from receiving a high-quality education. Regrettably, Republican politicians want to turn classrooms into the epicenter of an extreme culture war while doing nothing to meaningfully help students get back on track. In fact, every Congressional Repu… Continue Reading
What People Are Saying: Transformation to Competitive Integrated Employment Act
02.28.23 WASHINGTON - Yesterday, Representative Bobby Scott (D-VA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Chair of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, along with Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Chair of the Senate Committte on Aging, and Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) announced the reintroduction of the Transformation to Competitive Integrated Employment Act. This bipartisan legislation would provide states and employers with the resou… Continue Reading
Bipartisan Labor Leaders Introduce Bill to Protect Workers’ Right to Organize
02.28.23 WASHINGTON - Today, a bipartisan group of House and Senate Members introduced the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act of 2023 (H.R. 20), a comprehensive proposal to protect workers’ right to come together and bargain for higher wages, better benefits, and safer workplaces. The House bill was introduced by the Committee on Education and the Workforce Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA-03) and Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-01). The Senate companion was … Continue Reading
Ranking Member Scott Applauds Biden-Harris Administration for Taking Step to Protect Workers’ Civil Rights
02.28.23 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after the Biden-Harris administration announced that it will rescind a Trump-era rule that gutted anti-discrimination protections for employees of federal contractors and subcontractors. “I applaud the Biden-Harris administration for rescinding the Trump administration’s religious exemption rule and taking a critical step to protect the civil rights of federal contract and subcontract workers. The Trum… Continue Reading
Ranking Member Scott: President Biden’s Student Debt Relief Plan Would “Deliver Life-Changing Support for the Borrowers Who Need It Most”
02.28.23 WASHINGTON - Today, Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) released the following statement ahead of the Supreme Court’s session to hear oral arguments on President Biden’s student debt relief plan. “A college education should not depend on how much money a student’s parents make. Yet, the rising cost of tuition, decades of disinvestment in higher education, and the declining relative value of the Pell Grant have left many student loan borrowers with burdensome debt. “That’s why I sup… Continue Reading
Ranking Member Scott Statement on Press Reports of Abusive Child Labor Practices
02.27.23 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) released the following statement in response to recent press investigations into exploitative child labor practices. “We should all agree, children should be focused on learning and growing - not putting their health and well-being at risk in unsafe and grueling workplaces. Regrettably, recent reports revealed that abusive child labor practices are a persistent and serious problem in America. While Republicans are proposing to roll bac… Continue Reading
Scott, Casey, McMorris Rodgers, Daines to Reintroduce Bipartisan, Bicameral Bill to Help Workers with Disabilities Find Good-Paying Jobs
02.27.23 WASHINGTON - Today, Representative Bobby Scott (D-VA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Chair of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, along with Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Chair of the Senate Committte on Aging, and Senator Steve Daines (R-MT), announced that they will reintroduce the Transformation to Competitive Integrated Employment Act. This bipartisan legislation would provide states and employers with the res… Continue Reading
Ranking Members Scott, Bonamici Praise Proposal to Provide Expanded, Healthier Food Options for WIC Participants
02.17.23 WASHINGTON - Today, Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) and Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee Ranking Member Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01) wrote to the Department of Agriculture in support of its proposal to improve food assistance for participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). “The WIC program has proven vital to infants, children, and pregnant and postpartum women by promoti… Continue Reading
Ranking Member Scott Applauds Administration’s Progress to Reduce Student Loan Debt by Fixing Income-Driven Repayment
02.10.23 WASHINGTON - Today, Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) applauded Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona for the Department’s proposed rule to reform the Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) system. The proposed reforms make the IDR program more generous for low-income borrowers, automatically enrolls delinquent borrowers in the IDR program, sunsets old IDR plans, and eliminates monthly accrual of interest to borrowers. “I am encouraged by the Department’s proposed rule, which makes significant change… Continue Reading
Ranking Member Opening Statement at Education Hearing
02.08.23 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) delivered the following opening statement at today’s hearing on the state of education. “When the Supreme Court decided the Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954, it outlawed legal segregation in education, and said - among other things - that, ‘In these days, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if denied the opportunity of an education. Such an opportunity, where the state has undertaken… Continue Reading
Ranking Member Scott Statement on the State of the Union
02.07.23 WASHINGTON – Today, Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after President Biden delivered the State of the Union address. “As Ranking Member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, I was pleased that President Biden laid out a clear vision for providing quality and affordable education for all students, improving the lives of workers and families, and expanding access to affordable health care. “As… Continue Reading