Press Releases
Currently showing results related to The Committee's Response to COVID-19
Chairman Scott Remarks at Joint COVID-19 Oversight Press Conference
08.06.20 WASHINGTON - Chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, Rep. Robert C. "Bobby" Scott, delivered the following remarks during a press conference to discuss a joint Committee analysis on the Trump Administration's disastrous response to the coronavirus crisis and the urgent need for a national comprehensive plan. Chairman Scott was joined by Rep. James E. Clyburn, Chairman of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr., Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Comm… Continue Reading
Committee Democrats to DeVos: Stop Unlawfully Withholding Emergency Aid from Students
08.04.20 WASHINGTON - In a letter to Secretary DeVos, 19 Committee Democrats expressed strong opposition to the Education Department's repeated efforts to implement unauthorized restrictions on students' access to higher education emergency aid provided under the CARES Act. The CARES Act provided more than $14 billion in emergency aid to institutions of higher education and required half of that funding to be used for emergency grants to students. Despite the law including no restrictions on student e… Continue Reading
House, Senate Education Leaders to DeVos: Stop Robbing Public School Students of COVID-19 Relief Funding
07.31.20 WASHINGTON - Today, in a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, House and Senate education leaders called on the Education Department to rescind its "equitable service" interim final rule, which would redirect COVID-19 relief funding away from students in public schools to fund services for students in private schools, regardless of their wealth or residence. In the letter, House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03), Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Ran… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Calls for Extension of Pandemic Food Assistance Program
07.31.20 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) released the following statement calling for the extension of the Pandemic-EBT (P-EBT) program, which provides additional funding for struggling families with children who cannot access free or reduced-price school meals due to school closures. Yesterday, a Brookings Institution study found that P-EBT, which Congress passed under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, prevented at least 2.7 million children from going hungry in the week… Continue Reading
Pandemic Child Hunger Prevention Act: What People Are Saying
07.30.20 WASHINGTON - The Pandemic Child Hunger Prevention Act is House Democrats' plan to expand access to free school meals for all children during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to prevent the collapse of school nutrition programs. Here's what the nation's leading anti-hunger and child nutrition organizations are saying about the bill. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND): "The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics believes that school meals are as important to learning as textbooks and pencils. In the… Continue Reading
Pandemic Child Hunger Prevention Act: What People Are Saying
07.30.20 WASHINGTON - The Pandemic Child Hunger Prevention Act is House Democrats' plan to expand access to free school meals for all children during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to prevent the collapse of school nutrition programs. Here's what the nation's leading anti-hunger and child nutrition organizations are saying about the bill. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND): "The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics believes that school meals are as important to learning as textbooks and pencils. In the… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Introduces Bill to Provide Free School Meals to All Students During COVID-19 Pandemic
07.30.20 WASHINGTON - Today, House Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) introduced legislation to make all students eligible for free school meals during the 2020-2021 school year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Pandemic Child Hunger Prevention Act would allow all children to access breakfast, lunch, and afterschool snack programs either in school or through "grab and go" and delivery options. The Pandemic Child Hunger Prevention Act is co-led by Rep. Marc… Continue Reading
House Passes Child Care is Essential Act
07.29.20 WASHINGTON - The House today passed H.R. 7027, the Child Care is Essential Act, urgently-needed legislation to immediately address the problems child care providers have in staying open and covering their increased operating costs with limited revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Without child care, parents cannot return to work, business cannot reopen, and young children cannot access invaluable early learning opportunities. But at this moment our child care industry stands on the brink of c… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Remarks on Bill to Avert Looming Child Care Crisis
07.29.20 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03), delivered the following remarks on the House floor on the Child Care is Essential Act, a proposal that would invest $50 billion in helping child care providers reopen and reducing the cost of child care for working families. "Thank you, Madam Speaker, and thank you to my colleague and friend, Congresswoman DeLauro, for her work in support of children, families, and child care providers. I rise today in support of the Child Care is Essenti… Continue Reading
Scott, Murray: Republican K-12 Proposal is “a recipe for more chaos and illness”
07.28.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA), House Education and Labor Committee, and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA), Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee released the following statement on the Republican proposal to condition K-12 funds by requiring schools to operate in-person, and directing federal funding to unaccountable private schools. "Democrats want schools to re-open for in-person learning if it can be done safely-but the partisan Republi… Continue Reading
Committee Holds Virtual Member Briefing on How the Administration’s Failed COVID-19 Response has Hurt Native Students
07.24.20 WASHINGTON - Today, the Committee held a virtual briefing to examine the impact of COVID-19 on the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) and tribally controlled schools, and how the federal government has failed to serve Native students. The federal government has a legal obligation to provide elementary and secondary education to Native American children associated with tribes. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, Native American students were deprived of critical educational resources and support. … Continue Reading
Pediatric Infectious Disease Specialist: There Should Be No Conditions on School Funding
07.23.20 WASHINGTON - Today, during a Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Secondary and Elementary Education hearing on reopening schools, Dr. Sean O'Leary, Vice Chair of the Committee on Infectious Diseases for the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), urged Congress to provide at least $200 billion in aid to K-12 schools that "must be available to all schools, regardless of their timeline for reopening." "Schools and areas with high rates of COVID-19 spread may need to consider delaying a return … Continue Reading
Reps. Cartwright, McKinley Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Protect Mine Workers from COVID-19 Health Risks
07.22.20 Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Representatives Matt Cartwright (D-PA-08) and David McKinley (R-WV-01) announced that they have introduced the COVID-19 Mine Worker Protection Act to implement safety guidelines for mine workers facing unique health risks due to the coronavirus pandemic. "Miners already have tough jobs as it is. But now, working in close quarters puts them at risk of contracting COVID-19 and spreading it to their loved ones," Cartwright said. "In Northeastern Pennsylvania, we know… Continue Reading
House Education Leaders Describe How Congress Can Help Schools Reopen Safely
07.21.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) held a press call with Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Congresswoman Donna Shalala (FL-27), and Dr. Nyree Washington, an educator from Miami Coral Reef Senior High School to discuss what must be included in the next COVID-19 response package to help schools reopen safely. The call highlighted the need for significant and immediate federal investment in education to ensure schools can follow the safely guidelines established by th… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Statement on White House Blocking CDC from Testifying on School Reopening
07.17.20 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after the Trump administration blocked the Centers from Disease Control and Prevention from testifying at a public hearing about safely reopening schools. "School reopening plans must be guided by the advice of public health experts. For that reason, we asked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to testify in a public hearing to provide greater clarity on the steps we can take to help schools … Continue Reading
Committee Holds Virtual Member Briefing on How the Trump Administration is Failing Retirement Savers
07.16.20 WASHINGTON - Today, the Committee held a virtual briefing to examine how recent Department of Labor's actions have weaken retirement protections for workers. The briefing, entitled "Failing Retirement Savers: Examining Three Recent Labor Department Actions," focused on how the Trump administration has taken steps that will erode retirement security for future retirees by exposing them to bad advice and greater risk while undermining accountability for unethical retirement advisors. "In this … Continue Reading
House Chairs Question Secretary DeVos’s Delay Distributing COVID-19 Relief for Puerto Rico
07.16.20 WASHINGTON - In a letter to Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) and House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raul Grijalva (AZ-03) demanded an explanation for why the Department has delayed distributing emergency educational relief for Puerto Rico. Congress designated $400 million in the CARES Act to help Puerto Rico address immediate educational needs, and the Department has only disbursed $7 million, citing past pro… 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
Chairman Scott Statement on Virginia OSHA Approving Strong Worker Protections During COVID-19 Pandemic
07.15.20 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after Virginia became the first state in the country to approve an Emergency Temporary OSHA standard protecting the workers against exposure to the virus that causes COVID-19. "I'm very pleased that the Commonwealth of Virginia has approved an Emergency OSHA standard to protect workers against COVID-19, and I applaud the Governor for his leadership on this issue. In the absence of any serious attempt from t… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Remarks at Press Event Marking Two Months Since House Passage of The Heroes Act
07.15.20 WASHINGTON - Joined by Speaker Pelosi and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) delivered the following remarks during a press event highlighting the urgent need for the Senate to pass the Heroes Act, a COVID-19 pandemic emergency relief package passed by the House on May 15. "Thank you, Speaker Pelosi and Chairman Neal, for your leadership in confronting the COVID-19 pandemic. "Let us be clear. All of us want to reopen schools for full-tim… Continue Reading