Press Releases
Labor Leaders Reintroduce Paycheck Fairness Act
01.28.21 WASHINGTON - Congressman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott, Chair of the House Committee on Education and Labor, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), incoming Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, led every Democrat in Congress in reintroducing the Paycheck Fairness Act, legislation that would strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963, help eliminate the gender wage gap, and guarantee that women can c… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Statement on GOP Appointments to Education and Labor Committee
01.28.21 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) released the following statement in response to the selection of Republican Members to the House Education and Labor Committee. "House Republican leadership is responsible for appointing Republican Members to the Education and Labor Committee who can make a positive contribution to our work. These appointments are supposed to reflect their commitment to serving students, parents, and educators. "House Republicans have appointed someone to … Continue Reading
Top Democrats Introduce Bill Raising Minimum Wage to $15 by 2025
01.26.21 WASHINGTON - Today, House Committee on Education and Labor Chair Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) joined incoming Senate Budget Committee Chair Bernie Sanders (I-VT), incoming Senate HELP Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA), Senate), Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), and Rep. Stephanie Murphy (FL-07) to introduce legislation gradually raising the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2025. The Raise the Wage Act of 2021 (H.R. 603) would gradually increase the federal minim… 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
Committee Introduces Bipartisan Legislation to Strengthen Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse
01.25.21 WASHINGTON - Today, House Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03), Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Congresswoman Kim Schrier, M.D. (WA-08), and Congresswoman Haley Stevens (MI-11) joined Committee Republicans in introducing legislation that strengthens federal efforts to prevent and treat child abuse and neglect. The Stronger Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (Stronger CAPTA) (H.R. 485) provides greater funding and establishes new tools tocombat … Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Praises Biden Plan to Increase Food Assistance During Pandemic
01.22.21 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after the Biden administration announced a plan to increase benefits under the Pandemic-EBT (P-EBT) program by 15 percent. The program provides additional funding for struggling families with children who cannot access free or reduced-price school meals due to school closures. The economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has created a devastating nationwide hunger crisis that is affecting one in eight Amer… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Statement on President Biden’s Announcement of National Strategy to Fight the Pandemic, Protect Workers from COVID-19
01.21.21 WASHINGTON - Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after President Biden announced the administration's National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness, which includes guidance directing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to determine the necessity of an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) and, if needed, to issue such a standard by March 15. Over the last year, Chairman Scott and Comm… Continue Reading
House Democrats to Introduce Legislation to Protect Retirees’ Pensions Amid COVID-19 Crisis
01.20.21 WASHINGTON - Tomorrow, House Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03), Congressman Donald Norcross (NJ-1), Congresswoman Haley Stevens (MI-11), and Congressman Joe Morelle (NY-25) will introduce legislation to shield workers, retirees, employers, and taxpayers from the devastating consequences of the multiemployer pension crisis. The Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act (EEPRA) of 2021 (H.R. 423) would prevent the imminent collapse of failing multiemployer plans and… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott: Dismissal of NLRB General Counsel Robb is a Victory for Workers
01.20.21 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after President Joe Biden asked for the resignation of National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Peter Robb. "It has taken just one day for President Joe Biden to deliver his first major victory for American workers. As General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, Peter Robb has consistently neglected his statutory duty to uphold workers' right to stand together and negotiate for better working… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Requests Education Department Investigation into Florida Sheriff’s Use of Student Records to Identify Students “Destined for a Life of Crime”
01.19.21 WASHINGTON - Today, Education and Labor Committee Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) sent a letter to the Department of Education seeking an investigation into reports that a Florida public school district transmitted student records to the local sheriff's office so that the sheriff's office could develop a list of students "destined for a life of crime." In the letter, Chairman Scott notes that the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) explicitly prohibits schools from disclo… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Praises President-Elect Joe Biden’s COVID-19 Rescue Proposal
01.15.21 WASHINGTON - Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after the incoming Biden administration released its proposal for a COVID-19 relief package, the American Rescue Plan. "President-elect Joe Biden's COVID-19 rescue package is a clear sign that the incoming administration understands the urgent need to crush the virus, safely reopen schools, and provide immediate relief to workers and the American people. "In response to the … Continue Reading
Chairs Condemn Eleventh Hour HHS Rule Undermining Nondiscrimination Protections in Adoption and Critical Social Services
01.13.21 Washington, D.C. - Today, House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr., House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal, and House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott, issued the following statement condemning the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) finalizing a far-reaching rule that would expand discrimination against LGBTQ+ people, religious minorities, and women i… Continue Reading
Committee Chairs Condemn Trump Administration’s Attempt to Gut Civil Rights Act by Issuing Unlawful, Last-Minute Rule
01.12.21 WASHINGTON - Today, House Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03), House Committee on the Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (NY-10), and House Committee on Oversight and Reform Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12) expressed serious concerns about the Trump Administration's last-minute attempt to repeal anti-discrimination protections. Specifically, the Office of Management and Budget is pushing a secretive proposal through the rulemaking process without public … Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Statement on December Jobs Report
01.08.21 WASHINGTON - Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the economy lost 140,000 jobs in December with the unemployment rate at 6.7 percent. "Lost in the news of the violent mob incited by the president was the single deadliest day of the COVID-19 pandemic and 42 consecutive weeks of record-high unemployment claims. Due to the disastrous leadership of this administration, Americans are struggling … Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Statement on the Nomination of Marty Walsh for Secretary of Labor
01.07.21 WASHINGTON - Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after President-elect Biden nominated Marty Walsh to lead the Department of Labor (DOL). "I congratulate Marty Walsh on his nomination to be the next Secretary of Labor. With Mr. Walsh's experience in the Laborers' Union, Massachusetts' House of Representatives, and most recently as the mayor of Boston, I am confident that he will restore the mission of the Department to ensu… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott: Final DOL Rule Will Rob Workers of More than $3 Billion a Year
01.06.21 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after the Department of Labor announced its final rule on the classification of independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Department's rule would narrow its interpretation of who is considered an employee under the FLSA. The rule creates a new test that effectively rejects the inquiry into whether a worker is economically dependent on a potential employer and instead makes employee… Continue Reading
Democratic Health Leaders Call on Trump to Abandon Proposed Rule Changes Making Health Care More Expensive and More Difficult to Access
01.05.21 WASHINGTON - House and Senate Democratic health care leaders called on the Trump administration to rescind policies in a proposed rule that would allow states to end the use of Healthcare.gov and state exchanges to enroll consumers in coverage. House Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA), Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR), Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray, (D-WA), House Ways and Means Committee Chairm… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Statement on the Nomination of Dr. Miguel Cardona for Secretary of Education
12.22.20 WASHINGTON - Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after President-elect Biden nominated Dr. Miguel Cardona to lead the Department of Education (ED). "I congratulate Dr. Miguel Cardona on his nomination to be the next Secretary of Education. Dr. Cardona has over two decades of experience serving in America's public schools- first as an elementary school teacher and then as a school principal, assistant superintendent, and mos… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Statement on Department of Labor’s Harmful Tip Rule
12.22.20 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Department of Labor (DOL) finalized a tip rule that would repeal the 80/20 rule, which prohibits employers from paying subminimum wages to tipped workers who spend more than 20 percent of their time performing tasks where they cannot earn tips. "Today's final tip rule from the Department of Labor (DOL) strips tipped workers of a critical protection against wage theft at a time when they need it most. … Continue Reading
Education Leaders Celebrate Repeal of Last Provision in Federal Law Banning Use of Federal Funds for Desegregation
12.22.20 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03), Committee on Education and Labor, and Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Subcommittee on Appropriations, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) released the following statement after the House voted to repeal Section 426 of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA). The provision was first included in the Fiscal Year 2021 House Labor-HHS Bill and maintained in the final Omnibus Package. This action … Continue Reading