Press Releases
Currently showing results related to The Committee's Response to COVID-19
Castro, Scott, Others Urge Department of Labor to Reverse Work Visa Ban
07.14.20 WASHINGTON-Today, in response to the Trump administration's June executive proclamation suspending all work visas during the COVID-19 pandemic, Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Vice Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, and member of the House Intelligence and Education and Labor Committees, Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-3), Chair of the Education and Labor Commit… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Invites CDC Director to Testify After WH Pressures it to Change School Guidelines
07.09.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Education and Labor Committee Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) invitedCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield, MD, or his designee, to testify before the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education on Thursday, July 23. Chairman Scott specifically asks Director Redfield to discuss the immediate needs of K-12 public schools as many districts examine the possibility of reopening in the fall. The invitation follo… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Statement on Trump Administration’s Push for Schools to Prematurely Reopen
07.08.20 WASHINGTON - Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after President Trump urged schools to reopen and threatened to withhold federal funding for those that do not resume normal operations in the fall. "Given the exacerbated educational inequities and abrupt shift to remote learning caused by the pandemic, it is understandable why students, educators, and communities are both hoping schools will resume normal operations this fall and have some hesitation. "Even before the … Continue Reading
Chairwoman Davis Opening Statement at Hearing Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 on Higher Education
07.07.20 WASHINGTON - Chairwoman Susan Davis (CA-53) delivered the following opening statement at today's hearing entitled, "A Major Test: Examining the Impact of COVID-19 on the Future of Higher Education." "Today, we are examining how the COVID-19 pandemic is straining our higher education system and discussing what Congress must do to support students and institutions through this difficult time. "Across the country, the rush to suspend on-campus activities and switch to online learning has exacer… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Statement on Equitable Services Rule
06.25.20 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after the Department of Education issued an interim final rule to redirect COVID-19 relief funding from high-poverty public schools toward services for students in private schools, regardless of their wealth. "Republicans and Democrats at all levels of government agree that the Department's interpretation of the CARES Act's equitable services requirement violates both the letter and spirit of the law. Unfort… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Opening Statement at Hearing Examining Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Racial Inequality
06.22.20 WASHINGTON - Chairman Scott delivered the following opening statement at today's hearing entitled, "Inequities Exposed: How COVID-19 Widened Racial Inequities in Education, Health, and the Workforce." "Today, we are discussing how the COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating racial inequalities in education, labor, and health, and the steps Congress must take to address these disparities. "A mountain of evidence has made it clear that, to effectively respond to the pandemic, we must address the wid… Continue Reading
Committee Holds Virtual Briefing on Relaunching America’s Public Workforce System After COVID-19
06.18.20 WASHINGTON - Today, the Committee on Education and Labor held a virtual briefing to discuss rebuilding America's public workforce system as the nation endures a deep recession due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The public workforce system funds job training and career navigation support, wraparound services, and helps employers avoid layoffs through supporting the financing of on-the-job training and incumbent worker training. The panelists and Members discussed how our chronically underfunded public… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Condemns Secretary DeVos for Robbing Vulnerable Students of Emergency Aid
06.15.20 WASHINGTON - In a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) expressed deep concern about the Department's attempts to prevent millions of students from getting the emergency relief Congress provided under the CARES Act. The CARES Act, passed on March 27, allocated more than $14 billion in emergency aid to institutions, half of which was intended to provide direct emergency financial aid to students. On April 21, t… Continue Reading
Democratic Health Leaders Reassert Request to Trump Administration to Help Uninsured and Underinsured
06.15.20 WASHINGTON - Bicameral Democratic Health Committee leaders wrote to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma today to reassert their request for a Special Enrollment Period (SEP) to help the millions of uninsured and underinsured Americans sign up for health insurance coverage amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. According to estimates, more than 20 million Americans who recently lost their e… Continue Reading
Top Educator: Without More Funding for Public Education, Schools Can’t Safely Reopen After COVID-19
06.15.20 WASHINGTON - During today's full Committee hearing on the COVID-19 pandemic's devastating impact on public education, Becky Pringle, Vice President of National Education Association, cautioned that without increased investment in state and local funding for public education, our nation's students cannot return to school safely. The hearing focused on how existing inequities and achievement gaps have been exacerbated by the pandemic, causing the nation's most vulnerable students to fall further… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Opening Statement at Hearing Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 on Public Education
06.15.20 WASHINGTON - Chairman Scott delivered the following opening statement at today's hearing entitled, "Budget Cuts and Lost Learning: Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 on Public Education." "Before I deliver opening remarks, let me first acknowledge the recent protests against police misconduct and in favor of racial equity and justice across the nation and the world. The times are demanding that we address this country's centuries-old challenge. With today's hearing, we can be prepared to answe… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott: Court of Appeals Ruling Ignores Evidence that OSHA is Failing to Protect Workers
06.11.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after a federal court ruled that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration had "reasonably determined" that workers do not need an enforceable emergency workplace safety standard, or "Emergency Temporary Standard," to protect them against infection during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Today's U.S. Court of Appeals ruling ignores the overwhelming evidence that COVID-19 represents a 'grave' danger to workers and tha… Continue Reading
Committee Holds Virtual Briefing on Union Elections Amid COVID-19
06.10.20 WASHINGTON - Today, the Committee on Education and Labor held a virtual briefing on the challenges to union representation elections during the COVID-19 pandemic. The briefing, entitled "Obstacles to Union Elections in the Era of COVID-19," focused on how President Trump's appointees to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) are actively blocking workers from exercising their basic right to form a union and negotiate for safer workplaces, paid sick leave, and other critical protections. Th… Continue Reading
Committee Holds Virtual Briefing on Building a Contact Tracing Workforce
06.04.20 WASHINGTON - Today, the Committee on Education and Labor held a virtual briefing to examine Congress' role to support a qualified, strong, community-based contract tracing workforce. The briefing, entitled "Building A Community-Based Contact Tracing Workforce," focused on the need for a robust contact tracing workforce and how the public workforce system can support the recruitment and training of contact tracers. The briefing featured Dr. Ashish K. Jha, the K.T. Li Professor of Global Health… Continue Reading
Head of Federal Worker Safety Agency Refuses to Say Whether COVID-19 Is a Grave Danger to American Workers
05.29.20 WASHINGTON - During yesterday's Subcommittee on Workforce Protections hearing, Chairwoman Alma Adams (NC-12) asked Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Loren Sweatt if the COVID-19 pandemic "presents a grave danger to workers." Ms. Sweatt, who leads the federal agency responsible for the safety of U.S. workers, refused to answer. COVID-19 has caused more deaths among workers in a shorter period of time than any other health emergency sin… Continue Reading
Rep. Bonamici Asks OSHA Director Why Agency Has Issued Only One COVID-19 Related Safety Citation
05.28.20 WASHINGTON - During today's Subcommittee on Workforce Protections hearing, Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01) asked Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Loren Sweatt to explain why the agency has issued only one COVID-19 workplace safety citation during the worst worker safety crisis in recent history. The sole citation was for recordkeeping. Though OSHA is not tracking nationwide workplace infections, incomplete data show that tens of thousa… Continue Reading
Rep. Andy Levin Challenges OSHA To Do Its Job and Protect Workers from COVID-19
05.28.20 WASHINGTON - During today's Subcommittee on Workforce Protections hearing, Rep. Andy Levin (MI-09) challenged Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Loren Sweatt over the agency's refusal to proactively issue an emergency standard amid the worst worker safety crisis in OSHA's 50-year history. "If your agency inspects workplaces only after a worker has died, you are not preventing workplace infections." To date, federal OSHA has received rou… Continue Reading
OSHA Director Admits the Agency Is Not Tracking COVID-19 Infections in Workplaces
05.28.20 WASHINGTON - In an exchange with Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) during today's Subcommittee on Workforce Protections hearing, the head of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Loren Sweatt, conceded that the agency tasked with protecting our nation's workers is not tracking COVID-19 infections in workplaces. In fact, on April 10, OSHA relaxed employers' obligation to record work-related COVID-19 cases, with the exception of "the healthca… Continue Reading
Chairwoman Adams Opening Statement at Workforce Protections Subcommittee Hearing on Protecting Workers from COVID-19
05.28.20 WASHINGTON - Subcommittee on Workforce Protections Chairwoman Alma Adams (NC-12) delivered the following opening statement at today's hearing entitled, "Examining the Federal Government's Actions to Protect Workers from COVID-19." "I will now recognize myself for the purposes of an opening statement. "Today's Subcommittee hearing will explore the performance of the federal government in protecting worker safety during the COVID-19 pandemic. I want to thank OSHA Deputy Assistant Secretary Swea… Continue Reading
DeLauro, Scott, Murray, Members Introduce $50 Billion Child Care Stabilization Fund Legislation
05.27.20 WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), Chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, introduced new legislation, the Child Care is Essential Act, to create a $50 billion Child Care Stabilization Fund within the existing Child Care … Continue Reading