Press Releases
New Documents Show Department of Education Froze Tool to Help Defrauded Student Borrowers
10.27.20 WASHINGTON -Today, Rep. Robert C. "Bobby" Scott, the Chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, and Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, the Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, released new documents detailing how the Department of Education froze a tool designed to ease the Borrower Defense application process for borrowers who were ripped off by their schools, typically for-profit colleges. "We are deeply troubled that the Department of Education halted a web tool to help simpli… Continue Reading
House Education Leaders Introduce Legislation to Save Nearly 4 Million Education Jobs, Spur Economic Growth in the Wake of COVID-19 Pandemic
10.27.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Chairman Gregorio Kilili Sablan (Mariana Islands-at Large), and Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03), introduced legislation to save nearly 4 million education jobs, spur economic growth in the midst of an economic crisis, and help mitigate the impacts of students' learning loss as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since February of this year, more K-12 jobs have be… Continue Reading
House Democrats to DOL: Proposed Rule to Increase Employee Misclassification Will Cost Workers and the Economy
10.27.20 WASHINGTON - Today, led by Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) and Workforce Protections Subcommittee Chair Alma Adams (NC-12), over 100 House Democrats wrote to Department of Labor Secretary Scalia opposing the Department's proposal to narrow its interpretation of employee status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), leaving workers even more vulnerable to employee misclassification. The Members express deep concern that the proposal will have wide rea… Continue Reading
White House’s Plan to Study Multiemployer Pensions is Not the Solution that Workers, Retirees, and Businesses Deserve
10.22.20 WASHINGTON - Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the White House announced a presidential memorandum to study the multiemployer pensions crisis. "After nearly four years in office and less than two weeks before the election, the White House finally woke up to the reality that there's a multiemployer pensions crisis. Unfortunately, instead of championing the responsible solution in the House-passed Heroes Act, the White H… Continue Reading
Faced with Obstruction from ED, Chairman Scott Subpoenas ED Officials Regarding Dream Center Scandal
10.22.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) subpoenaed several Education Department career staff for their deposition in an investigation into the Department's role in the misconduct of Dream Center Education Holdings, a for-profit higher education company. After over a year of investigation, the Committee found that Under Secretary Diane Auer Jones - a former for-profit education lobbyist - worked extensively on behalf of Dream Center despite knowing that two of its schools had… Continue Reading
Committee Report Details Years-Long Attacks on Workers’ Rights, Unions by Trump Administration’s NLRB
10.14.20 WASHINGTON - Today, the Committee on Education and Labor released a report chronicling the attacks on workers' rights and unions by the Trump administration's National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The report compiles years of Committee oversight and details how the NLRB, the federal agency charged with protecting most private sector workers' right to organize, has been plagued by corruption, conflicts, and crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that far too many workers do not have ac… Continue Reading
Labor Leaders to OSHA: Changing Reporting Requirements for COVID-19 Workplace Illness Hurts Workers and Hinders Ability to Control Pandemic
10.14.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) and Subcommittee on Workforce Protections Chair Alma Adams (NC-12) wrote to the heads of the Department of Labor and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) questioning a recent OSHA policy change that will result in sharply reduced reporting of COVID-related workplace hospitalizations and fatalities and undermine efforts to protect the safety of workers. OSHA requires workplace fatali… Continue Reading
New Government Watchdog Report: Students Impacted by Disasters Hurt More by Pandemic
10.14.20 WASHINGTON - Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) and Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Chairman Gregorio Kilili Sablan (Mariana Islands) issued the following statement after the Government Accountability Office released a report finding that the COVID-19 pandemic has hampered and worsened K-12 schools' recovery from recent natural disasters across the country. "The GAO's new report confirms that the failed response to the … Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Statement on White House’s Inadequate Proposal for COVID-19 Relief
10.11.20 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) released the following statement regarding the White House's latest coronavirus relief offer. "The erratic behavior coming from the White House this week is a perfect example of why it has been so difficult to negotiate relief for the American people. The Trump administration fundamentally does not grasp the urgency or scale of this crisis. And the latest proposal - which falls woefully short of providing meaningful relief for students, wo… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Demands Answers from USDA Distributors Pushing Religious Activity onto People Seeking Food Boxes
10.08.20 WASHINGTON - Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) demanded answers from Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Perdue about a troubling report that some faith-based organizations participating in the Farmers to Families Food Box program, which has already been plagued by mismanagement, are subjecting participants to unsolicited religious activity. The reports include instances of faith-based organizations placing religious messages in food boxes, directi… Continue Reading
Scott, Wilson to DOL: Protect Workers’ Access to Comprehensive Health Benefits
10.07.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) and Subcommittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Chair Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24) sent a letter to Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) Acting Assistant Secretary Jeanne Wilson to express concern regarding the potential misuse of fixed indemnity coverage by employers to evade the requirements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and other consumer protection laws. Fixed inde… Continue Reading
Senate and House Democrats Demand Answers from Secretary Scalia on Labor Department’s Involvement in Weakening COVID-19 Workplace Safety Guidance For Nation’s Largest Meatpacking Plant
10.07.20 WASHINGTON -In a letter to U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Eugene Scalia, Senate and House Democrats requested information regarding his Department's involvement in the watering down of Centers for Disease Control recommendations to a South Dakota meatpacking plant that experienced a major COVID-19 outbreak. The letter was sent by House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03), Workforce Protections Subcommittee Chair Alma Adams (NC-12), Senate Employment… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Statement on Department of Labor Proposed Rule on Independent Contractors
10.06.20 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after the Department of Labor released its proposed rule on the classification of workers under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). "The pervasive trend of employers misclassifying their employees as independent contractors has had severe consequences for workers and our economy. It strips workers of basic wage and hour protections, leaves law-abiding businesses at a competitive disadvantage, and robs state … Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Statement on President Trump Ending Coronavirus Relief Negotiations
10.06.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott released the following statement after President Trump announced he is walking away from negotiations on any further coronavirus relief until after the 2020 election. "President Trump's unwillingness to continue negotiations to provide much needed relief to the American people is just another example of this administration needlessly playing politics with the lives of students, workers, and families. "Over the last several months, the COVI… Continue Reading
Scott, Pallone to Trump Health Officials: Take Immediate Action to Support a National Testing Strategy to Protect Workers from COVID-19
10.06.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Education and Labor Committee Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) and Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) sent a letter to Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Scalia and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Azar demanding increased protections for our nation's frontline workers as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. In the letter, the Chairs express deep concern that low-wage, essential workers lack the health protections n… Continue Reading
Scott, Clyburn Request Answers on South Carolina’s Misuse of CARES Act Education Funding
10.05.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) and Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis Chairman James E. Clyburn (SC-06) sent a letter to Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos expressing deep concern regarding South Carolina's misuse of CARES Act education funds to develop a voucher program. Under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which established the Governor Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund t… Continue Reading
Democrats Criticize Proposed Labor Department Rule Weakening Tool to Advance Financial Interests of Workers and Retirees
10.02.20 Washington, D.C. - Today, Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and Congresswoman Maxine Waters, chairwoman of the House Committee on Financial Services, led several of their Democratic colleagues in submitting a comment letter… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Statement on September Jobs Report
10.02.20 WASHINGTON - Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the economy added 661,000 jobs in August with the unemployment rate at 7.9 percent. "As the nation undergoes the greatest economic and public health crisis in modern history, today's jobs report reaffirms that Congress must pass additional support for American workers, students, and families. More than seven months since this crisis began, a record number of workers cont… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Statement on Passage of Heroes Act 2.0
10.01.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott released the following statement after the House voted to pass an updated version of the Heroes Act. "House Democrats first passed the Heroes Act over four months ago because we have the responsibility to help our constituents recover from this global health emergency. Since then, the need has only grown. "State and local governments are still facing massive budget shortfalls, and without federal support, these shortfalls will slash public … Continue Reading
Democrats Demand Answers After CDC Weakens COVID-19 Workplace Safety Guidance for Nation’s Largest Meatpacking Plant
09.30.20 WASHINGTON - In a letter to Trump administration health officials, House and Senate Democrats requested information regarding the watering down of Centers for Disease Control recommendations to a South Dakota meatpacking plant that experienced a major COVID-19 outbreak. The letter was sent to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) by Chairman Robert C. "Bobby"… Continue Reading