Press Releases
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
House Health Committee Chairs Blast Trump Administration’s Attack on ACA’s Nondiscrimination Protections
06.12.20 WASHINGTON - Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA), Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Ways and Means Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-MA), and Oversight and Reform Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) released the following statement today after the Trump Administration finalized a discriminatory rule overturning key health programs and nondiscrimination protections for marginalized populations, including LGBTQIA+ people, women, individuals with disabilitie… 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
Chairman Scott Statement on May Jobs Report
06.05.20 WASHINGTON - Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the economy added 2.5 million jobs in May with the unemployment rate at 13.3 percent. "Today's jobs report is evidence of Congress' strong initial response to this crisis, but it does not diminish the devastating and unprecedented scale of the economic hardship facing workers and families across the country. On average since this crisis began, weekly unemployment claims… 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
GAO Report: More than Half of School Districts Need Significant Building Repairs; Ventilation Systems Are Major Concern
06.04.20 WASHINGTON - A new report released today by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimates that more than half of America's public school districts are in need of significant repairs to their school facilities. According to the report - which was the GAO's first study of school infrastructure needs since 1996 - 54 percent of school districts across the country must replace or update major systems in more than half their buildings. Notably, GAO found that Heating, Ventilation, and Air Con… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on Trump Vetoing Bipartisan Resolution to Protect Students from Predatory Schools
05.29.20 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after President Trump vetoed legislation, passed in March, to reverse the Department of Education's Borrower Defense rule. The Department's rule would deny debt relief to students defrauded by predatory colleges. "Earlier this year, Democrats and Republicans came together to block Secretary DeVos' Borrower Defense rule that shields predatory schools from accountability and denies relief to student borrowers who… 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
Committee Holds Virtual Briefing on Impact of COVID-19 on America’s Child Care System
05.26.20 WASHINGTON - Today, the Committee on Education and Labor held a virtual Member briefing to examine the challenges facing the child care sector amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Over half of child care providers have temporarily closed their doors and those that continue to operate are doing so with significant financial challenges. According to an analysis by the Center for American Progress, as many as 4.5 million child care slots could be lost permanently without adequate public support-disrupting p… Continue Reading
Chair Grijalva Criticizes Trump Admin for Botched Coronavirus Response in Indian Country, Calls for Immediate Release of Tribal Education Funding Passed in CARES Act
05.22.20 WASHINGTON - Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl M. Grijalva released the following statement calling on the Department of Education and the Department of the Interior to release the education funding for the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) that was included in H.R. 748, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and signed into law on March 27, 2020. “Every day, children and families in Indian Country are suffering at the hands of the Trump administration’s botched … Continue Reading
House, Senate Education Leaders Call on DeVos to Abandon Guidance Robbing Public Schools of COVID-19 Relief Funding
05.20.20 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" guidance, 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 and Senate L… Continue Reading
Scott, Murray Call on Secretary Azar to Help Displaced College Students Maintain Health Insurance During Pandemic
05.20.20 WASHINGTON - Today, in a letter to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Azar, House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) called on the Department to take proactive steps to help more than 14 million displaced college students maintain access to health care coverage. In the letter, the Members note that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many students who rely on health insu… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott to Secretary DeVos: Stop Illegally Garnishing Wages on Student Loan Borrowers
05.20.20 WASHINGTON - In a letter to Department of Education Secretary DeVos, House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) demanded an explanation for the Department illegally garnishing the wages on student loan borrowers amid the COVID-19-a direct violation of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which was signed into law on March 27. In the letter, Chairman Scott notes that as recently as May 6, employers indicated that they could not stop garnishing wag… Continue Reading
Committee Holds Virtual Briefing on Impact of COVID-19 for Seniors, Individuals with Disabilities
05.18.20 WASHINGTON - Today, the Committee on Education and Labor held a virtual Member briefing to examine the challenges facing seniors and people with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The briefing, entitled "Addressing the Impact of COVID-19 on Seniors and Individuals with Disabilities," focused on how the aging and disability populations are particularly vulnerable to both COVID-19 and to collateral consequences arising from social distancing measures. According to the CDC, individuals ag… Continue Reading