Press Releases
House Health Chairs Highlight Key Health Provisions in The Heroes Act
05.12.20 WASHINGTON - Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA), Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), and Ways and Means Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-MA) applauded the introduction of H.R. 6800, The Heroes Act, in the House of Representatives today. The Chairmen of the three Committees worked together to draft the health care provisions in the bill, which continue the House's work of providing the necessary resources and support to respond to the ongoing coronavirus… Continue Reading
Scott, Fudge Introduce Legislation to Protect Access to Food Assistance for Displaced College Students
05.08.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) and Rep. Marcia Fudge (OH-11) introduced the End Pandemic Hunger for College Students Act to ensure low-income college students can access Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits during school closures due to COVID-19. The bill comes as widespread campus closures are exacerbating the financial challenges facing students across the country. A 2019 survey released by Temple University … Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Statement on April Jobs Report
05.08.20 WASHINGTON - Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the economy lost 20.5 million jobs in April with the unemployment rate at 14.7 percent. "Today's jobs report reflects the devastating economic reality facing students, workers, and families across the country. The share of workers facing unemployment has risen to heights not seen since the Great Depression. Unless our federal response matches the scale of this unpreceden… Continue Reading
Committee Holds Virtual Member Briefing on Remote Learning, Educational Equity
05.07.20 WASHINGTON - Today, the Committee on Education and Labor held a virtual Member briefing to examine the learning challenges schools are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The briefing, entitled "Remote Learning in the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic," focused on the abrupt closure of schools due to COVID-19, and how these closures have exacerbated longstanding inequities in K-12 education and underscored disparities in school funding, curricular resources, school facilities, and teacher quality. … Continue Reading
Scott, Nadler Statement on Education Department’s Final Title IX Rule
05.06.20 WASHINGTON - Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (NY-10) issued the following statement after the Department of Education finalized a rule to revise standards for schools' responsibility under the Title IX to respond to campus sexual assault and harassment. "It is alarming that instead of focusing on helping students, educators, and institutions cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department wasted valuable time finalizing a rule that will erode … Continue Reading
House, Senate Democrats Warn DeVos Against Changing Distance Education Rules Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
05.04.20 WASHINGTON - Today, in a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) and Senate HELP Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) called on the Department to delay changes to distance education rules as students and schools adapt to virtual classrooms in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In a public comment letter, the Democratic education leaders wrote that the history of fraud and abuse in distance education programs and the massive sh… Continue Reading
House Democrats to Labor Department: Protect Civil Rights in Federal Contracting
05.04.20 WASHINGTON - Today, House Democrats sent a letter to the Director of the Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) in strong opposition to the agency's recent guidance allowing new service, supply, and construction contracts related to coronavirus response to avoid federal affirmative action requirements. The letter was signed by Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03), Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Committee on Armed Services… Continue Reading
Committee Democrats Call on Secretary DeVos to Fix Borrower Defense Application Process
05.04.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Committee on Education and Labor Democrats sent a comment letter to Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos opposing some of the Department's proposed changes to the application to the Borrower Defense program. The Members expressed serious concerns that some of Department's proposed changes are unnecessary and may deter applicants. The Borrower Defense program allows student loan borrowers to seek debt relief if they are defrauded by their institution. In the letter, the Memb… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Remarks at First Full Committee Virtual Forum on COVID-19 Response
05.01.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott delivered the following remarks at the first full Committee virtual forum on COVID-19. "Today, we're gathered to provide all Members the opportunity to share how the spread of COVID-19 is affecting their districts and discuss what the Committee can do to provide urgently needed relief. "The COVID-19 emergency is disrupting nearly every facet of our society. More than 30 million people have filed unemployment claims; students and families ar… Continue Reading
In Response to Rising Unemployment, Democrats Introduce Legislation to Invest $15 Billion in Workforce Training Needed to Relaunch the Economy
05.01.20 WASHINGTON - Today, House Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) and Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) led House and Senate Democrats in introducing legislation to invest $15 billion in America's workforce training infrastructure as well as career and technical education. The Relaunching America's Workforce Act authorizes funding to help workers sharpen their skills and quickly re-enter the workforce a… Continue Reading
House Health Leaders Oppose Rule to Roll Back ACA Nondiscrimination Protections
05.01.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Chairs of the House Committees that oversee the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) voiced their strong opposition to a harmful Trump administration rule that would roll backAffordable Care Act (ACA) nondiscrimination protections. In a letter, House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (D-VA), House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard E. Neal (D-MA), House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), and House Oversight and R… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Statement on President Trump Ordering Meat Processing Plants to Stay Open Despite Rising Worker Deaths
04.28.20 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement in response to President Trump's plan to order meat processing plants to stay open and shield companies from liability for the health and safety of their workers. "There is clear evidence that without proper protections from COVID-19, workers in meat processing plants and other workplaces will continue to fall ill and die from this disease. It is profoundly disturbing that President Trump is using his authorit… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Statement on Workers’ Memorial Day
04.28.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement in honor of Workers' Memorial Day. "As we mark Workers' Memorial Day this year, we remember the workers who have lost their lives and recommit to making workplaces safe. This year's remembrance comes at a particularly poignant time as our nation experiences its worst worker safety crisis in recent history. The Centers for Disease Control reports that more than 22,000 health care workers have been infecte… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Statement on House Passage of Interim COVID-19 Response Bill
04.23.20 WASHINGTON - Today Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott issued the following statement after the House passed the Senate's interim funding package in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. "The interim funding legislation passed by the House today will provide urgent relief to vulnerable small businesses and their workers. Thanks to the efforts of Democratic leadership, this funding package sets aside $60 billion for small lenders, such as community-based banks and credit unions, so that small business… Continue Reading
Scott, Murray, DeLauro Release Report Revealing DeVos’ Failure to Collect Usable Data to Protect Children from Excessive or Discriminatory Seclusion and Restraint
04.22.20 WASHINGTON - Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), Chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, released a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) revealing that the Department of Education (Department) failed to collect … Continue Reading
Committee Democrats to USDA: Do Not Undermine Child Nutrition Standards
04.22.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Committee Democrats sent a comment letter to Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture to rescind parts of a proposed rule that reverse science-based nutrition standards for child nutrition programs. The Department's proposal, which was published January 23, 2020, would cut back on the required daily servings of fruits and required variety of vegetables, increase access to sugary desserts, and create a major loophole allowing schools to … Continue Reading
As Workplace Infections and Deaths Rise, House Democrats Introduce Bill to Protect Workers from COVID-19
04.21.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03), Workforce Protections Subcommittee Chairwoman Alma Adams (NC-12), and Congresswoman Donna Shalala (FL-27) introduced legislation to protect U.S. workers from COVID-19 in response to disturbing, widespread reports of unsafe workplaces leading to preventable illnesses and deaths. The COVID-19 Every Worker Protection Act (H.R. 6559) would require the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue an Emergency Temporary Sta… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Statement on OSHA Safety Directive
04.14.20 WASHINGTON - Today Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott issued the following statement after the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released a new enforcement directive for health care facilities in response to COVID-19. "Over the past few months, we have seen the tragic consequences of the Department of Labor's failure to take urgent action to protect frontline health care workers and other essential employees. Without an enforceable workplace safety standard to protect workers … Continue Reading
House Democrats Introduce Bill to Help Workers Keep Job-Based Health Coverage During COVID-19 Crisis
04.14.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03), Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-04), and Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-12) introduced legislation to help workers maintain their job-based health insurance in response to an unprecedented wave of layoffs and furloughs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Worker Health Coverage Protection Act, would provide federal assistance to cover the full cost of COBRA premiums for workers or the full cost of he… Continue Reading
Democratic Health Leaders Call on Trump Administration to Help Millions Affected by COVID-19 Access Health Coverage
04.13.20 WASHINGTON - After another staggering and unprecedented spike in claims for unemployment benefits, House and Senate Democratic health leaders reiterated an urgent request for the Trump administration to immediately establish a new Special Enrollment Period (SEP) for millions affected by the ongoing economic and health crisis. The Democratic health leaders also called on the Trump administration to use all administrative tools available to assist the millions affected by the coronavirus pandemic … Continue Reading