Press Releases
Chairman Scott Statement on November Jobs Report
12.06.19 WASHINGTON - Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the economy added 266,000 jobs in November with the unemployment rate at 3.5 percent. "Today's jobs report illustrates the central challenge facing our economy. Even as the unemployment rate hits a 50-year low, wage growth for American workers remains modest. It is notable that after a decade of consistent economic expansion, working families across the country are still … Continue Reading
Scott, Pallone, and Neal Announce Lower Drug Costs Now Act’s Historic Investment in Medicare and Search for New Cures
12.05.19 WASHINGTON- Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03), Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (NJ-06), and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (MA-01) released the following joint statement today announcing the historic investments in Medicare and the search for new cures that will be included in H.R. 3, the Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act when it goes to the House floor for a vote next week. "When the House of Representatives takes up the… Continue Reading
New GAO Report Shows Significant Income, Racial Barriers to Accessing Rights for Students with Disabilities
12.03.19 WASHINGTON - A Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released today reveals the dramatic effect of income and race on access to legal protections for students with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The report, which collected new data on dispute resolution under IDEA-a process that provides parents with the opportunity to raise due process complaints with their child's education-found that parents of low-income students and students of color are f… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Praises Passage of Legislation to Protect Health Care and Social Service Employees from Workplace Violence
11.21.19 WASHINGTON - Today, the House voted to pass H.R. 1309, the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act, a proposal to protect health care and social workers from workplace violence. The bipartisan legislation forces the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue a standard requiring employers to implement violence prevention plans, which are proven to reduce workplace violence. In 2018, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that health care … Continue Reading
H.R. 1309, the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act: What People Are Saying
11.21.19 H.R. 1309, the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act, is a bipartisan proposal to protect health care and social workers from workplace violence by forcing the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue a standard requiring employers to implement violence prevention plans, which are proven to reduce workplace violence. Here's what health care providers, worker safety advocates, and labor unions are saying about H.R. 1309: American Coll… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on Department of Labor Abandoning Proposed Changes to Child Labor Laws
11.20.19 WASHINGTON - Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Department of Labor abandoned its proposed rule to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to operate patient lifts in health care settings. "The Department of Labor's decision to abandon its rollback of child labor protections is a victory for the safety of workers and patients. This proposal ignored expert warnings about the danger of allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to use patient lifts without supervision. Instead, the Depar… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Statement on HHS Rule to Undermine Civil Rights
11.19.19 WASHINGTON - Today, Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposed a rule to undermine nondiscrimination provisions in federally funded health and social service programs. "This proposal to remove some of the nondiscrimination standards for both secular and religious HHS grantees is the Administration's latest attempt to weaken civil rights protections in federally funded programs. Under … Continue Reading
Committee Democrats Condemn Education Department Proposal to Eliminate Collection of Critical Civil Rights Data
11.19.19 WASHINGTON - Committee Democrats sent a letter to Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos condemning the Department's proposed changes to the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), which would eliminate collection of data that are critical in addressing the inequities in America's education system. The proposal to limit collection of data by race, gender, and disability status would also hinder the ability of the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) to enforce civil rights laws, leaving children of … Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Statement on Secretary DeVos Agreeing to Provide Documents Regarding Refusal to Provide Debt Relief to Defrauded Students
11.14.19 WASHINGTON - Today, Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Department of Education agreed to provide documents - which had first been requested in November 2018 - regarding its refusal to provide debt relief to defrauded students under Borrower Defense. "For the past year, we have been asking the Department to explain why they are refusing to provide debt relief to more than 210,000 defrauded borrowers. Late tonight, the Department fi… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott: Partial Relief for Dream Center Students “Falls Well Short” of What Defrauded Borrowers Deserve
11.08.19 WASHINGTON - Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Department of Education agreed to expand eligibility for closed school discharge to only a small portion of students defrauded by Dream Center, a defunct for-profit college chain. "Over the past several months, the Committee presented clear evidence that the Department of Education and Dream Center schools knew that the for-profit chain was on the verge of closure but failed to notify existing and potential Dream… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Statement on Allegation DOL Illegally Diverted Funding from Successful Apprenticeship Program
11.06.19 WASHINGTON - Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement in response to a press report alleging that the Department of Labor illegally diverted taxpayer money away from successful Registered Apprenticeship (RA) programs to fund Industry Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAPs), an unproven concept that would weaken quality standards and worker protections. "We have repeatedly asked the Department of Labor about allegations that it misused money that Congress allocated for Reg… Continue Reading
Committee Democrats Call on Trump Administration: Abandon Proposal that Jeopardizes Access to School Meals for Nearly 1 Million Children
11.04.19 WASHINGTON - All 28 Democrats on the Education and Labor Committee submitted a second letter to Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to abandon its proposed cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which would result in nearly one million children losing automatic access to free school meals. The letter was submitted after the USDA was forced to reopen a public comment period because it failed to publish internal estimate… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Threatens to Subpoena Secretary DeVos to Testify About Department’s Refusal to Provide Debt Relief to Defrauded Students
11.01.19 WASHINGTON - Today, Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) sent a letter to Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos threatening to subpoena her testimony after she declined a formal invitation to appear at a Committee hearing scheduled for Tuesday, November 19. The hearing will examine the Department's refusal to provide debt relief to nearly 60,000 students who were defrauded by Corinthian Colleges, a defunct for-profit college chain. "I was disappointed that you reje… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Statement on October Jobs Report
11.01.19 WASHINGTON - Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the economy added 128,000 jobs in October with the unemployment rate at 3.6 percent. "Today's report- combined with other recent economic data - raises more questions about the impact of the Trump administration's policies on the American economy. Despite 108 consecutive months of private-sector job growth (75 of which were under the Obama administration) wages for Ameri… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on Department of Education’s Final Accreditation Rule
10.31.19 WASHINGTON - Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Department of Education issued final changes to federal requirements on institution accreditation. "Students and parents view college accreditation as a seal of approval from the federal government. By rolling back standards for accreditors, the Department is undermining a key driver of institutional accountability, further exposing students and taxpayers to fraud and abuse at the hands of low-quality schools. … Continue Reading
Committee Advances Comprehensive Legislation to Lower the Cost of College
10.31.19 WASHINGTON - Today, the Committee on Education and Labor advanced the College Affordability Act (H.R. 4674) - a comprehensive proposal to lower the cost of college, improve the quality of higher education through stronger accountability, and expand opportunity by providing students the support they need to succeed. The bill, which incorporates more than 30 bipartisan proposals, was advanced on a party-line vote (28-22) with unanimous Democratic support. "A quality, college degree remains the su… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Asks Secretary DeVos to Testify About Education Department’s Refusal to Provide Debt Relief to Defrauded Students
10.29.19 WASHINGTON - Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) formally invited Secretary DeVos to testify before the Committee on Tuesday, November 19, to discuss the Department's refusal to provide debt relief to nearly 60,000 students who were defrauded by Corinthian Colleges, a defunct for-profit college chain. Following the 2015 collapse of Corinthian Colleges, the Obama administration issued the Borrowers Defense rule that ensured defrauded students would not be held responsible … Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Praises House Passage of Dignity in Aging Act
10.28.19 WASHINGTON - Today, the House voted unanimously to pass the Dignity in Aging Act, a bipartisan proposal to reauthorize the Older Americans Act (OAA) that increases funding for vital programs that help aging Americans live independently and with dignity. The OAA currently serves roughly 11 million older Americans, including 3 million older Americans who regularly rely on OAA programs to meet their basic needs. The population of Americans age 60 and over has grown more than 60 percent since 200… Continue Reading
Top Committee Democrats Call on Labor Secretary to Quantify How Much Workers Will Lose Under Proposed Tip Rule
10.24.19 WASHINGTON - Today, top Democrats on the Education and Labor Committee submitted a letter to Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Eugene Scalia calling on the Department to publish legally required estimates about the full impact of its proposed tip rule on American workers. The proposed rule, published earlier this month, included a provision codifying a repeal of the 80/20 rule but failed to include an economic analysis of the potential costs to workers, as required by law. The 80/20 rule proh… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Threatens to Subpoena Secretary DeVos for Documents Related to Department’s Role in For-Profit School Closure
10.22.19 WASHINGTON - Today, Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), chairman of the House Committee on Education and Labor, sent a letter to Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos threatening to subpoena documents regarding the Department's role in the abrupt closure of Dream Center Education Holdings, a for-profit college chain that collapsed last year. The letter is Chairman Scott's second request for documents and transcribed interviews that would shed light on the Department's behind-the-scenes effo… Continue Reading