Press Releases

Ranking Member Scott Statement on the Trump Administration’s Actions to Undermine Women’s Preventive Health Care

11.11.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury finalized two rules that give employers and institutions of higher education the ability to deny women coverage for preventive services based on "religious or moral" objections. "The recent decision by the Departments to roll back protections for insurance coverage of preventive health care under the guise of religious liberty is a direct attack … Continue Reading

Ranking Member Scott Statement on Election Results

11.07.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) released the following statement in response to the midterm election results. "Millions of people from diverse communities across the country have come together to call for a change. They are demanding a government that works to improve the lives of all Americans. It is now our responsibility to make sure their voices are heard. "While elections are defined by what makes us different, governing should be guided by the values and aspirations we sh… Continue Reading

Ranking Member Scott Statement on October Jobs Report

11.02.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the economy added 250,000 jobs in October, with the unemployment rate at 3.7 percent. "Today's jobs report once again shows that despite the continued strength of the U.S. economy, too many U.S. workers are still being left behind. Even accounting for the increased wage growth reflected in this report, workers' wages are barely keeping pace with inflation. Many peop… Continue Reading

Scott, Murray Blast DeVos for Deeply Flawed Rulemaking Process That Could Weaken Key Protections for Students

10.31.18 WASHINGTON - Today, Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA), ranking member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee, sent a letter to Secretary Betsy DeVos urging the Department of Education (ED) to suspend the flawed, forthcoming negotiated rulemaking process that could abandon key protections for students and give predatory institutions free reign to take advantage of st… Continue Reading

Ranking Members Scott, Nadler & Murray Release Bill to End Forced Arbitration in the Workplace, Restoring Critical Rights for American Workers

10.30.18 WASHINGTON ? Today, House Committee on Education and the Workforce Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA) and House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) introduced H.R. 7109, the Restoring Justice for Workers Act, legislation to overrule the 2018 Supreme Court decision in Epic Systems v. Lewis by ending forced arbitration clauses and protecting workers' ability to pursue work-related claims in court. The legislation will be introduced in the Senate by U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-… Continue Reading

Top House Democrats to DeVos: Reverse Changes to College Scorecard

10.29.18 WASHINGTON - Today, four House Democrats sent a letter to Secretary Betsy DeVos calling on the Department of Education to reverse its changes to the College Scorecard, a widely used tool that helps prospective students make informed decisions regarding college enrollment. In September, the Department removed a metric from the College Scorecard that allowed consumers to compare schools' academic and financial outcomes to the national median, which allowed students and parents to make sense of the… Continue Reading

GAO Report: Students in Poorer and Smaller Schools Have Less Access to Courses That Help Prepare Them for College

10.26.18 WASHINGTON - Today, Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), the top Democrat on the Committee on Education and the Workforce, released a GAO report that found that students in relatively poor and small schools have less access to high school courses that help prepare them for college. Ranking Member Scott initially requested the Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigate the disparities in college preparation due to high school enrollment and course offerings in high school. In their report,… Continue Reading

Top Democrats to OMB: Don’t Suppress Data on Pay Discrimination

10.24.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03), the top Democrat on the Committee on Education and the Workforce, Congressman Mark Takano (CA-41), the top Democrat on the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, and Congressman Don Beyer (VA-08), sent a letter to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney requesting that he reverse a decision to stop the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) from collecting data on pay discrimination. Under the Obama administration, the … Continue Reading

Democratic Committee Leaders Slam New Trump Administration Health Care Sabotage

10.22.18 WASHINGTON - Today, the three House Democratic leaders of the committees with jurisdiction over health care, Education and the Workforce Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA), Ways and Means Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-MA), and Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) released the following joint statement after the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of the Treasury issued a new guidance. This guidance continues Republicans' unrelenting push to sabotage… Continue Reading

Over 150 Democrats Call on DeVos to Release More Information about the Department’s Failure to Faithfully Implement the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program

10.17.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03), House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA), Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, along with Representatives Susan Davis (CA-53) and John Sarbanes (MD-03), and Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO), led more than 150 Democrats requesting Education Secretary Betsy DeVos turn over more information-and swiftly act to fix- regarding the Department's flawed handling … Continue Reading

Bonamici Applauds Court Decision on Student Debt Relief

10.17.18 WASHINGTON, DC [10/16/18] - Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) applauded a court decision that allowed an Obama-era rule that protects student loan borrowers and holds predatory for-profit colleges accountable to go into effect today. The decision ended months of delay for the enforcement of the Borrower Defense rule, which was originally announced in 2016. More than 100,000 borrowers in the country, including many Oregonians, were deceived by for-profit colleges. Many of the students who w… Continue Reading

Ranking Member Scott Statement on Court Ruling in Borrower Defense Lawsuit

10.16.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after a federal court judge ruled the Department of Education illegally delayed the "Borrower Defense" (BD) rule. The rule was established under President Obama in the wake of two massive for-profit college closures to provide relief to defrauded students. "Today's court ruling is a major victory for students. In September, the Court found the Department illegally delayed the Borrower's Defense regulations, delaying … Continue Reading

Rep. Mark Takano Statement on Court Decision Regarding Borrowers’ Defense Rule

10.16.18 WASHINGTON - Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) released the following statement after a U.S. District Court judge denied an injunction that would have reversed a rule promulgated in 2016 to protect student loan borrowers from misleading, deceitful, and predatory practices: "Today's court decision on the 2016 borrowers' defense rule is a major victory for students across the United States. The court's ruling has permitted these much-needed consumer protections to take effect at noon today, putting an… Continue Reading

Scott Statement on Material Errors in Education Department’s Recommendation to Recognize Troubled College Accreditor

10.05.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the statement in response to news reports revealing the Department of Education's recommendation to grant the Accrediting Council of Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) another year as a recognized accreditor mischaracterized input from respected accrediting agencies. "The inaccuracies in Ms. Auer Jones's report recommending recognition for the Accrediting Council of Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) calls into question the legi… Continue Reading

Scott Statement on September Jobs Report

10.05.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the economy added 134,000 jobs in September, with the unemployment rate at 3.7 percent. "Today's jobs report once again shows that despite the continued strength of the U.S. economy, too many U.S. workers are still being left behind. While corporate profits and shareholder buybacks are hitting record highs, annualized wage growth is just 2.8%, which is barely enoug… Continue Reading

Scott Statement on Education Department Missing Deadline to Finalize Rollback of Consumer Protections

10.03.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement in response to reports that the Education Department will miss a deadline to finalize its rollback of rules that protect students from predatory schools. The delay, which is a result of the overwhelming number of public comments submitted in response to the proposals, means the Obama-era protections for students and taxpayers will remain in effect until at least July 1, 2020. "The reported delay in the Trump administ… Continue Reading

Scott Statement on the Recognition ACICS

10.01.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after Diane Auer Jones, a senior official at the Department of Education and former for-profit college executive, submitted a recommendation that Secretary DeVos grant the Accrediting Council of Independent Colleges and Schools (ACICS) an additional year as a recognized accreditor despite continued lack of compliance with federal standards for accrediting agencies. "Students, their families, and the federal governmen… Continue Reading

Ranking Member Scott Statement on Legislation to Address Opioid Epidemic

09.28.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the House passed the Substance Use Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act (SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act). "The opioid epidemic has claimed the lives of family members, friends, coworkers, and neighbors in communities across this country. This bill will help bring an end to these tragedies by improving access to evidence-based substance use d… Continue Reading

House Passes Bill to Enhance Protections for Missing and Exploited Children

09.28.18 WASHINGTON - Today, Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), ranking member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, issued the following statement after the House unanimously passed the Missing Children's Assistance Act (S. 3354), which renews a grant to support efforts to find missing children and prevent child exploitation. "The pain, trauma, fear, and uncertainty experienced by parents of a missing child is unfathomable. Affected families and children need the full support of law enforcemen… Continue Reading

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