Press Releases
Scott: Trump’s Budget Proposal Shortchanges Students and Workers
02.12.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the White House released an outline of its Fiscal Year 2019 budget priorities. "The administration's budget proposal does not prioritize America's students and workers. President Trump's budget hurts students by eliminating vital early childhood and K-12 education programs to divert $1 billion to private school vouchers; slashing federal grant aid to make coll… Continue Reading
House Democrats Unveil A Better Deal to Rebuild America
02.08.18 WASHINGTON, DC - Today, House Democrats announced a bold, new, comprehensive infrastructure plan - A Better Deal to Rebuild America. This historic $1 trillion federal investment to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure is five times larger than President Trump’s rumored plan and will create more than 16 million jobs. A Better Deal to Rebuild America will boost local economies and generate billions of dollars in new economic activity without adding to the deficit. The infrastructure plan will inv… Continue Reading
Scott, DeLauro Statement on Republicans’ Paid Parental Leave Proposal
02.07.18 WASHINGTON -- Representative Bobby Scott (VA-03), ranking Member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and Representatives Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) released the following statement in response to the paid parental leave proposal announced today by Senate Republicans: "This proposal would put pressure on Social Security's already strained resources," said Ranking Member Bobby Scott. "While I'm encouraged there's bipartisan support for paid family and medical leave, we should not shortc… Continue Reading
Scott: CBO Confirms GOP Higher Education Bill is a $15 Billion Raid on Student Aid
02.06.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released cost estimates for H.R. 4508. "The CBO's score of H.R. 4508 confirms what we already knew to be true - this bill makes college more expensive for America's students and working families. According to the CBO, H.R. 4508 would send $9.2 billion in taxpayer dollars to for-profit schools and low-quality programs, but fails to provide any substantial support to help l… Continue Reading
Democrats Urge Labor Board Member William Emanuel to Explain Conflicts of Interest on Decision to Weaken Workers’ Rights, Shield Corporations from Responsibility
02.06.18 WASHINGTON- Representatives Bobby Scott (D-VA), Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (D-MP), and Donald Norcross (D-NJ), and U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Maggie Hassan (D-NH), sent a letter asking National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) member William Emanuel to clarify whether he violated federal regulations and the Trump Administration ethics pledge by participating in an eleventh-hour decision involving the "joint employer" standard. In a December vote, the NLRB wea… Continue Reading
Committee Democrats Hold Administration Accountable for Miners' Health and Safety
02.06.18 WASHINGTON - Today, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) Assistant Secretary David G. Zatezalo testified before the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections. Assistant Secretary Zatezalo's testimony comes as rates of pulmonary massive fibrosis (PMF) -- the most advanced form of black lung disease -- are surging among Appalachian miners. Committee Democrats raised concerns that, under the Trump administration, MSHA is not taking the necessary steps to address this public health crisis. … Continue Reading
More than 120 Democrats Urge Department of Labor to Withdraw Harmful Proposed Tip Rule
02.06.18 WASHINGTON - Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA), ranking member on the Education and the Workforce Committee, Senator Patty Murry (D-WA), ranking member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and 122 Democrats submitted a public comment to Secretary of Labor R. Alexander Acosta urging the Department of Labor (DOL) to withdraw its proposed change to the tip rules. DOL is considering changing existing rules to allow employers to pocket tips of workers, which could result in the… Continue Reading
Democratic Education Leaders Call for Inspector General Investigation of Education Department’s Use of Private Collection Agencies
02.05.18 WASHINGTON, DC [02/05/18] - Today Representatives Suzanne Bonamici, Bobby Scott, Susan A. Davis, and Senators Kamala Harris, Patty Murray, and Elizabeth Warren called on the Inspector General of the Department of Education to examine whether the use of private collection agencies to collect defaulted student loans is a waste or misuse of taxpayer dollars. The Education Department uses private collection agencies to collect payments from struggling student loan borrowers who have defaulted on th… Continue Reading
Scott, DeLauro, Murray, Casey: Occupational Safety and Health Administration Is Abandoning Its Core Mission by Rejecting Safety Recommendations to Protect Vulnerable Meat and Poultry Plant Workers
02.02.18 Washington, D.C. - U.S. Representative Bobby Scott (D-VA), Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), and Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), sent a letter to Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta raising questions about the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) decision to reject health and safety recommendations for workers in meat and poultry plants, including ensuring workers have access to bathroom facilities. The recommendations by the independent Government Acco… Continue Reading
Top Democrats Demand DOL Share Estimates about Effects of Harmful Proposed Tip Rule
02.02.18 WASHINGTON - Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), ranking member of the Education and the Workforce Committee, Congressman Keith Ellison (MN-05), vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Congressman Mark Takano (CA-41), ranking member of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, and Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), vice ranking member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, sent a letter to Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary R. Alexander Acosta requesting the Department… Continue Reading
Ranking Member Scott Statement on January Jobs Report
02.02.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the economy added 200,000 jobs in January, with the unemployment rate at 4.1 percent. "Today's job report shows that while our economic recovery remains stable, too many working people and families are still struggling to get ahead and make ends meet. During President Obama's last year in office, the economy added over 2 million jobs, yet during President Trump's f… Continue Reading
DOL Proposed Tip Rule is Harmful: See What People Are Saying...
02.01.18 Under the Department of Labor's (DOL) proposed tip rule, employers will benefit at the expense of workers. And in the wake of allegations that DOL withheld estimates that workers would lose billions as a result of the rule, it's clear the administration does not have the interest of working people in mind. Don't just take our word for it-read what the groups are saying: The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights: "The Trump Labor Department lied in claiming that they could not produce… Continue Reading
Rep Takano: DOL Must Withdraw Proposed Tip Rule
02.01.18 Washington, D.C. - Today, Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), ranking member of the Committee on Workforce Protections, called on the Department of Labor (DOL) to withdraw its proposed tip pooling rule, which would allow employers to pocket or redistribute the tips earned by workers. This morning, a Bloomberg BNA report revealed that senior DOL officials hid an internal economic analysis that found the rule would cost workers billions of dollars in tips. "The Department of Labor's decision to hide an … Continue Reading
Ranking Member Scott Calls on DOL to Withdraw Harmful Proposed Tip Rule
02.01.18 WASHINGTON - Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), ranking member of the Education and the Workforce Committee, issued the following statement after Bloomberg Law reported that the Department of Labor (DOL) withheld a legally required economic analysis for its proposed rule to allow employers to pocket tips of workers. "I am deeply troubled by allegations that the Department of Labor (DOL) may have withheld estimates that workers would lose billions in tips each year under the Department's proposed … Continue Reading
Ranking Member Scott on the SOTU and the Reality for America’s Students and Workers
01.30.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after President Trump delivered this State of the Union Address before Congress. "During President Trump's first year in office, his administration and Congressional Republicans have subjected students and workers to a constant barrage of attacks. Under President Trump's leadership, the administration has moved to allow employers to pocket workers' tips, jeopardized workplace safety, and made it harder for workers t… Continue Reading
At Hearing, Democrats Highlight Importance of Investments in Education Research
01.30.18 WASHINGTON - Today, the full Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing entitled, "Protecting Privacy, Promoting Policy: Evidence-based Policymaking and the Future of Education." There is broad, bipartisan consensus that educational research-when collected, stored, and used responsibility-is an invaluable tool that improves teaching and learning. Unfortunately, public investments in education research are not as robust as research investments used to advance policy and practice in o… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on the 9th Anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
01.29.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement on the nine-year anniversary of the passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, a law that empowers workers to recover lost wages due to pay discrimination by extending the time period in which an employee can file a claim. "Last week, hundreds of thousands of women and men took to the streets to demand equal rights, including workplaces free from discrimination and harassment. As we commemorate the passage of the L… Continue Reading
Scott, Committee Democrats Join More than 180 House Members to Press for Stronger NAFTA Labor Standards
01.24.18 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) joined 183 House Members in sending a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer raising concerns about the need to address Mexico's labor conditions in NAFTA renegotiations. The Members urged the administration to negotiate provisions that address Mexico's policies of wage suppression and lack of independent unions, which leads to unfair competition for U.S. workers and outsourcing. "Trade agreements must ensure that as trade and compe… Continue Reading
Democratic Committee Leaders Urge DOJ & FBI to Investigate Fake Public Comments
01.24.18 WASHINGTON - Education and Workforce Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA), Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), and Oversight and Government Reform Committee Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD) today requested the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to expand a previously requested investigation into the potentially illegal submission of fake comments to… Continue Reading
Top Democrats Ask DOL for Public Hearing on Proposed Tip Rule
01.23.18 WASHINGTON - Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), ranking member of the Education and the Workforce Committee, Congressman Keith Ellison (MN-05), vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Congressman Mark Takano (CA-41), ranking member of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, and Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), vice ranking member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, sent a letter to Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Alexander Acosta requesting the DOL hold publ… Continue Reading