Press Releases
Scott Statement on Latest Decision Dismantling the Overtime Rule
09.01.17 WASHINGTON - Rep. Bobby Scott (VA-03), ranking member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce issued the following statement after a federal judge in Texas ruled against the Obama Administration's rule to ensure millions of working people are paid adequately for the hours they work. "A Texas district court judge recently declared the Department of Labor's (DOL) 2016 overtime final rule invalid. The court's decision is a setback for hundreds of thousands of working people who will … Continue Reading
Scott Statement on August Jobs Report
09.01.17 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the economy added 156,000 jobs in August, with the unemployment rate at 4.4 percent. "Today's jobs report shows that job growth under President Trump has slowed in comparison to the last six months of the Obama Administration. While some states are experiencing stagnant job growth and even job loss, the Trump Administration has still not offered a plan to increase… Continue Reading
Bonamici Responds to Hiring of For-Profit Official to Lead Enforcement Unit
08.30.17 WASHINGTON, DC [08/30/17] - Today Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Vice Ranking Member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, spoke out on behalf of students after the Department of Education announced it hired Julian Schmoke Jr., a former official from DeVry University, to lead the Student Aid Enforcement Unit. The unit is tasked with policing fraud and deceptive practices in higher education. "American students deserve to know that the Department of Education is going to be… Continue Reading
Rep. Takano: Trump Administration is Turning Education Department into an Accomplice in For-Profit Fraud
08.30.17 WASHINGTON - Today, Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif) released the following statement after the Trump administration tapped Julian Schmoke Jr., a former for-profit college executive, to lead the Education Department's Student Aid Enforcement unit, which is responsible for policing fraudulent and deceptive practices at colleges and universities. Schmoke Jr.'s previous employer, DeVry University, recently reached a $100 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission in response to allegations of … Continue Reading
Scott Statement on Roll Back of Workplace Civil Rights Protections
08.29.17 WASHINGTON - Rep. Bobby Scott (VA-03), ranking member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, released the following statement after the Administrator at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs has halted the collection of pay data under the expanded EEO1 survey. "Today, the Trump Administration has taken another step to roll back workplace civil rights protections. Since the enactment of the Civil Rights Act in 1964, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEO… Continue Reading
House, Senate Democratic Leaders Push Trump Administration for Answers on Affirmative Action
08.21.17 Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA), ranking member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Congressman John Conyers (D-MI), ranking member of the House Committee on Judiciary, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, sent a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Secretary of Education … Continue Reading
Bonamici to DeVos: Stop Putting Interests of For-Profit Colleges Over Interests of Students
08.18.17 BEAVERTON, OR [08/18/17] - Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Vice Ranking Member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, spoke out on behalf of students after the Department of Education announced it would further delay requirements that colleges comply with a rule protecting student loan borrowers. The Gainful Employment rule protects students attending career colleges from being burdened by student loan debt that they cannot repay. The Gainful Employment regulation prohibits … Continue Reading
Scott Statement on CBO’s Report on Skyrocketing Premiums if Trump Administration Ends Cost-Sharing Payments
08.15.17 WASHINGTON - Rep. Bobby Scott (VA-03), ranking member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, released the following statement after the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its assessment of the impact of terminating cost-sharing payments. "Today, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office confirmed that the Trump administration's reckless actions continue to jeopardize access to health coverage for millions of Americans across the country. For months, the administration … Continue Reading
Scott Statement on President Trump’s Response to the Violence in Charlottesville
08.14.17 WASHINGTON - Days after the horrific violence at a "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, President Trump finally named the groups who perpetrated the violence: white supremacists and neo-Nazi sympathizers. Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement in reaction to the President's remarks: "While I welcome the President's condemnation of overt racism and white nationalism in response to this weekend's horrible events, I remind everyone that actions speak loud… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Leaving the Virginia Marketplace
08.12.17 NEWPORT NEWS, VA - Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement on the announcement that Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield will leave the Virginia marketplace in 2018: "The Trump administration's reckless actions continue to jeopardize health coverage access for millions of Americans across the country. Just yesterday, Anthem announced they will no longer sell plans in Virginia's Marketplace citing "continual changes and uncertainty in federal operations, rules and guidance. S… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on July Jobs Report
08.04.17 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the economy added 209,000 jobs in July, with the unemployment rate at 4.3 percent. "Today's jobs report shows that the economic gains we made in the recovery from the Great Recession remain strong. However, the report also includes the fact that wages are still stagnant. "According to the report, average hourly earnings for all employees in nonfarm employment ros… Continue Reading
Scott, Foxx Statement on Senate Passage of Juvenile Justice Bill
08.02.17 WASHINGTON - Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), ranking member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, released the following joint statement praising the passage of juvenile justice reforms by the United States Senate. "More than one million at-risk and vulnerable children are counting on Congress to make commonsense reforms to federal juvenile justice policy that will have a real impact on co… Continue Reading
Scott, Conyers Statement on Reports of Trump Administration Plans to Attack Affirmative Action
08.02.17 WASHINGTON - Representatives Bobby Scott (VA-03) and John Conyers, Jr. (MI-13), the ranking members of the House Committees on Education and the Workforce and the Judiciary, respectively, issued the following statement after reports surfaced that the Department of Justice plans to attack and undermine affirmative action programs in colleges and universities. "While we cannot comment on the veracity of this alleged memo, we are deeply concerned by news reports that the Department of Justice int… Continue Reading
Murray, Brown, Franken, DeLauro, Scott Introduce Bill to Stop Wage Theft, Boost Workers’ Financial Security
08.01.17 (Washington, D.C.) - Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Al Franken (D-MN), and Representatives Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Bobby Scott (D-VA), introduced the Wage Theft Prevention and Wage Recovery Act to crack down on employers who unfairly withhold wages from their employees. This bill would give workers the right to receive full compensation for all of the work they perform, as well as the right to receive regular paystubs and final paychecks in a timely manner. It would also… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on Republicans’ Failed Attempt to Repeal the ACA
07.28.17 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Senate failed to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA): "As I have said many times before, if we are going to change the Affordable Care Act, we should improve it, not make it worse. In the middle of the night, Senate Republicans finally unveiled another disastrous version of Trumpcare and then voted on the legislation after having only seen the text two hours earlier. Unfortunately, this version of Trumpca… Continue Reading
Democratic Health Leaders Urge Republicans to Work With Them to Improve the Affordable Care Act
07.28.17 Washington, D.C. - The Ranking Members of four House Committees with jurisdiction over health care expressed their willingness to work together with Republicans today to strengthen the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In a letter sent to the Chairmen of their respective committees, the four Democrats called on Republicans to set aside efforts to repeal the ACA and instead to focus on expanding access to health care and lowering the cost of coverage. The letter comes after the vote on Trumpcare faile… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on Bill to Undermine Workers’ Rights
07.27.17 WASHINGTON - Committee on Education and Workforce Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after House Republicans introduced the so-called "Save Local Business Act." This bill would amend the National Labor Relations Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act to prevent employees from holding joint employers accountable for wage theft and unfair labor practices. "Labor and employment laws have long held that, where more than one employer has the right to control the terms … Continue Reading
Murray, DeLauro, Scott Urge Secretary DeVos to Reverse Course and Enforce Student Protections Against High-Debt Career Training Programs
07.27.17 (Washington, D.C.) - Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), ranking member of the House Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee, Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA), ranking member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee and 56 Members of Congress sent a letter today urging Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to reverse the U.S. Department of Edu… Continue Reading
McEachin, Kaine, Beyer, Warner & 55+ Members Urge Secretary DeVos to Reduce Discipline in Schools
07.26.17 WASHINGTON - TODAY, more than 60 Members of Congress sent a bicameral letter to Secretary DeVos urging her to take steps toward reducing excessive discipline in schools. "This concern, the inappropriate punishment of schoolchildren and steps to eliminate it, is critical and that is why I felt it important to write this letter. I am so pleased to have Senator Kaine, with his experience and wisdom, collaborate with me, and to be joined by my Virginia colleague Don Beyer," said Congressman Donald … Continue Reading
Scott Statement on the 27th Anniversary of the ADA
07.26.17 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement on the 27th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). "Today marks the 27th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, a landmark civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities. The ADA also requires reasonable accommodations be made in the community, schools, and the workplace for these individuals. "Many of the critical supports that pe… Continue Reading