Press Releases
Scott: HBCUs Are Constitutional
05.08.17 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after President Trump suggested financing for Historically Black Colleges and Universities may be unconstitutional: "The President issued a signing statement calling into question the constitutional status of federally-designated Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and the programs that serve them. While he has since issued another statement attempting to clarify his support for HBCUs, there has been… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on April Jobs Report
05.05.17 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the economy added a total of 211,000 jobs in April, with the unemployment rate at 4.4 percent. "Today's jobs report shows that President Trump continues to inherit a growing economy from President Obama. Unfortunately, President Trump's plans to significantly cut programs that support our nation's long-term economic prosperity will only jeopardize the economic gai… Continue Reading
Scott, Pallone, Neal Blast Executive Order Targeting Vital Health Services
05.04.17 WASHINGTON - Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA), Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard Neal (D-MA) today released the following statement on the Trump Administration's executive order subverting civil rights protections under the guise of religious freedom: "As if working to take away coverage from 24 million Americans and raising health care costs for everyone else wasn't… Continue Reading
Scott to Foxx: Do Not Waive Committee Jurisdiction Over #WrongCHOICE Act
05.04.17 WASHINGTON - Earlier this week, Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) sent a letter to Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (NC -05) urging her not to agree to any requests to waive the Committee’s jurisdiction over H.R. 10 the Financial CHOICE Act of 2017, legislation that would destroy the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule. “It has come to my attention that the House Committee on Financial Services is planning to begin the mark-up of H.R. 10 on May 2nd” Scott wrote. “The bill was referred to our Commi… Continue Reading
Scott, Conyers Statement on Latest Trump Actions to Enable Discrimination
05.04.17 WASHINGTON - Committee on Education and the Workforce Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) and Committee on the Judiciary Ranking Member John Conyers (MI-13) issued the following statement after President Trump signed an executive order on the National Day of Prayer, that allegedly promotes "religious liberty": "Religious liberty is a fundamental American value. However, the executive order signed today by the Trump Administration would permit individuals to use their 'conscience-based objection… Continue Reading
Scott Denounces House Republicans’ Passage of TrumpCare
05.04.17 WASHINGTON - Today, House Republicans voted 217-213 to pass the American Health Care Act, also known as Trumpcare. House Republicans forced the vote without a Congressional Budget Office score of how the final legislation will affect America's families and the economy. Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) spoke on the House Floor against the bill. "A few facts about the situation since the passage of the Affordable Care Act: costs have gone up at the slowest rate in 50 years. Pre-existing conditi… Continue Reading
Members Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Strengthen Career and Technical Education
05.04.17 WASHINGTON - Members of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce today introduced the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, bipartisan legislation to strengthen and improve career and technical education (CTE). Introduced by Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), and Glenn "GT" Thompson (R-PA), the legislation reauthorizes the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act and will help more students gain the knowledge and skills they need to compete for… Continue Reading
Scott Denounces Senate Move to Weaken State Retirement Savings Programs
05.03.17 WASHINGTON - Committee on Education and the Workforce Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after the U.S. Senate passed (50-49) H.J.RES.66, a Congressional Review Act joint resolution to undercut state initiatives to establish retirement savings programs for private-sector workers. "Today, the Senate passed H.J.Res. 66, a joint resolution that nullifies a critical Department of Labor rule supporting states' efforts to expand workers' access to retirement savings p… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on Omnibus
05.03.17 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the passage (309-118) of fiscal year 2017 omnibus legislation, H.R. 244 - Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017: “Budgeting requires making tough choices, and a budget is a reflection of priorities. Today’s spending agreement prevents the government from shutting down and limits harmful efforts to balance the budget on the backs of students, working families, and vulnerable communities across the nation. “As l… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on Republicans’ Harmful Bill Stripping Workers of Overtime Pay
05.02.17 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the House Republicans passed (229-197) H.R. 1180, the Working Families Flexibility Act, which strips working people of their overtime pay. "Today the House voted on H.R. 1180 and 191 Democrats voted against this proposal. H.R. 1180 amends the Fair Labor Standards Act to permit employers to pay employees for hours worked beyond 40 in a week in compensatory time off (one and one-half hours of paid time off at som… Continue Reading
Committee Democrats: Accreditation Systems Must Promote Innovation, High Quality Programs
04.27.17 WASHINGTON, DC - Today, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing on accreditation systems and how they can be improved to better protect students and taxpayers. The accreditation system is responsible for ensuring America's students are investing in a high-quality education. "While the federal government and state authorizers both have important roles to play in assuring quality, accrediting bodies are the true arbiters of quality in our higher education system," stated… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on Findings of D.C. Voucher Program Study
04.27.17 WASHINGTON, DC - Committee on Education and the Workforce Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) at the Department of Education released a report concluding that the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) - the only federally funded voucher program - had negative impacts on student achievement. "We know vouchers don't work. For years I've been saying that on average, voucher programs are average. But IES confirms th… Continue Reading
Scott, Bonamici, Murray, Warren Urge Secretary DeVos to Reinstate Student Loan Protections
04.26.17 (Washington, D.C.) -Led by Reps. Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), and Sens. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), more than 130 Members of Congress sent a letter today to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos urging her to reverse a decision to rescind Obama-era memos on student loan servicing reforms. The reforms had included new consumer protections for borrowers and improvements to the quality of federal loan servicing. "Your decision to rescind these memos-including t… Continue Reading
Committee Republicans Pass Harmful Bill Stripping Workers of Overtime Pay
04.26.17 WASHINGTON, DC - Today, the Committee on Education and the Workforce held a markup on H.R. 1180, the Working Families Flexibility Act. Republicans rejected Democrats' efforts to advance amendments that would have provided real solutions for workers - paid sick days, fair work schedules, and strengthened overtime protections. Republicans voted unanimously (22-16) to make it harder for working people to be paid for every hour on the job. "H.R. 1180 doesn't give employees any rights they don't al… Continue Reading
Civil and Human Rights Coalition Denounces Misnamed ‘Working Families Flexibility Act’
04.26.17 WASHINGTON, DC - Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement after the House Committee on Education and the Workplace approved H.R. 1180, the Working Families Flexibility Act: "The Working Families Flexibility Act is misnamed - it neither supports working families nor provides flexibility. If passed, this bill would mean more overtime hours and less money for workers without any guarantee of time off when they need it.… Continue Reading
VA Members Urge Congressional Leadership to Take Action to Protect Miners Before Healthcare Benefits Expire
04.25.17 WASHINGTON, DC - In a letter today, Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine, and Reps. Bobby Scott, Gerry Connolly, and A. Donald McEachin (all D-VA) urged Congressional leaders to take action to protect retired coal miners who risk losing their healthcare benefits as part of negotiations to keep the government funded before the end of the week. Last year, Congress reached a deal to extend government funding and retired miners' health care benefits until April 28th. In March, retired coal miners and … Continue Reading
Scott, Davis Request Study to Examine Ed Department’s Ability to Forgive Federal Loans of Public Servants
04.24.17 WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Reps. Bobby Scott (VA-03), and Susan Davis (CA-53), the ranking members of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and the Subcommittee on Higher Education & Workforce Development, respectively, sent a letter to the Government Accountably Office, asking for more information on how the Department of Education implements the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. Earlier today, Reps. Scott and Davis signed a separate letter asking U.S. Secretary of Educa… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on March Jobs Report
04.07.17 WASHINGTON, DC - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the economy added a total of 98,000 jobs in March, with the unemployment rate at 4.5 percent. "The economic growth reflected in today's jobs report once again disproves President Trump's claim that he was handed 'a mess' by the Obama Administration. However, President Trump and Congressional Republicans have failed to build on the economic progress made during … Continue Reading
Scott, Murray Statement on Silica Rule Delay
04.06.17 WASHINGTON, DC - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, issued the following statement after the Trump Administration announced that the enforcement of the crystalline silica standard for the construction industry has been delayed until September. "We are disappointed that the Trump Administration has chosen to del… Continue Reading
Scott, Cartwright, Casey, and Manchin Introduce Bills to Protect Miners, Strengthen Safety Standards
04.05.17 WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03), Congressman Matt Cartwright (PA-17), and Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) introduced the Black Lung Benefits Improvement Act of 2017, H.R. 1912 and the Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety Protection Act of 2017, H.R. 1903. These bills would reform the federal program that provides benefits to coal miners suffering from black lung disease and provide the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) with improved tools to investiga… Continue Reading