Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Higher Education
Scott, Adams, Hill, and HBCU Caucus Celebrate Passage of Resolution Condemning Bomb Threats
03.09.22 WASHINGTON - Today, Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA-03), Congresswoman Alma Adams (D-NC-12), Congressman French Hill (R-AR-02), and the Congressional Bipartisan HBCU Caucus celebrated the passage of H. Con. Res. 70, a resolution condemning threats of violence against historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and reaffirming support for HBCUs and their students. "Over the past few months, more than thirty of our nation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities-including No… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Statement on HBCU Bomb Threats
01.31.22 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after at least six historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) received bomb threats on Monday. This is the second time bomb threats have been made at HBCUs in less than a month. "For the second time this month, bomb threats were made to at least half a dozen historically Black colleges and universities. Campuses were closed, classes disrupted, and HBCU students, faculty and staff once again feared f… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Statement on Extension of Student Loan Pause
12.22.21 WASHINGTON – Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after the Biden Administration announced an extension in the pause of student loan repayment, collections, and interest accrual. “I applaud the Biden Administration’s decision to extend relief for student loan borrowers in response to the surge in COVID-19 infections. As we have seen during similar periods throughout pandemic, the rapid spread of the Omicron varian… Continue Reading
ICYMI: Chairman Scott Op-Ed - “Finally, HBCUs’ time has come”
11.01.21 WASHINGTON - Chairman Scott wrote the following op-ed for TheGrio on the Build Back Better Act's historic investments in Historically Black Colleges and Universities. "With razor-thin margins in the House and Senate, and a Republican Party intent on obstruction, Democrats in Congress have been forced to make hard choices in search of a final agreement that fulfills President Joe Biden's agenda. "Amid these tough decisions and painful cuts, one proposal has beaten the odds. "Historically Bla… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Applauds Biden Administration Plans to Fix Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
10.07.21 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) released the following statement in response to press reports that the Biden administration is planning major fixes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. "For three years, my Committee repeatedly implored the Trump administration to address the glaring issues with the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. Unfortunately, despite hearings, letters, and public statements, the previous administration refused to take meaningful acti… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Applauds Biden Administration for Extending Relief to 115,000 Defrauded Student Borrowers
08.26.21 WASHINGTON - Today, House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Biden-Harris Administration announced that it will make $1.1 billion in closed school discharges available to an additional 115,000 borrowers who attended the now-defunct ITT Technical Institute (ITT). "I applaud President Biden and Secretary Cardona for extending student loan relief to 115,000 student borrowers who were defrauded by ITT Technical Institute.… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Applauds Biden Administration for Restoring Relief for Victims of Predatory Colleges
08.24.21 WASHINGTON - Today, House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Biden-Harris administration announced that it is replacing the Trump-era formula for determining student debt relief for defrauded borrowers. Multiple independent analyses found that the Trump formula was "nonsensical and harmful to students." "I applaud President Biden and Secretary Cardona for restoring access to debt relief for students who were defrauded… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Applauds Biden Administration for Delivering Relief to Student Borrowers with Total and Permanent Disabilities
08.19.21 WASHINGTON – Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after the Department of Education announced a policy change that will provide 323,000 borrowers who have a total and permanent disability (TPD) with more than $5.8 billion in automatic student loan discharges. The changes announced today will also make it easier for eligible students to access the relief that they are legally entitled to receive under the TPD program. “… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Calls on Education Department to Hold Executives Personally Liable for the Cost of For-Profit School Closures
08.17.21 WASHINGTON -Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott sent a letter urging the Department of Education to hold the executives of failed for-profit colleges and converted for-profit colleges personally liable for money the institution owes to the federal government. Committee investigations—including a 2020 report on the defunct Dream Center Education Holdings—have found that, when fraudulent for-profit and converted for-profit schools have abruptly closed, college executives have escap… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Applauds Biden Administration for Strengthening Accountability for Student Loan Servicers
08.09.21 WASHINGTON – Today, Education and Labor Committee Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Department of Education released a new legal interpretation that enhances oversight and accountability for student loan servicers. In 2019, Chairman Scott sent a letter to then-Education Secretary Betsy DeVos regarding the Department’s efforts to shield student loan servicing companies from state law enforcement. … Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Praises Biden-Harris Administration for Extending Pause on Student Loan Payments
08.06.21 WASHINGTON - Today, House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Biden-Harris Administration extended the pause on federal student loan payments and interest until January 31, 2022. In June, Chairman Scott and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) sent a letter urging President Biden to extend the pause, which was set to expire at the end of September. "I applaud President… Continue Reading
Committee Advances Four Bills to Support Survivors of Domestic Violence, Older Americans, Students of Color
07.15.21 WASHINGTON - Today, the Committee on Education and Labor advanced four bills to support survivors of domestic violence, protect older job applicants from age discrimination, help communities desegregate their schools, and strengthen efforts to fight discrimination in education. The Family Violence and Prevention Services Improvement Act (FVPSA) of 2021 modernizes and adequately funds FVPSA to support survivors of domestic violence and increases prevention efforts to ensure no American experien… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Statement on ED Decision to Streamline Financial Aid Verification
07.13.21 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after the Education Department announced temporary changes to the federal student aid verification process for the 2021-22 award year. The temporary changes will provide relief to hundreds of thousands of students and thousands of colleges who may be facing challenges because of the COVID-19 pandemic. "The Education Department's decision to streamline the financial aid verification process is an important a… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on Watchdog Report Showing Trump Administration’s Education Department Improperly Handed $387 Million to Failing For-Profit Schools
06.30.21 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after the Education Department's Office of Inspector General confirmed that the former Under Secretary of Education exceeded her authority and wasted hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to provide a handout to executives and owners at Dream Center Education Holdings. "This independent watchdog report provides clear evidence that the Trump administration's Education Department took unprecedented and impro… Continue Reading
Scott, Murray Urge Biden Administration to Extend Student Loan Payment Pause
06.30.21 Washington, D.C. - Today, Representative Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, urged President Biden to extend the pause on federal student loan payments, which is currently set to expire at the end of September. In a letter to President Biden, the members stressed that the pause on student loan payments has been a lifeline for struggling bor… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Opening Statement at Hearing with Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona
06.24.21 WASHINGTON – Education and Labor Committee Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) delivered the following opening statement at today’s hearing, entitled “Examining the Policies and Priorities of the U.S. Department of Education,” to discuss the Department of Education’s budget request for Fiscal Year 2022. “Today, we are meeting to discuss the Department of Education’s budget request for Fiscal Year 2022 and examine the Departmen… Continue Reading
What They’re Saying: Pell Grant Preservation and Expansion Act
06.17.21 Washington, D.C. - Representatives Mark Pocan (D-WI) and Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA), chairman of the House Education & Labor Committee, as well as Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Patty Murray (D-WA), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, reintroduced the Pell Grant Preservation and Expansion Act, legislation that would double the Pell Grant award, index the award to inflation, and make other changes to expand the award for working students and fami… Continue Reading
Pocan, Scott, Hirono, Murray Introduce Bill to Double Pell Grant, Make College More Affordable
06.16.21 WASHINGTON - Representatives Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) and Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-Va.), chairman of the House Education & Labor Committee, and Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, reintroduced the Pell Grant Preservation and Expansion Act, legislation that would double the Pell Grant award, index the award to inflation, and make other changes to expand the award for working students and fami… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on Biden’s ED Providing Thousands of Defrauded Borrowers Debt Relief
06.16.21 WASHINGTON – Chairman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after the Education Department announced new categories of borrower defense claims totaling $500 million in relief to 18,000 borrowers. “Today’s announcement means that tens of thousands of defrauded student loan borrowers will finally be granted the debt relief that they are legally entitled to receive. It has been more than four years since the Department o… Continue Reading
Scott Praises Biden Administration Steps to Strengthen Higher Education for Students and Taxpayers
05.24.21 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after the Department of Education announced its intention to begin revising a broad set of higher education policies that determine students' access to debt forgiveness programs and strengthen accountability standards for institutions participating in federal student aid. "Quality higher education programs open doors of opportunity for millions of students and serve as a powerful engine for American prosperi… Continue Reading