Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Workforce Development
Scott Statement on August Jobs Report
09.04.15 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement today after the release of the monthly jobs report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The BLS announced that during the month of August, 173,000 jobs were added to the economy, while the unemployment rate dropped from 5.3 percent to 5.1 percent: "The jobs report released today shows that our economy continues to recover from the worst financial crisis in a generation - the economy added 173,000 jobs… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on June Jobs Report
07.02.15 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA) issued the following statement after the Department of Labor announced that the economy added 223,000 jobs during the month of June, while the unemployment rate dropped to 5.3 percent: "Today's jobs report shows that our economy is still improving, growing and heading in the right direction. With the sixty-fourth consecutive month of private sector job growth, and the unemployment rate down to 5.3 percent, our nation continues to rec… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on 'Fast Track' Vote
06.18.15 WASHINGTON — House Committee on Education and the Workforce Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA) issued the following statement on stand-alone legislation to grant the President Trade Promotion Authority, commonly known as Fast Track: “As I did last week, I again opposed Trade Promotion Authority because it lacks sufficient safeguards to ensure that labor standards, environmental standards, and consumer protections are respected in partner countries and here at home. I remain conce… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on Trade Votes
06.12.15 WASHINGTON- House Committee on Education and the Workforce Ranking Member Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA) issued the following statement on today's trade votes: "While I am a strong supporter of Trade Adjustment Assistance that provides needed support to workers who have had their jobs shipped overseas, I was unable to vote for today's TAA title of the Trade Act. When taken into context, this TAA authorization fell woefully short in our duty to support American workers. It lacked adequate f… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on May Jobs Report
06.05.15 WASHINGTON- House Committee on Education and the Workforce Ranking Member Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA) released the following statement today after the release of the monthly jobs report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The BLS announced that during the month of May, 280,000 jobs were created - the strongest month this year. The private sector has now added 12.6 million jobs over 63 straight months of job growth, extending the longest streak on record. "Today's employment report s… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on April Jobs Report
05.08.15 WASHINGTON- House Committee on Education and the Workforce Ranking Member Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA) released the following statement today after the release of the monthly jobs report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The BLS announced that during the month of April, 223,000 jobs were created and the unemployment rate dipped to 5.4 percent - the lowest since May 2008. To date, the economy has now had a record 62 consecutive months of private sector job growth. "The jobs report release… Continue Reading
Scott and Cummings Push for Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces
04.16.15 WASHINGTON - Today, 80 members of the House of Representatives called upon the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Labor to complete the review required to implement the President's Executive Order on Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces (EO 13673). Representatives Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, led the congressional movement.… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on March Jobs Report
04.03.15 WASHINGTON- House Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA) released the following statement today after the Department of Labor announced that 126,000 jobs were added to the economy last month and unemployment remains unchanged at 5.5 percent. To date, the economy has now had a record 61 consecutive months of private sector job growth. "Today's jobs report is further proof that our economy is growing and sustaining an upward trend. So far, 678,000 j… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on the House Republican Budget
03.26.15 WASHINGTON - Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Rep. Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA) issued the following statement today after the House voted 219-208 on the Republican Fiscal Year 2016 Budget: "The Majority's budget would devastate our economy by trying to balancing the budget on the backs of students, workers, seniors, the disabled, and most vulnerable communities across the nation. It assumes that sequestration cuts will be enacted, and then adds an additional $759 billi… Continue Reading
Labor Secretary Perez Testifies Before House Committee
03.18.15 WASHINGTON - The Honorable Thomas E. Perez, the U.S. Secretary of Labor, appeared before the full Committee on Education and the Workforce today to testify on the Department's Fiscal Year 2016 budget. "The United States has emerged from the depths of the great recession, and job creation has resumed at a consistent pace," said Ranking Member Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA). "The choice before us now is whether we will choose to pursue prosperity economics or austerity economics. What will ne… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on January Jobs Report
02.06.15 WASHINGTON-House Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA) released the following statement today after the Department of Labor announced that employers added 257,000 jobs last month. January's employment figures means the economy has now had a record 59 consecutive months of private sector job growth, resulting in the addition of 11.8 million new jobs. "Today's jobs report is a sign that our economy is maintaining momentum and continuing to grow. J… Continue Reading
Strong Federal Investment in Workforce and Education Critical to Economic Growth, Committee Learns
02.03.15 WASHINGTON-Congress must do more to help every Americans enjoy current and future economic growth and keep our workforce globally competitive, witnesses testified before the House Education and the Workforce Committee today. By investing more in our workforce and providing greater resources for our most disadvantaged students, the federal government can stem the growing income inequality and widening education gap harming families nationwide, and ensure the U.S.'s economic growth, members learne… Continue Reading
Miller Statement on September Jobs Report
10.03.14 WASHINGTON-Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, released the following statement today after the Department of Labor economy added 248,000 jobs in September and the unemployment rate dropped to 5.9 percent, the lowest unemployment rate since July 2008. "September's jobs report is another sign that our country is moving in the right direction after the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. The economy has now seen 55 cons… Continue Reading
Miller, Hinojosa, Tierney Commend President’s Signing of Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
07.22.14 WASHINGTON-Three senior Democratic members of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce today applauded President Barack Obama's signing of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) after the bill received overwhelming bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate. Representatives George Miller (D-Calif.), Rubén Hinojosa (D-Tex.) and John Tierney (D-Mass.) said the legislation, which reauthorizes the decades-old Workforce Investment Act, will help connect job training pr… Continue Reading
Miller: Democrats’ Top Priority is to Jumpstart the Middle Class
07.16.14 WASHINGTON, D.C.—House Democrats today announced their new “Middle Class Jumpstart” economic agenda, a legislative action plan to ensure prosperity and opportunity for all Americans. Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, who helped to formulate the policies in the plan, released the following statement. “The deck is stacked against American middle class families, but, tragically, Washington Republicans continue to stack that deck in f… Continue Reading
Miller: State Aid Concession by Tennessee Officials a Victory for VW Workers
07.14.14 WASHINGTON-Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, released the following statement in response to the news that the state of Tennessee will provide a $165.8 million grant to expand a Volkswagen manufacturing facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and an additional $12 million for training new employees. "It is welcome news that Tennessee officials have agreed to provide state aid for expanding operations at Volkswagen's Chattanooga plant,… Continue Reading
Overhaul of America’s Job Training Programs Headed to President’s Desk Following Strong Bipartisan Support from Congress
07.09.14 WASHINGTON, D.C.-Legislation to update the Workforce Investment Act, overdue for reauthorization for more than a decade, is headed to the President's desk following overwhelming bipartisan support from both houses of Congress. The Senate and House authors of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) applauded the passage of the bill, which seeks to update and improve the nation's workforce development system. The legislation was approved today by a vote of 415 to 6 by the House of Repr… Continue Reading
EEOC Remains Critical to Stopping Workplace Discrimination, Subcommittee Learns
06.10.14 WASHINGTON-Fifty years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act, there remains a substantial, ongoing need to combat discrimination and advance civil rights in the workplace, members of the House Education and the Workforce Committee learned at a hearing on the Equality Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today. "The foundation of our civil rights laws is to ensure that all Americans have the opportunity to participate in and contribute to society, while being able to provide for themselv… Continue Reading
Praise for Bipartisan, Bicameral Bill to Improve America’s Workforce Development System
06.05.14 WASHINGTON, D.C.- Since a bipartisan, bicameral group of legislators announced a deal to improve the nation's workforce development system through the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), a broad array of labor, business, and workforce development leaders, as well as governors and mayors from around the country, has expressed support for the proposal. Read a summary of the bill here. Excerpts from letters of support sent to the bipartisan, bicameral group are immediately below, and … Continue Reading
Bipartisan, Bicameral Group Announces Deal to Improve American Workforce Development System
05.21.14 (Washington, D.C.) - Today, a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers announced that they have reached a deal to improve the nation's workforce development system through new legislation, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). The bill, which will now be considered by both the House and Senate, modernizes and improves existing federal workforce development programs, helps workers attain skills for 21st century jobs, and fosters the modern workforce that evolving American business… Continue Reading