Press Releases
Democrats Raise Concerns about Latest Executive Order Sabotaging Health Care Markets
10.31.17 WASHINGTON - House Education and the Workforce Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03), House Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06), House Ways and Means Ranking Member Richard Neal (MA-01), Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA), and Senate Finance Ranking Member Ron Wyden sent a letter to Secretary Alexander Acosta, Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and Acting Secretary Eric Hargan regarding the implementation of the Executive Order entitled… Continue Reading
Rep. Takano Statement on DOL Appealing Texas Court Decision to Block Overtime Rule
10.30.17 WASHINGTON - Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) released the following statement today after the Department of Labor said it will appeal a Texas court decision invalidating the Obama administration's overtime rule, which would extend overtime protections to millions of middle-class workers. "I share the widely held view that the Texas court decision to block the overtime rule was deeply flawed and jeopardizes the Department of Labor's basic authority to issue rules that protect American workers. In th… Continue Reading
Joint Subcommittee Highlights Need To Invest In Cybersecurity Workforce Development
10.24.17 WASHINGTON - TODAY, the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development held a joint hearing with the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection on the need to invest in the development of a strong and diverse talent pipeline for cybersecurity professionals in federal, state, and local governments, as well as the private sector to ensure America's security in the 21st century. "This an urgent problem that has serious ramifications for our national security," said Con… Continue Reading
Members of Congress Urge Trump Administration to Provide Relief to Schools in Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands
10.24.17 WASHINGTON - Today, Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03), and Representatives Stacey Plaskett (VI-AL), and Jenniffer González-Colón (PR-AL), led 58 other Members of Congress in writing a letter to the Trump Administration urging them to prioritize providing relief to schools located in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Over the last two months, both territories have been devastated by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria. "Schools play a central role in these devastated communit… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on Rollback of Guidance on Special Education
10.20.17 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Department of Education's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services rescinded 72 documents that provide guidelines on special education policy: "Today the Department of Education took another harmful regulatory reform step by rescinding 72 guidance documents for individuals with disabilities served under the Rehabilitation Act and students with disabilities served under the Individuals with Di… Continue Reading
Democrats Demand Trump Administration Documents Used to Justify Ending Consumer Health Care Subsidies
10.17.17 WASHINGTON - Top House and Senate Democratic health leaders demanded that the Trump Administration provide Congress with documents used to justify the Administration's decision to terminate the cost-sharing reduction (CSR) payments, including any analyses of the decision's impact on consumer health insurance costs, access to health insurance, and federal spending, in letters sent today to the President and Health and Human Services Acting Secretary Eric D. Hargan. The Administration's decision … Continue Reading
Shea-Porter Statement on Trump’s Spiteful Decision to Torpedo the Individual Insurance Market
10.13.17 WASHINGTON - Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01) released the following statement regarding President Trump's announcement that he will order the federal government to stop making the Cost-Sharing Reduction payments it owes: "Late last night, President Trump announced that he will torpedo the individual insurance market by ordering the government to stop making the Cost-Sharing Reduction (CSR) payments it owes. He is right to be so ashamed of this spiteful action he would only announce it i… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on Trump’s Administration Continued Sabotage of Americans' Health Care
10.13.17 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after President Trump issued a statement the administration will unilaterally cut off the Cost-Sharing Reduction payments required under the Affordable Care Act. "Yesterday, the administration took unprecedented action to undermine the health and well-being of the American people. The president issued an executive order to unravel health coverage by allowing the sale of bare bones plans with no guarantee of comprehe… Continue Reading
Murray and Scott on DeVos Decision to Make Privatization a Priority When Awarding Federal Grants
10.12.17 WASHINGTON - Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Representative Bobby Scott (D-VA), ranking member of the Education and the Workforce Committee, released the following statements on Secretary DeVos proposing a list of priorities when distributing competitive grants from the Department of Education. Among others, the list includes privatization-a top priority for Secretary DeVos, whose only experience before becomi… Continue Reading
Pelosi Names Conferees to National Defense Authorization Act Conference
10.12.17 WASHINGTON - Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi today named House Democrats to serve on a conference committee of the House and Senate versions of the FY 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). "Democrats stand for a strong and smart national defense," said Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. "Unfortunately, Republicans are sending a defense authorization bill to conference that fails to honor our obligations to our men and women in uniform. Once again, Republicans are using their tired old b… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on Administration's Irresponsible Actions to Sabotage Health Care
10.12.17 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after President Trump signed yet another executive order (EO) undermining the progress of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). "Despite the inability of Congress to pass legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the administration continues to take actions to sabotage the law. The newly released executive order calls on the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury to roll back health coverage pro… Continue Reading
Shea-Porter to Trump: Hands Off Women’s Birth Control
10.10.17 WASHINGTON - Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01) released the following statement after the Trump administration issued a rule to roll back the requirement that employer-sponsored insurance plans cover birth control as preventive care, with no out-of-pocket cost: "I am outraged by the Trump Administration's most sweeping attack yet on women's access to health care. The vast majority of American women get their health insurance through an employer, and this rule will endanger their access to… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on Trump Administration Actions Legalizing Discrimination
10.06.17 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued government-wide legal guidance that outlined broad exemptions for "religious freedom." "Today, the Trump Administration released a regulation that would limit access to contraceptive health services and a memorandum that misapplies federal law to facilitate employment-based discrimination. "First, the Trump Administration issued regulations, effective immediately, that wou… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on September Jobs Report
10.06.17 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the economy lost 33,000 jobs in September, with the unemployment rate at 4.2 percent. "The devastation from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria have put millions of Americans out of work. As a result, the job loss reported from the Bureau of Labor Statistics during September reflects the tremendous impact of these hurricanes on Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.… Continue Reading
Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi Denounces Trump Administration Decision To Roll Back Access To Birth Control
10.06.17 SCHAUMBURG, IL - Today, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi released the following statement in response to the Trump administration's decision to roll back the federal mandate for copay-free birth control coverage: "By eliminating the guarantee that women will have coverage for birth control through their insurance, regardless of who they work for, the Trump administration is doing nothing less than turning back the clock on women's health care. No woman should need her boss's permission to receiv… Continue Reading
Adams Statement on Trump Administration’s Newest Attack on Women’s Healthcare
10.06.17 Charlotte, N.C.-Congresswoman Alma Adams (NC-12) released the following statement after the Trump administration announced an Interim Final Rule that rolls back a portion of the preventative care mandate in the Affordable Care Act requiring employers to offer health insurance the covers birth control. "Since President Trump took office he and the Republican-controlled Congress have relentlessly attacked women's rights. Today's rule is no different," said Congresswoman Adams. "Currently, 62 mil… Continue Reading
Blunt Rochester Issues Statement Regarding The Trump Administration’s Decision To Cut Access To Birth Control
10.06.17 WILMINGTON, DE - Today, Congresswoman Blunt Rochester (DE-AL) released the following statement following the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) decision to roll-back Obama-era protections for access to birth control. The new regulation issued by HHS allows a broader group of employers and insurers to exempt themselves from protections in the Affordable Care Act that cover contraceptives, such as birth control, on religious or moral ground. "Access to a full range of reproductive, pre… Continue Reading
Bonamici to Trump: “Keep Your Hands Off Our Birth Control”
10.06.17 BEAVERTON, OR [10/06/17] - Today Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) released the following statement and video criticizing the Trump Administration for announcing two Interim Final Rules (IFRs) that could effectively allow employers and institutions of higher education to drop contraceptive coverage for millions of female employees and students. You can watch part of Bonamici's response here. "Women need unfettered access to contraception to control their health and economic futures. With t… Continue Reading
Congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge Statement on President Trump’s Attack on Women’s Health
10.06.17 WASHINGTON - Congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge (OH-11) released the following statement regarding the Trump Administration's decision to roll back contraceptive coverage provided to more than 62 million American women under the Affordable Care Act: "Today's actions by the Trump Administration are another thinly veiled attack on the right of women to make their own health care decisions. The Affordable Care Act gave millions of women control of their reproductive health and provided preventive servi… Continue Reading
Scott and Takano Joint Statement on Rollback of Transgender Worker Rights
10.05.17 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) and Representative Mark Takano (CA-41), ranking member of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, issued the following statement after Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the Department of Justice is reversing a policy that protects transgender workers from discrimination. "Attorney General Sessions' decision to dismiss the Obama administration's memo to protect transgender Americans under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act is yet another … Continue Reading