Press Releases
Virginia First Lady Dorothy McAuliffe Testifies on the Importance of Child Nutrition
04.16.15 Examining ways to serve our nation's children by meeting their nutritional needs WASHINGTON - The Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing yesterday to discuss the scope and impact of federal child nutrition programs. Ranking Member Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) was joined by the First Lady of Virginia, Mrs. Dorothy McAuliffe, to explore ways we can continue to improve and strengthen nutrition programs for the 40 million children who rely on them every day for healthy food. Our… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on the Senate’s Every Child Achieves Act
04.16.15 WASHINGTON - House Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA) released the following statement today on the passage of the Every Child Achieves Act by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions: "Today's unanimous passage of the Every Child Achieves Act by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions should serve as an example of bipartisanship for the House of Representatives to follow. "While today represents anot… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on EEOC Proposed Rule
04.16.15 WASHINGTON - Today, Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Rep. Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA) issued the following statement after the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released their proposed rule, "Amendments to Regulations under the Americans with Disabilities Act": "Antidiscrimination laws are a vital part of our legal framework to ensure that Americans are treated fairly and equally in the workplace. It is imperative that we work to uphold the standards outlined in the… 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 Commends the Department of Labor on Efforts to Strengthen Consumer Protections
04.15.15 Proposed rule takes aim at conflicted and bad retirement advice WASHINGTON - Congressman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, released the following statement after the Department of Labor released its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that will provide new standards to ensure retirement advisors act in the best interest of their clients when giving investment advice: "Today, the Department of Labor took a much needed step to p… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on Equal Pay Day
04.14.15 WASHINGTON- House Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA) issued the following statement on Equal Pay Day, which reflects how far into the current year women must work to match what men earned in the previous year: "With nearly 61 consecutive months of job growth, the labor market continues to expand and provide Americans with more employment opportunities, but despite this tremendous progress, wealth inequality in our country continues to grow. Thi… Continue Reading
Five Years in, the Affordable Care Act is Working
04.14.15 HELP subcommittee hearing highlights ways ACA is strengthening employee-sponsored insurance WASHINGTON - Today, in their continued attempt to undermine the Affordable Care Act, Republicans of the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) held a subcommittee hearing to challenge the law. During the hearing, Education and the Workforce Democrats reinforced the importance of the need to protect access to affordable health care for all Americans. "It's important to rememb… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on NLRB Election Rules
04.14.15 WASHINGTON - Congressman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, released the following statement today after the National Labor Relations Board new rules for the union election process went into effect: "These modest updates to an outdated rule help create a more fair, efficient, and modern workplace election process. By streamlining communication and calling for a timely exchange of information, the rule creates a clearer, more … Continue Reading
Ranking Member Scott, Tri-Caucus Chairs Push for Stronger ESEA Bill
04.14.15 WASHINGTON - Today, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) considers the Every Child Achieves Act of 2015, a bi-partisan education proposal put forth by Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Ranking Member Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and leaders of the Congressional Tri-Caucus - comprised of the Congressional Asi… Continue Reading
Scott Statement on Labor Department Inspector General Report
04.13.15 WASHINGTON- House Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA) issued the following statement today on the Department of Labor Inspector General's newly released report on procedural changes to reduce the time required to adjudicate black lung benefit claims: "Miners with black lung disease are entitled to an accurate medical evaluation, fair treatment and timely decisions. The DOL Inspector General (IG) has made 23 recommendations that could enab… Continue Reading
Scott Commemorates the 50th Anniversary of ESEA
04.10.15 WASHINGTON- House Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA) released the following statement today honoring the 50th Anniversary of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act: "On April 11, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, providing schools with targeted federal dollars in order to offer equitable educational opportunities to all American children. The 1965 enactment was intended to address … Continue Reading
Scott Statement on Senate Education Bill
04.07.15 WASHINGTON- House Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA) released the following statement today after Senators Lamar Alexander and Patty Murray released details on their agreement on the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act: "I commend Senators Alexander and Murray for their efforts to bring forward a bipartisan Elementary and Secondary Education reauthorization bill in the Senate. While we recognize this as an important st… 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
Scott, DeLauro Reintroduce Paycheck Fairness Act to End Wage Discrimination
03.25.15 WASHINGTON - Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Rep. Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA) joined Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) today in reintroducing the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would help close the wage gap between women and men working the same jobs. On average, women make just 78 cents for every dollar made by a man. Studies have shown that this wage disparity will cost a woman and her family more than $400,000 in lost wages over a lifetime. "If Congress is to get serious about… Continue Reading
Committee Democrats Oppose Legislation That Would Undermine Civil Rights of American Workers
03.24.15 WASHINGTON - Today, the Committee on Education and the Workforce's Subcommittee on Workforce Protections held a legislative hearing on four bills: the Certainty in Enforcement Act of 2015 (H.R. 548); the Litigation Oversight Enforcement Act of 2015 (H.R. 549); Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Transparency and Accountability Act (H.R. 550); and Preserving Employee Wellness Program Act (H.R. 1189). These bills - introduced by the Majority - would create roadblocks to EEOC enforcement of em… Continue Reading
Scott, Levin, Pallone: Five Years in, the ACA is Working
03.23.15 WASHINGTON- Today, the top Democrats from the Education and the Workforce, Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce committees issued a joint statement marking the five year anniversary of the Affordable Care Act. Education and the Workforce Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA), Ways and Means Ranking Member Sander Levin (D-MI), and Energy and Commerce Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) are the head Democrats on the committees with jurisdiction over the Affordable Care Act: "Five years ago, our… Continue Reading
Scott and Hanna to Hold Bi-Partisan Early Childhood Education Briefing
03.23.15 WASHINGTON, D.C. - On Tuesday, March 24th, Rep. Robert "Bobby" Scott, Ranking Member for the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and Rep. Richard L. Hanna, will host a bi-partisan expert panel addressing the importance of quality early childhood education. Tuesday's briefing, titled "Ensuring a Strong Start: The Importance of Early Childhood Programs," will focus on the proven return on investment when families devote resources to quality early childhood education programs. Research sh… Continue Reading
House Republicans Use Extreme Measure to Attack Workers’ Rights
03.20.15 WASHINGTON - Today, the House voted 232- 186 to weaken workers' rights by rejecting fair union elections in the workplace. Democrats remained united with Americans and all voted against S.J. Res. 8. "I am disappointed with today's vote in the House to take away the right of workers to form a union." said Education and Workforce Committee Ranking Member Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA). "This is an extreme measure aimed at turning back the clock on worker's rights." S.J. Res. 8 is the result… 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