Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Retirement and Pensions
Ranking Member Scott Criticizes Latest DOL Plan to Threaten Americans’ Retirement Savings
03.30.26 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03), House Committee on Education and Workforce, released the following statement after the Department of Labor (DOL) proposed a new rule establishing a safe harbor for 401(k) plans to offer so-called alternative assets, such as private equity and cryptocurrency, to workers. “Today, the Department of Labor proposed a new rule to create a safe harbor for 401(k) plans to invest in so-called ‘alternative assets,’ such as private equity or cry… Continue Reading
Committee Republicans Advance Partisan Bills, Fail to Address American Families’ Rising Costs
03.17.26 WASHINGTON - Today, Committee Republicans advanced several bills out of committee that Democrats warned prioritize partisan messaging and culture-war issues over substantive solutions for students and families. “This Committee is uniquely positioned to address the cost of living because of the breadth of our jurisdiction,” said Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03). “However, I am frustrated that this is the fourth markup this year, and yet the majority of the bills we have considered … Continue Reading
Ranking Member Scott Frustrated Republicans Prioritizing Messaging Bills Over Lowering Costs
03.17.26 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) delivered the following opening statement at today’s full committee markup of H.R.7894, 7890,7892, 7891, 7893, 7661, and 6084. “Thank you, Mr. Chairman. “Mr. Chairman, hardworking Americans are finding that a comfortable, affordable life is increasingly out of reach. The cost of health care, groceries, child care, student loans, gasoline, and housing — all of those costs continue to rise while workers are being left behind. According … Continue Reading
Ranking Member Scott Slams Republican Plan to Interfere With Workers’ Retirements
01.15.26 WASHINGTON - Today, Ranking Member Robert C. "Bobby" Scott, House Committee on Education and Workforce, spoke in opposition to H.R. 2988, the Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act, which would restrict fiduciaries’ ability to consider environmental, social, and governance factors when making investment decisions, effectively undermining workers’ retirement savings. Watch Ranking Member Scott’s remarks on YouTube. “Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may co… Continue Reading
Ranking Member DeSaulnier Opening Remarks at Subcommittee Hearing on Improving Retirement Policy
01.07.26 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10) delivered the following opening statement at today’s Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee hearing entitled, “Modernizing Retirement Policy for Today's Workforce.” “Thank you, Mr. Chairman. “I want to thank the witnesses for being here. This is a profoundly important issue that may be very dry to a lot of people, except for staff who study these issues. But in an era where working people have more and more stress and less dispo… Continue Reading
Ranking Member DeSaulnier Opening Remarks at Subcommittee Hearing Defending Retirees’ Hard-Earned Pensions
12.02.25 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10) delivered the following opening statement at today’s Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee hearing entitled, “Pension Predators: Stopping Class Action Abuse Against Workers’ Retirement.” “Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you to our witnesses for being here today. “Workers deserve to earn a decent wage, provide for themselves and their families, and retire with dignity. That’s the American way, when we do it right. But right n… Continue Reading
House Health Leaders Urge Trump Administration to Stop Health Insurance Companies from Improperly Denying Claims
11.18.25 WASHINGTON - Today, House health leaders urged the Trump Administration to tackle wrongful claim denials by group health plans and insurance companies and secure coverage for working people under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)—the largest source of health insurance in the U.S. This letter comes after troubling reports of health plans and corporate middlemen conducting arbitrary, improper, and mass denials of health claims. Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03), Hou… Continue Reading
Ranking Member Scott Statement on ILA and USMX Tentative Agreement
01.09.25 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03), House Committee on Education and Workforce, released the following statement after the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) reached a tentative six-year agreement. “The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) six-year tentative agreement is evidence that when workers exercise their right to form a union, they can bargain for… Continue Reading
NEW: Biden Announces an Additional 29,000 Pensions Saved in Pennsylvania
11.01.24 WASHINGTON - Today, the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Tri-State Pension Plan, based in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, will have its participants’ retirement benefits fully protected because of the solution to the multiemployer pension crisis that Congressional Democrats delivered in the American Rescue Plan Act. The UFCW Tri-State Pension Plan covers more than 29,000 participants in the service industry. The Plan had been projected to run out of money in 2028. Had that happened, … Continue Reading
Ranking Member Scott Statement on the September Jobs Report
10.04.24 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the economy added 254,000 jobs in September, and the unemployment rate ticked down from 4.2 to 4.1 percent. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, 16.2 million jobs have been created, and workers have seen their hourly earnings grow by 18.1 percent on average. “Four years ago, the unemployment rate was 7.8 percent. Today, the unemployment rate is 4.1 p… Continue Reading
Ranking Member Scott Led Opposition to Extreme Republicans’ H.R. 5339
09.18.24 WASHINGTON - Today, Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby Scott” delivered the following floor remarks in opposition to House Republicans’ H.R. 5339. The so-called “Protecting Americans’ Investments from Woke Policies Act” combines four Republican bills that perpetuate a misguided attack on ESG investing and undermine retirement professionals’ abilities to make investment decisions on behalf of workers. Watch Ranking Member Scott’s floor remarks on YouTube. “Thank you. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself … Continue Reading
NEW: Government Watchdog Highlights Risk of “Conflicts of Interest” to Retirement Savers
08.28.24 WASHINGTON - Today a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) further exposes how common “conflicts of interest” are when financial professionals offer investment advice to workers on investing their hard-earned retirement savings. The report was requested by Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA-03), Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Pre… Continue Reading
Committee Republicans Vote to Undermine FAFSA and Jeopardize Retirees’ Savings
07.10.24 WASHINGTON - Today, the Committee on Education and the Workforce Republicans passed bills to: (1) undermine the Department of Education’s ability to roll out an accurate the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and (2) repeal the Biden-Harris’ Administration’s commonsense Retirement Security Rule. “Once again, we’re missing an opportunity to actually advance meaningful solutions that will uplift students, workers, and their families,” said Ranking Member Scott. H.R. 8932 would as… Continue Reading
Ranking Member Scott Opening Statement at Markup of Bills to Undermine FAFSA and Jeopardize Retirees’ Savings
07.10.24 *Amendments and letters of opposition for today’s markup can be found here.* WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) delivered the following opening statement at today’s full committee markup of H.R. 8932, H.R. 294, H.R. 6319, H.R. 2574, H.J. Res. 142 “Thank you, Madam Chair. “Madam Chair, once again, we’re missing an opportunity to actually advance meaningful solutions that will uplift students, workers, and their families. “The first proposal we will consider is H.R.… Continue Reading
Ranking Member Scott Statement on June Jobs Report
07.05.24 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the economy added 206,000 jobs in June, and the unemployment rate ticked up slightly from 4.0 to 4.1 percent. The economy, under President Biden, has created the most jobs in a single presidential term. The previous record was under President Clinton, at 11.6 million jobs. In stark contrast, Trump presided over the worst labor market in modern U.S. hist… Continue Reading
Ranking Member Scott Statement at Hearing with DOL Acting Secretary Su
05.01.24 WASHINGTON -Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) delivered the following opening statement at today’s full committee hearing, “Examining the Policies and Priorities of the Department of Labor” with Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su. “Acting Secretary Su, good morning. “I think it is important to note that your service as acting Secretary has been verified as constitutionally proper by the Government Accountability Office. So, there is no question as to whether or not you are serv… Continue Reading
Ranking Member Scott Applauds Biden Administration’s Action to Protect Americans’ Retirement Savings
04.23.24 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Scott issued the following statement after the Biden administration released a final rule to close loopholes and prevent unscrupulous financial advisers from ripping off their retirement clients. “Every hardworking American deserves access to a secure and dignified retirement. Unfortunately, workers today are left wondering whether the retirement investment advice they receive is in their best interest or the financial interest of their advisers. While most advisers… Continue Reading
Congressman Kim Secures $279 Million to Protect 10,252 Service Industry Workers’ Retirement Benefits
04.16.24 MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. - Today, Congressman Andy Kim (NJ-03) announced that the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 152 Retail Meat Pension Plan (UFCW Local 152 Plan), based in Mount Laurel, will receive $279.3 million from the Special Financial Assistance (SFA) Program to pay participant’s retirement benefits without reduction for many years to come. Congressman Kim helped create the SFA Program through the American Rescue Plan in 2021. “Across any industry, American workers deserve to … Continue Reading
Ranking Member Scott Statement on March Jobs Report
04.05.24 WASHINGTON - Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the economy added 303,000 jobs in March, and the unemployment rate ticked down from 3.9 to 3.8 percent. Since President Biden took office, the economy has added 15.2 million jobs. And initial unemployment insurance claims have remained below former President Trump’s pre-pandemic average for 20 consecutive weeks. “Four years ago, millions of retirees we… Continue Reading
Ranking Member Scott Applauds Biden Administration for Continued Responsible Stewardship of the Historic Special Financial Assistance Program
03.15.24 WASHINGTON - Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, issued the following statement after the Department of Labor (DOL) announced a policy to ensure that excess Special Financial Assistance (SFA) program payments can be refunded to the U.S. government. Last month, the Central States, Southeast, Southwest Areas Pension Fund (Central States) wrote to the Biden Administration and requested guidance on whether the excess payment in the … Continue Reading