Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Oversight
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 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 Protecting U.S. Workers from Wage Theft
07.29.21 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after the Labor Department finalized a rule to rescind the Trump-era Joint Employment Rule that would cost workers more than $1 billion every year if it remained in effect. The Fair Labor Standards Act's broad joint employment standard has long ensured that workers can hold multiple employers accountable for wage theft where the employee establishes that he or she is economically dependent on a joint employer.… 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 Statement on ED Investigation into Pasco County Sheriff’s Office
04.21.21 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) released the following statement a statement after the Education Department confirmed they have opened up an investigation into the Pasco County Sheriff's Office. "I am encouraged that the Education Department accepted my request to investigate the Pasco County Sheriff's Office disturbing system for labeling students as potential criminals. Evidence shows that schools disproportionately suspend or expel Black and Latino students more freque… Continue Reading
Committee Chairs Condemn Trump Administration’s Attempt to Gut Civil Rights Act by Issuing Unlawful, Last-Minute Rule
01.12.21 WASHINGTON - Today, House Committee on Education and Labor Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03), House Committee on the Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (NY-10), and House Committee on Oversight and Reform Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12) expressed serious concerns about the Trump Administration's last-minute attempt to repeal anti-discrimination protections. Specifically, the Office of Management and Budget is pushing a secretive proposal through the rulemaking process without public … Continue Reading
New Documents Show Department of Education Froze Tool to Help Defrauded Student Borrowers
10.27.20 WASHINGTON -Today, Rep. Robert C. "Bobby" Scott, the Chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, and Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, the Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, released new documents detailing how the Department of Education froze a tool designed to ease the Borrower Defense application process for borrowers who were ripped off by their schools, typically for-profit colleges. "We are deeply troubled that the Department of Education halted a web tool to help simpli… Continue Reading
Democrats Demand Answers After CDC Weakens COVID-19 Workplace Safety Guidance for Nation’s Largest Meatpacking Plant
09.30.20 WASHINGTON - In a letter to Trump administration health officials, House and Senate Democrats requested information regarding the watering down of Centers for Disease Control recommendations to a South Dakota meatpacking plant that experienced a major COVID-19 outbreak. The letter was sent to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) by Chairman Robert C. "Bobby"… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Subpoenas NLRB Chairman for Documents Regarding Potential Conflicts of Interest
09.15.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) subpoenaed the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Chairman John Ring for internal ethics memos and other documents that could reveal Trump-appointed Board Members participated in major NLRB actions despite being instructed to recuse themselves due to conflicts of interest. The subpoena comes in response to the NLRB's refusal to provide relevant documents after nearly 18 months of lawful oversight requests. In a September 1 letter … Continue Reading
Following Deadly Beirut Explosion, Labor Leaders Call on OSHA to Update Ammonium Nitrate Standard
08.17.20 WASHINGTON – Three members of the House Committee on Education and Labor wrote to Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia today calling on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to update its standards to protect American workers and communities from catastrophic explosions like the recent tragic events in Beirut and in West, Texas in 2013. The Beirut ammonium nitrate explosion has killed over 200 people and the West Fertilizer explosion killed 15, including 12 emergency respond… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott, Ranking Member Stabenow Urge USDA to Take Action to Provide School Meals to Children in Need
08.14.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Congressman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03), Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor, and U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to use its full authority to provide healthy meals to students for the duration of the school year. In the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, Congress granted authority to the USDA to provide w… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott: Independent Watchdog Report Reveals Administration Is Improperly Denying Workers Paid Leave During Pandemic
08.11.20 WASHINGTON - Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) released the following statement in response to a report from the Department of Labor's Inspector General that found the Department's implementation of the paid leave provisions in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act needlessly excluded too many workers. The report also finds the Department has not developed a clear plan to enforce paid leave protections. "The Department of Labor Inspector General's report confirms that the Trump adm… Continue Reading
Chairman Scott Asks Department of Education Watchdog to Investigate Department Role in Dream Center Misconduct
08.10.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Education and Labor Committee Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) sent a letter to the Department of Education Office of Inspector General (OIG) requesting an investigation into the Department's role in the misconduct of Dream Center Education Holdings, a for-profit higher education company that actively defrauded students and taxpayers. The request follows a report released by the Committee on Education and Labor, which indicates that Under Secretary Diane Auer Jones -… Continue Reading
Committee Report Reveals Senior Education Department Official Aided For-Profit Higher Education Company in Misleading Students Using Taxpayer Dollars
07.28.20 WASHINGTON - A report released today by the Committee on Education and Labor reveals that a high-ranking official at the Department of Education quietly worked on behalf of a for-profit higher education company that was actively defrauding students and taxpayers. New documents published in the Committee's oversight report strongly suggest that Under Secretary Diane Auer Jones - a former for-profit education lobbyist - went to extraordinary lengths to aid Dream Center Education Holdings despite k… Continue Reading
Congressional Education Leaders to DeVos: Stop Robbing Vulnerable Students of Emergency Aid
07.15.20 WASHINGTON - In a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, congressional education leaders expressed deep concern about the Department's interim final rule to prevent millions of students from getting the emergency relief Congress provided under the CARES Act. The letter was sent by Chairman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA), House Committee on Education and Labor, Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA), Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Health, and Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)… Continue Reading
House Health Leaders Condemn Final Rule to Erode Anti-Discrimination Protections Under the ACA
07.09.20 WASHINGTON - The chairs of the House committees with jurisdiction over health care condemned the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for finalizing a rule that weakens protections under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for LGBTQIA+ individuals, women, people with limited English proficiency, immigrants, people of color, people with disabilities, and patients from other marginalized communities and urged HHS Secretary Alex Azar to immediately rescind it. The letter was signed by House Edu… Continue Reading
Committee Report Details Secretary DeVos’ Efforts to Delay and Deny Debt Relief for Defrauded Student Borrowers
06.25.20 WASHINGTON - A report released today by the Committee on Education and Labor details the Department of Education's efforts to delay and deny debt relief for student borrowers who were defrauded by predatory institutions. The report captures nearly two years of congressional oversight and provides a comprehensive look into how Secretary Betsy DeVos prevented hundreds of thousands of defrauded borrowers from receiving the relief they deserved. The Committee released the report, entitled "Delayed… Continue Reading
Scott, Nadler Statement on Education Department’s Final Title IX Rule
05.06.20 WASHINGTON - Chairman Bobby Scott (VA-03) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (NY-10) issued the following statement after the Department of Education finalized a rule to revise standards for schools' responsibility under the Title IX to respond to campus sexual assault and harassment. "It is alarming that instead of focusing on helping students, educators, and institutions cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department wasted valuable time finalizing a rule that will erode … Continue Reading
Committee Democrats Call on Secretary DeVos to Fix Borrower Defense Application Process
05.04.20 WASHINGTON - Today, Committee on Education and Labor Democrats sent a comment letter to Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos opposing some of the Department's proposed changes to the application to the Borrower Defense program. The Members expressed serious concerns that some of Department's proposed changes are unnecessary and may deter applicants. The Borrower Defense program allows student loan borrowers to seek debt relief if they are defrauded by their institution. In the letter, the Memb… Continue Reading
House Chairs Condemn President Trump’s Assault on IGs
04.10.20 WASHINGTON - Today, the chairs of multiple House Committees sent a letter condemning President Donald Trump's assault on Inspectors General (IGs) and requesting direct input from the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency on legislative and other proposals to increase the independence of IGs and protect them from retaliation. "Unlike any President in modern history, President Trump has engaged in offensive and unjustified attacks against Inspectors General, criticizing th… Continue Reading