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Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction

The House Education and the Workforce Committee oversees programs that affect all Americans, from early learning and postsecondary education to skills development and retirement security. The following programs and policies fall within the committee’s jurisdiction:

Education and Human Services Policy

  • Elementary and secondary education initiatives including the Every Student Succeeds Act, school choice for low-income families, special education (the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act), and teacher quality and education; 
  • Postsecondary education programs, including the Higher Education Act, which supports college access for low- and middle-income students and helps families pay for college;
  • Workforce development and skills development activities and adult education, and workforce development initiatives, including those under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which help local communities reskill and upskill workers;
  • Early childhood care and preschool education programs, including Head Start and the Child Care and Development Block Grant;
  • Career and technical education programs;
  • School lunch and child nutrition programs;
  • Programs for the care and treatment of at-risk youth, child abuse prevention, and adoption;
  • Programs for older Americans;
  • Educational research and improvement;
  • Work requirements under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program and other federal programs;
  • Adolescent development programs, including but not limited to those providing for the care and treatment of certain at-risk youth, including the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act and the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act and
  • Anti-poverty programs, including the Community Services Block Grant Act and the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).

Workforce Policy

  • Pensions, health care, and other employer-sponsored benefits covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA);
  • Application of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to collective bargaining and union representation;
  • Occupational safety and health and mine safety;
  • Unpaid, job-protected leave as outlined in the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), as well as "comp time" or family friendly work schedules;
  • Equal employment opportunity and civil rights in employment, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA);
  • Various temporary worker programs under the Immigration and Nationality Act;
  • Wage and hour requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA);
  • Prevailing wage requirements for federal contractors under the Davis-Bacon Act and the Service Contract Act;
  • Workers' compensation for federal employees, energy employees, longshore and harbor employees, and individuals affected by black lung disease; and
  • Matters dealing with employer and employee relations, as well as union transparency (the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act).      
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