Press Releases

U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-MN) released the following statement on President Obama’s failure to comply with the Sequestration Transparency Act:

Forty-three straight months of unemployment above 8 percent is a difficult reminder of President Obama’s failed economic policies. Now more than ever, job creators need certainty in order to invest in their businesses and hire new workers. Remarkably, even though the White House proposed the sequester, President Obama refuses to follow the law and tell the American people how he would either implement or replace these indiscriminate cuts.

While today’s missed deadline is deeply disappointing, it is not altogether surprising. The administration has a disturbing pattern of obstructing congressional oversight. Last month, my colleagues and I asked the Secretary of Labor to provide documents and communications regarding her department’s controversial WARN Act guidance. Three weeks after the deadline, we are still waiting for a response. The Obama administration is literally hiding the consequences of sequestration from employers and encouraging them to do the same to their workers. This lack of leadership is simply devastating to the nation’s workers and job creators.

NOTE: On July 30, the Department of Labor released controversial guidance that states the WARN Act does not require contractors affected by sequestration to provide notice to their employees of potential job losses. However, the department does not have enforcement authority over the act nor the power to issue ‘advisory opinions.’ As a result, the guidance is misleading, incomplete, and may result in workers not being notified of pending layoffs. The House Education and the Workforce Committee has requested all documents and communications related to the guidance by August 16. To date, the committee has not received a response. To learn more, click here.

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