Good morning, and welcome to our distinguished panel of witnesses. Some of you are making a return appearance before the Committee, and we appreciate your efforts to continue to provide us with your expertise on issues of such national importance. Others are joining us for the first time, and we look forward to your new perspectives. We return today to a debate we started in the last Congress, spe... Read more »
This bill is largely the same as the GIVE Act, a bipartisan bill that this chamber passed overwhelmingly two weeks ago. The other chamber took up our version of the bill and made a few minor changes – including some that significantly improve the bill. I would like to address a few of the key Republican provisions that were in the House bill and still remain in this bill. Additionally, I will disc... Read more »
I would like to begin by thanking our distinguished panel of witnesses for appearing today. We appreciate that they have taken time out of their busy schedules to share their expertise and experiences with us. Today’s hearing provides Members of this Subcommittee with the opportunity to learn more about the emerging workforce sector encompassed by the term “green jobs.” As we have already seen, Co... Read more »
One of the benefits of living in a free society is that its citizens are free to create. This freedom has given birth to art forms that Americans – and people around the world – have enjoyed for decades. Take music: Blues. Country. Jazz. Rock ‘n’ roll. All of them come from America. Then there’s Broadway and Hollywood. For more than a century, American films, plays, musicals and TV shows have been... Read more »
Today’s hearing is about work and pay. It’s the engine that drives the American Dream. Republicans have long believed in the value and dignity of work, and the rewards that come from it. Take welfare reform. Back in the 1990s, Republicans pushed to change a system that – for decades – gave money to people for not working. Today, welfare recipients earn their benefits by working. Or training for a ... Read more »
We’re here this morning to examine an issue that is enormously complex, but based on a principle that is remarkably simple. Simply put, today, literally billions of dollars of investment savings in participant directed retirement accounts are being managed by individual plan participants. For the laymen in our room, that means that decisions about, say, 401(k) investments that will have consequenc... Read more »
I am pleased to be here today examining early childhood education. Research increasingly points to the critical importance of quality early childhood education as the foundation for school success. Early childhood development is an issue the Committee knows well, and one that is extremely important to me. Since serving as the Governor of Delaware, I have actively worked to ensure children five yea... Read more »
Neighbors helping neighbors. This happens countless times every day across America: A college student teaching English to immigrants. A Boy Scout troop collecting canned food for the hungry. Families taking in neighbors who have lost their homes to a tornado, fire or flood. Mr. Chair, the bill before us today, aptly named the GIVE Act, encourages the selfless actions I just described by updating d... Read more »
We’re here today to examine the importance of early childhood development, a topic that is getting a lot of attention these days, and rightly so. A child’s first years are among the most critical in laying the foundation for future learning. Cognitive development, social interaction, and so many other areas of early learning play an important role as a child prepares to enter school. While governm... Read more »
I’d like to welcome each one of you to this joint hearing entitled “Lost Educational Opportunities in Alternative Settings.” I am pleased that the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security is able to join us today to hear about the educational opportunities available for youth outside of the traditional public school system. The goal of most alternative settings is to... Read more »
