In 2010, the Democratic Congress passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which reauthorized the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 and required the United States Department of Agriculture to issue several regulations for schools and districts participating in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. While well-intended, these new regulations have essentially put the federal government i... Read more »
A story in the Wall Street Journal summed up the economic challenges many continue to face. In an article entitled “Some Unemployed Keep Losing Ground,” reporter Ben Cassleman writes: “The recession ended four years ago. But for many job seekers, it hasn’t felt like much of a recovery.” Despite recent progress in the job market, Cassleman notes, “The trouble is that the pace is still far too slow ... Read more »
The Student Success Act takes a very important step forward in the education reform debate. As Chairman Kline said earlier, No Child Left Behind isn’t working, and the Obama administration’s waivers are only making things more complicated for parents and school leaders. We can do better. In addition to a number of technical adjustments, the Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute also makes a coup... Read more »
The legislation before us today will take concrete steps to revamp the nation’s K-12 education law and help our children achieve excellence – the excellence needed to boost our economy and make our country more competitive. We are all too aware of the problems facing schools and students across America. Despite the best of intentions, No Child Left Behind hasn’t delivered the results we’d hoped. I... Read more »
Enacted in 1931, the Davis-Bacon Act requires the payment of local prevailing wages to workers on federal construction projects. Determining local prevailing wage rates is a complicated process, one that involves the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division conducting surveys to collect wage and benefit information for various job classifications in a given geographic location. Unfortunately, ... Read more »
Based on an idea of self-regulation, accreditation was originally developed to assure and improve excellence in higher education programs. When the federal government began investing in higher education, accreditation took on another role by ensuring that the gate to federal funds is open only to high quality academic institutions. Today the federal government, states, and accrediting agencies – k... Read more »
As the title of the hearing suggests, today we will begin to review possible reforms to the nation’s multiemployer pension system. In 2014 provisions in the Pension Protection Act affecting multiemployer pensions are set to expire. For more than a year the committee has looked closely at the challenges facing this pension system, which is relied upon by more than 10 million individuals. Academics,... Read more »
Though the economic recovery began four year ago, countless Americans continue to face serious challenges. Roughly 12 million are searching for work. Families have recouped less than half of their household wealth lost during the recession. The economy continues to move along at an anemic pace. And the national debt will soon reach a historic $17 trillion. Congress has a responsibility to examine ... Read more »
Republicans and Democrats share the same goal: We want to ensure the American people work in an environment free of discrimination. Whether or not an individual succeeds in a workplace should be determined by merit and hard work, not the unlawful prejudice of their boss. For most employers, a person’s skills and drive to succeed are what matter most. However, bad actors will put personal bigotries... Read more »
I’d like to begin with a brief overview of what’s in the administration’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The president has asked for more than $71 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Education – up $5 billion from last year’s request and $3 billion from the year before. This is on top of a request for $7 billion in mandatory funding for Pell Grants, $17.5 billion to “refor... Read more »
