Good morning, Secretary Solis. Thank you for being with us today to discuss the policies and priorities of the Department of Labor. On February 13, President Obama released his fourth budget proposal since taking office. The Associated Press reported the fiscal year 2013 budget blueprint “[takes] a pass on reining in government growth” and “reprises a long roster of prior proposals,” such as more ... Read more »
Today, we will examine the Department of Labor’s effort to narrow the long-standing companionship services exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act. As we all know, the FLSA continues to serve as the foundation of federal wage and hour standards. Today’s discussion is not about whether we stand by this important law more than 70 years after its enactment. The question before the subcommittee i... Read more »
As we begin the markup of the Encouraging Innovation and Effective Teachers Act, I’d like to take a moment to briefly describe the changes made in the substitute. The Encouraging Innovation and Effective Teachers Act provides states with the tools to support private entities engaged in activities that promote innovation and reform outside the traditional public school system and typical school day... Read more »
The amendment in the nature of a substitute for the Student Success Act makes a number of technical clarifications, but it also includes an important change that I’d like to highlight for the committee. In reviewing feedback from members and education stakeholders, we have noticed a shared desire to provide important academic services and choice opportunities for students. We agree parents should ... Read more »
Today we will begin consideration of the Student Success Act and the Encouraging Innovation and Effective Teachers Act. These pieces of legislation will rewrite the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which has been overdue for reauthorization since 2007. Statistics paint a clear picture of the problems facing schools in America. Fewer than four in 10 fourth- and eighth-grade students are prof... Read more »
Today’s hearing is a timely and important event. I think it is critical for members of Congress to get outside the Beltway and hear from the men and women whose lives are affected by the policies advanced in the nation’s capitol. The recent recession ended almost three years ago, yet we continue to struggle with a difficult and sluggish economy. Our state needs jobs. We’ve been fortunate to experi... Read more »
Over four years ago, our nation fell into the worst recession since the Great Depression. Businesses closed, jobs were lost, savings disappeared, and countless lives were transformed by the pain of a deep economic downturn. While we’ve made some modest progress in recent months, we still have a long way to go before we reach the height of prosperity our families, employers, and workers once enjoye... Read more »
Last January, we began a discussion on the importance of rewriting elementary and secondary education law. We acknowledged No Child Left Behind’s shortcomings, and convened a series of hearings in which dozens of witnesses described the challenges facing our nation’s education system. We discussed the overly prescriptive accountability system that has labeled half our schools as failures, explored... Read more »
In January, President Obama shocked many across the country when he made three so-called recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) – despite the Senate not being in recess. This unprecedented action touches upon a number of constitutional powers. The first is the president’s authority to fill vacancies through recess appointments, a power which no one questions. The other co... Read more »
We are confronted today with two difficult realities. The first is the financial challenges facing the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. For more than 35 years, PBGC has provided an important safety net to millions of workers in the event a defined benefit pension plan becomes insolvent or terminated. The sheer size of the corporation’s responsibilities are quite remarkable, and they continue ... Read more »
