Dear Secretary Geithner, Secretary Solis, and Secretary Sebelius: We write to request information concerning the administration’s implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Specifically, we request clarification concerning how an employer determines the average number of hours worked per week under PPACA. Sections 1513 and 10106 of PPACA create new tax penalties, be... Read more »
Dear Secretary Solis: Thank you for taking the time on October 17, 2012 to discuss the committee’s ongoing oversight of the Department of Labor. As we discussed, I am concerned by the department’s pattern of untimely and inadequate response to the committee’s oversight requests. In many cases, the department’s lack of response has obstructed the committee’s constitutional authority to oversee the... Read more »
We have to get past this whole situation where we manufacture crises because of politics. That actually leads to less certainty, more conflict, and we can't all focus on coming together to grow. – President Barack Obama, 12/10/12 If the president followed his own advice, there would be less confusion over Michigan’s effort to strengthen workers rights. Leaders in the Wolverine State have approved... Read more »
Late last week, the Obama administration’s Department on Health and Human Services (HHS) quietly informed a Wisconsin newspaper that it would not announce the results of the Head Start re-competition process this year. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Grants were expected to be awarded in November or December, but Kenneth Wolfe, a spokesman for the Administration for Children and Famil... Read more »
Dear Chairman Pearce and Acting General Counsel Solomon: On November 19, in response to my inquiry, the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) Office of Inspector General (IG) issued a memorandum, attached, stating that “certain statements in e-mail messages from personnel in the Division of Advice and Region 19 infringed upon the statutory prohibitions regarding ex parte communications to Board... Read more »
Dear Mr. Dodaro: On March 27, 2012, we requested the Government Accountability Office examine the U.S. Department of Education’s oversight into the Direct Loan rehabilitation process for defaulted borrowers. Since that time, we have received numerous troubling complaints from borrowers whose financial information and payments were lost by the department, who were put into forbearance without bein... Read more »
Dear Mr. Dodaro: In December 2010, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act was signed into law, enacting the most comprehensive changes to the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) in more than 15 years. Among the most significant change was a requirement that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) update nutrition standards for school meal programs. These new requirements, which recently went into e... Read more »
The College Board this week released a pair of reports on trends in student aid and college costs. According to the reports, average college tuition increased at the lowest rate in more than a decade – welcome news in these times of soaring student debt. However, more must be done to help students earn a degree at a more affordable price. House Education and the Workforce Committee Republicans kno... Read more »
Dear Secretary Sebelius: As you are aware, under current law the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is required to issue an annual "Indicators of Welfare Dependence" report. Past issues of this report have provided Congress ant the public valuable information about Americans' dependence on various public benefit programs, including the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF... Read more »
Dear Acting Administrator Bershteyn: Thank you for taking the time to discuss the status of the Spring 2012 Unified Agenda ("Spring Agenda") on October 12, 2012. It became clear during our conversation that rather than publishing the Spring Agenda, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) is working to publish the Fall 2012 Unified Agenda ("Fall Agenda"). OIRA's handling of the Spr... Read more »
