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 »
Dear Secretary Sebelius: Head Start is one of the federal government’s largest initiatives to improve the lives of the estimated 900,000 children it serves, who are among the most at-risk in our society. Since taxpayers spend more than $14,000 for each child who is enrolled in the program for a full two years, totaling almost $8 billion in FY 2012, it is absolutely critical to ensure this investm... Read more »
Dear Secretary Vilsack: Over the last month, state and local food service personnel, teachers, parents, and students have expressed concern about the recent meal pattern and nutrition requirements for the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). According to recent reports, high school students, especially athletes, are going hungr... Read more »
“So this bill is not only about the health security of America. It's about jobs. In its life it will create 4 million jobs…” – Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), 02/25/2010 More jobs – one of many promises made by Washington Democrats trying to sell the public a government takeover of health care. Yet more than two years since ObamaCare became law the American people are still asking: Where are ... Read more »
Dear Acting Director Zients: We are greatly concerned about the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) September 28, 2012 guidance regarding “Allowable Contracting Costs Associated with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act.”Specifically, we are concerned by OMB’s reliance on the Department of Labor’s (DOL) July 30, 2012 misleading and incomplete guidance relating to the a... Read more »
The imperial presidency continues to decide which laws it will follow and which laws it will ignore. After taking steps to rein in the president’s attempt to rewrite welfare reform through executive fiat, Congress is now contending with an administration that won’t follow basic rules governing the regulatory process. And America’s job-creators are starting to notice. The Regulatory Flexibility Act... Read more »
Dear Secretary Solis: On August 2, 2012, we contacted you to share our concern regarding misleading and incomplete guidance from the Employment and Training Administration relating to the applicability of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act) to potential sequestration-caused layoffs. The letter also requested related information, documents, and communications no later ... Read more »
Today the House will consider a joint resolution disapproving of the Obama administration’s attempt to undermine welfare reform. Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) joined Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) and Republican Study Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) in introducing H.J.Res. 118 to block this latest example of executive overreach and preser... Read more »
