THE PROBLEM: In 2007, the Democrat-led Congress approved legislation to temporarily phase down the interest rate on subsidized Stafford Loans made to undergraduate students from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent over four years. Once the law expired in 2012, the interest rates would jump back to 6.8 percent. Despite a one-year extension of the lower interest rate, students and families could see interes... Read more »
THE PROBLEM: For many Americans, balancing the demands of family and the workplace can be difficult. State and local government employees have long been able to choose paid time off as compensation for working overtime hours, allowing these public-sector employees greater flexibility to meet family obligations. However, the federal government prohibits private-sector workers from enjoying this sa... Read more »
To help Americans balance the needs of family and work, Rep. Martha Roby (R-AL) introduced the Working Families Flexibility Act of 2013 (H.R. 1406). This commonsense legislation would allow private-sector workers to choose paid time off or ‘comp time’ instead of cash wages as compensation for working overtime hours. Public-sector employees have enjoyed this benefit for almost 30 years; it’s time p... Read more »
THE PROBLEM: In January 2012, President Obama installed three so-called recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board while Congress was not in recess. In the wake of the president’s unprecedented action, efforts to overturn board rulings were initiated in various federal courts on the basis that the board itself was no longer legitimate. In a unanimous decision by the U.S. Court of A... Read more »
Courtesy of the Committees on Ways and Means and Education and the Workforce BACKGROUND: Seventeen years ago, a Republican-led Congress worked with President Bill Clinton to fix a broken welfare system. President Clinton rallied the nation to “end welfare as we know it” and his call to action was well founded. Under the old system, 65 percent of families were dependent on welfare for an average of... Read more »
THE PROBLEM: Roughly 12 million Americans are unemployed and searching for work, yet the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports millions of job openings remain unfilled. One reason for this startling fact is a broken workforce development system. Despite a multi-billion dollar annual taxpayer investment in federal job training programs, employers continue to struggle to find workers with skills neces... Read more »
Courtesy of the Committees on Ways and Means and Education and the Workforce. BACKGROUND: Sixteen years ago, a Republican-led Congress worked with a Democratic president to fix a broken welfare system. President Bill Clinton rallied the nation to “end welfare as we know it” and his call to action was well founded. Under the old system, 65 percent of families were dependent on welfare for an avera... Read more »
THE PROBLEM: The federal government administers roughly 47 job training programs across nine agencies. Many of these programs overlap, and few have been evaluated for efficacy. This unwieldy system makes it more difficult for workers to access important job skills and assistance, and fails employers who seek a highly trained workforce. During his 2012 State of the Union address, President Obama r... Read more »
THE PROBLEM: Over the last decade, college costs have skyrocketed. Last year, tuition and fees at public four-year colleges and universities increased 8.3 percent, even as inflation only rose by approximately three percent. The average four-year public college student now graduates with roughly $22,000 in debt. Despite the Obama Administration’s failed attempts to rein in college costs through a ... Read more »
THE PROBLEM: The Department of Education operates approximately 80 programs tied to K-12 classrooms, each with its own set of burdensome rules and reporting requirements. According to Virginia's Loudoun County Public Schools Superintendent Edgar Hatrick, navigating this complicated system often results in "resources being diverted from the mission of teaching and learning." Additionally, federal ... Read more »
