House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) and Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), senior Republican on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, today requested a study from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on the Department of Education’s Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) waiver policies. In a letter to GAO, they wrote, “In 2011, t... Read more »
One has to ask what exactly the Obama National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has against America’s workplaces. In recent years, the NLRB has restricted workers’ access to the secret ballot, advanced a rule that would stifle employer free speech and cripple worker free choice, and tried to dictate where private employers can create jobs. Now the NLRB has opened a new front in its war on workplaces. ... Read more »
With difficult challenges facing the country, the Education and the Workforce Committee is advancing bold reforms that will help improve the lives of students, vulnerable youth, and working families. With Congress set to adjourn for the August district work period, now is a good time to take a look back at what’s been accomplished this year. Below are some of the things the committee has been work... Read more »
House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) issued the following statement after National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Richard Griffin determined McDonald’s Corp. and its franchisees are “joint employers”: This decision is detached from reality. While the board is considering this very issue, the general counsel is trying to rewrite the franchise model workers, ... Read more »
The House of Representatives today approved the final bill in a series of legislative reforms aimed at strengthening support for youth who are victims of sex trafficking. The proposed bills would improve identification and assessment of child sex trafficking victims and enhance existing services for runaway and homeless youth. “We have a moral obligation to do all we can to serve children who are ... Read more »
Every family knows the cost of pursuing a higher education is out of control. It’s felt intensely each and every day by countless Americans; by parents who worry how they will put their kids through college; by students who fear they will be left with a pile of debt and no job prospects; by working men and women who hope a degree will let them reach the next rung on the economic ladder. We know th... Read more »
The House of Representatives today approved bipartisan legislation that would improve financial counseling support for college students and their parents. Passed by a vote of 405 to 11, the Empowering Students Through Enhanced Financial Counseling Act (H.R. 4984) is the third in a series of bills passed by the House to strengthen the nation’s higher education system. Authored by Representative Bre... Read more »
For more than 75 years, the Fair Labor Standards Act has provided America’s workforce with crucial federal wage and hour protections. Every day the vast majority of employers do their part to ensure workers enjoy these vital protections. Unfortunately, that is becoming an increasingly difficult challenge. The current rules and regulations surrounding the law are exceptionally complex and outdated.... Read more »
Across the country, millions of college students are getting ready to start the school year. They will soon say goodbye to family and friends and pursue their dream of a postsecondary education. Unfortunately, many Americans are struggling to turn that dream into reality. The higher education system we know today is too costly, too bureaucratic, and outdated. Some are having a hard time fitting th... Read more »
Each year an estimated 300,000 innocent children fall victim to sex trafficking right here in the United States. The victims can be homeless or runaway youth; others are simply taken from their parents in the blink of an eye. The victims’ families are our neighbors, friends, and loved ones. As a father of two and grandfather of four, for me it is impossible to fathom the pain and suffering they mu... Read more »