Dear Secretary Solis: We remain concerned about the policies and priorities of the Department of Labor's (the department) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). Recently, OFCCP proposed a number of requirements relating to the collection of compensation data from federal contractors. At the same time OCFFP proposed these requirements, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) studie... Read more »
Dear Mr. Dodaro: The Promise Neighborhoods program aims to improve educational and developmental outcomes for students in some of the country's most distressed urban, rural, and tribal neighborhoods by providing cradle-to-career support services. In 2012, the first year of the grant, the Department of Education dedicated $10 million to this program through the Fund for the Improvement of Educatio... Read more »
Republican leaders on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce sent a letter to Labor Secretary Hilda Solis requesting documents, communications, and information on the Labor Department’s contract with McNeely, Pigott, & Fox Public Relations, LLC. In 2009, the Labor Department reportedly awarded nearly half a million dollars from the taxpayer-funded stimulus package to McNeely, Pigott, &... Read more »
Nonpartisan budget experts have warned the country could plunge into another recession if steps aren’t taken to prevent massive tax increases and restore spending discipline in Washington, D.C. House Republicans have taken action to stop looming tax hikes, reduce regulatory uncertainty, and help get our fiscal house in order. In stark contrast, President Obama and his Democrat allies continue to h... Read more »
Dear Secretary Duncan: On October 29, 2010, the Department of Education finalized its program integrity rules, which significantly expanded the department's authority to require institutions of higher education offering programs leading to gainful employment to obtain approval of new academic programs before awarding Title IV funds to students enrolled in those programs. Under the new regulations... Read more »
Dear Secretary Solis: The appropriate expenditure of taxpayer funds by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is of the utmost importance to the committee. This week, multiple news sources have reported that in September 2009 DOL spent $495,000 in so-called “stimulus” funding to hire a public relations firm, McNeely, Pigott, and Fox Public Relations, LLC (“MP&F”), to promote Job Corps’ “existing and ... Read more »
President Barack Obama last month signed an executive order promising to "improve outcomes and advance educational opportunities for African Americans." The order instructs federal agencies to "promote, encourage, and undertake efforts" to increase "college access, college persistence and college attainment for African American students." Unfortunately, his administration remains opposed to the O... Read more »
A study released today by the National Federation of Independent Business reveals that the cost of health insurance and economic uncertainty are the most significant problems facing small business owners. The concerns expressed by the nation’s leading job creators are hardly surprising. Small businesses have experienced a 103% rise in health insurance costs in the last decade, greatly diminishing ... Read more »
U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-MN) issued the following statement recognizing the sixteenth anniversary of the 1996 welfare reform law: It was sixteen years ago today that President Clinton signed into law historic welfare reform legislation. The bipartisan achievement ended welfare policies that fostered dependency and ushered in a new era of personal r... Read more »
U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) released the following statement after the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a new report on regulatory efforts to combat black lung disease: For years, Republican and Democrat administrations tried unsuccessfully to strengthen protections against black lung disease. The views and proposals of key stakeholder... Read more »
