The following op-ed was published in The Hill on September 29, 2010. According to the so-called experts, the Great Recession that began during the winter of 2007 ended in June of 2009. This should be welcome news, but many Americans find it hard to believe. More than 14.8 million workers are still unemployed, and 27 states recently reported an increase in unemployment. Earlier this month, the Depa... Read more »
Rep. John Kline (R-MN), the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee’s senior Republican member, issued the following statement today in response to President Obama’s claims about Republican support for education: “Instead of having an honest discussion about bringing fiscal responsibility back to Washington, D.C., the president is setting up a straw man with his claims about education funding. “R... Read more »
We are here to look at the issue of concussions among high school athletes and the effects of these traumatic brain injuries on a student’s academic achievement. This is the third in a series of hearings examining what policies and practices are in place to protect students from these injuries and help them safely recover when injuries do occur. Across the country children are settling back into c... Read more »
House Republicans today unveiled A Pledge to America, a governing agenda developed through an unprecedented dialogue with the American people. The Pledge outlines immediate steps Congress can take to create jobs, restrain spending, reform health care, and enact other sensible reforms sought by the American people. “This agenda is an unequivocal statement about the Republican commitment to listenin... Read more »
Last Friday, President Obama pledged to “keep on trying to stimulate growth and jobs” as long as he is in office. Unfortunately, his actions don’t square with his promise. Just yesterday the president reaffirmed his support for a job-killing card check scheme erroneously named the Employee Free Choice Act. Although the bill has languished under bipartisan opposition in Congress, the administration... Read more »
Congress may not have been in session these last several weeks, but plenty has been happening in Washington and around the nation. Below is a brief recap of notable education and labor news – what you might have missed and what is worth watching in the waning days of the congressional session. Common Standards Pave Way for National Tests For months, advocates for local control of education have wa... Read more »
Dear Secretary Duncan: Given the significant investment of taxpayer resources in postsecondary education, the federal government has an obligation to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse in the student aid programs. One important way to protect the integrity of federal student aid is to ensure participating institutions provide a high-quality education to their students. Any institution misusing feder... Read more »
Rep. John Kline (R-MN), the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee’s senior Republican member, issued the following statement today after the Department of Labor reported a loss of 54,000 jobs in August and an increase in the national unemployment rate to 9.6 percent: “As the Obama administration’s ‘Recovery Summer’ comes to a close, the American people are facing yet another bleak jobs report a... Read more »
Here is something college students probably didn’t want to learn on their way back to school: thanks to ObamaCare, many may soon lose their school-sponsored health care plan. An editorial from the Wall Street Journal provides the details on why some college students risk losing their current health care plan: Big Foot on Campus Why colleges want a waiver from ObamaCare. In the movie "Animal House,... Read more »
Today is a very good day for powerful union leaders. Congress was summoned back into session – with great complexity and expense – to vote on a multi-billion dollar bailout for unionized state workers. At the same time, the Obama administration is preparing to rollback reporting requirements for union bosses because of the “burden” of “unnecessary government regulation.” The State Bailout: A Boon ... Read more »
