Eighteen months ago, we gathered in this chamber to debate economic stimulus. Republicans wanted to help job creators, but the majority said no, “let’s borrow and spend.” And borrow and spend they did, to the tune of $862 billion. Back then, Democrats sent nearly $100 billion to states and districts to prop up school budgets. It would save 300,000 jobs, we were told, and improve public education. ... Read more »
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has summoned House Members back to Washington for a rare August session. What pressing national priority justifies pulling Members back from their districts and constituents? It’s simple. Democrats want another bailout. Doubling Down on Failed Stimulus Democrats already inflated spending on state school systems by nearly $100 billion with their unpopular and ineffective ... 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 announced a loss of 131,000 jobs in July: “After roughly 19 months of record borrowing, spending, and bailouts, 14.6 million Americans are searching for work and more than $13 trillion in government debt has been shifted onto the backs ... Read more »
The following op-ed was published online at Red State on August 5, 2010 In June of 2009, the unemployment rate surged to 9.5 percent for the first time in almost 26 years. Despite some ups and downs, today the unemployment rate continues to hover near 10 percent and 14.6 million Americans are unemployed and searching for work. I see the evidence of this every time I travel back home to Minnesota:... 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 House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s decision to summon Congress to Washington to vote on a controversial state bailout, including $10 billion requested by teachers’ unions to keep school systems funded at levels states cannot afford. “The American people hav... Read more »
Never one to give up on unpopular ideas, President Obama promised a gathering of the AFL-CIO he will stay in the fight to pass the so-called Employee Free Choice Act. Better known as card check, this undemocratic idea would strip workers of their right to a secret ballot when deciding whether to organize a union. “President Obama told the AFL-CIO on Wednesday that he would ‘keep on fighting’ to pa... Read more »
Dear Secretary Duncan: Thank you for this opportunity to comment on the proposed program integrity regulations included in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking published in the Federal Register on June 18, 2010. We share your goal of strengthening accountability and integrity among the institutions that participate in the federal student aid programs and agree a number of the issues included inthe p... Read more »
Whistleblower protections are a longstanding part of our federal safety and health laws. Simply put, they protect workers’ ability to speak freely about dangers in the workplace. They allow working men and women to protect themselves and their coworkers. The ultimate goal of our worker safety laws should be that no worker ever needs to blow the whistle. We need a culture of safety in our workplace... Read more »
President Obama traveled to New Jersey today to raise support for his economic policies among small business leaders. It makes sense to hear from small business owners about their ideas to promote a strong and stable economic recovery. After all, they are the nation’s primary source for job creation. Let’s hope this time the president did less talking and more listening because a look at just a fe... Read more »
Rep. John Kline (R-MN), the top Republican on the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following statement today in response to a proposed federal definition of “gainful employment” that would set federal caps on students’ ability to finance their higher education at certain institutions: “Like the misguided proposal that preceded it, this proposed regulation uses federal price con... Read more »
