Dear Chairman Miller: In recent months I have grown increasingly concerned by reports that Department of Education officials are improperly using taxpayer resources to advocate for the Administration’s proposal to eliminate the Federal Family Education Loan program. House and Senate Democrats have likewise questioned the Administration’s “aggressive outreach,” and the Wall Street Journal reported... Read more »
Dear Secretary Duncan: Three days ago, the Office of Management and Budget published the Open Government Initiative, which OMB Director Peter Orzag pledged “will help to make government more open, transparent, and accountable to bridge the gap between the American people and their government.” In fact, the Obama Administration has made openness and transparency a marquee promise to the American p... Read more »
Americans know how to pull together during tough times to help out a neighbor in need. Just look to the Wyoming school district of West Michigan. Hearing that some of their co-workers would be laid off due to a lack of funds, several of the school district’s employees offered to take a cut to their own paychecks in order to free up some money. Unfortunately, as Michael D. Van Beek of the Mackinac ... Read more »
Rep. John Kline (R-MN), the top Republican on the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee, today repeated his call for the Obama Administration to immediately remove Kevin Jennings from his post as the top politically appointed official responsible for keeping America’s schools safe and drug free. Media reports have surfaced in recent days bringing to light numerous examples of Jennings’ lack of ... Read more »
As President Obama and Democrats try to spend their way out of this recession,they are ignoring the consequences of their job-killing agenda, including the uncertainty it fosters in an already troubled economy. In a blog post for FOXBusiness, Brian Sullivan reports on signs the Administration may be finally, grudgingly leaning toward some pro-growth policy initiatives on top of the tax, borrow, an... Read more »
Supporters of the so-called Employee Free Choice Act have argued in favor of scrapping current workplace election rules in order to give – as their bill name implies – a “choice” to workers. Given that the public sign-up process known as “card check” is notorious for subjecting workers to the threat of intimidation, coercion, and retribution, the claim has always been dubious at best. Yet there’s ... Read more »
The House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing today on the Common Core State Standards Initiative being developed by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). While there is bipartisan support for voluntary, rigorous academic standards that could be shared among states and local communities, education experts... Read more »
Following a hearing last week in the Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee on the bankruptcy of the Delphi Corporation, Reps. John Kline (R-MN), Tom Price (R-GA), Chris Lee (R-NY), and Michael Turner (R-OH) sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner requesting information on the Administration’s involvement in the bankruptcy proceedings. To date, inquiries about what role the ... Read more »
We’re here today to take a closer look at the Common Core State Standards Initiative and how coordinated efforts to strengthen academic standards can enhance American competitiveness. The Common Core Initiative is being developed through the joint leadership of the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers. The goal of the initiative is... Read more »
Union bosses and their allies in Washington have made it clear that they want to expand their powers to grow union membership – even if it means undermining a worker’s right to a secret ballot. It is not entirely clear how they plan to accomplish this misguided priority in the face of strong bipartisan opposition to the so-called Employee Free Choice Act on Capitol Hill. One particularly frighteni... Read more »
