Life changing – that’s how Denisha Merriweather described the impact of school choice on her life. Denisha shared her personal story yesterday at a hearing where members discussed the many ways school choice helps students escape underperforming schools and access a quality education. Because Denisha took advantage of the school choice options available in her state, she is the first person in her... Read more »
Protecting the retirement security of hardworking Americans is an important bipartisan priority. This week, the Committee on Education and the Workforce will consider a bipartisan legislative solution that will do just that. This effort stands in stark contrast to the extreme, partisan approach underway at the Department of Labor. For years, the department has worked to put together a regulatory p... Read more »
This week marks the 5th annual National School Choice Week, a time for students, parents, teachers, local leaders, and policymakers to celebrate how school choice is paving the way toward a brighter future for millions of students. The numbers speak for themselves: 100,000 students graduate from home schools each year. 1,000,000 students participate in private school choice programs. 3,000,000 stu... Read more »
President Obama spent a lot of time shoring up his legacy during his State of the Union address, which helps explain why he reiterated numerous calls for more programs, more spending, and more government to address the challenges facing the American people. Near the top of the president’s outstanding wish list were his demands for universal pre-K and free community college. We all want every child... Read more »
In his State of the Union address, President Obama was quick to tout his economic record and suggest those who raise concerns with the status of the economy are “peddling fiction.” It’s true that we’ve made progress in recent years, but it’s also important to remember that we’re not out of the woods yet. Not by a long shot. In fact: More than 6 million individuals with part-time jobs want and need... Read more »
After decades of a flawed, top-down approach to education, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) ends the era of federal overreach and restores control of education to its rightful stewards: parents, teachers, and state and local leaders. Signed into law last month, ESSA has been lauded as “the largest devolution of federal control to the states in a quarter-century.” That’s because the law includ... Read more »
The House will vote today on a bill to dismantle ObamaCare, continuing an effort to roll back the flawed health care law that is wreaking havoc on working families, small business owners, and students. Rather than help Americans receive the care they want and need, ObamaCare has led to: Higher costs for consumers and small businesses. According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the average pr... Read more »
The Gut-Wrenching Truth About Pensions By Thomas C. Nyhan, executive director and general counsel of the Central States Pension Fund The Star Tribune’s recent article about the Central States Pension Fund’s need to reduce pension benefits to save the fund (“New law threatens to slash pensions,” Dec. 14) curiously leaves out one very important detail about the causes for our severe underfunding. T... Read more »
Republicans have long warned of the harmful consequences of ObamaCare – consequences that include higher costs, less access to trusted health care providers, and fewer full-time jobs. After years of living in denial, it seems some leading Democrats are starting to face reality. At a recent event in Iowa, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton volunteered one reason for the disturbing trend of p... Read more »
If at first you don’t succeed, change the rules and try again. That seems to be the motto adopted by Big Labor in its effort to unionize a Tennessee-based Volkswagen plant. After failing to win an election involving all of the plant’s hourly employees, the United Auto Workers prevailed last week in a vote that included only 164 skilled tradesmen, a fraction of the plant’s 1,400 workers. This ploy ... Read more »
