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The chairmen of a pair of House subcommittees want to question the Obama administration's regulations chief over the decision to delay a key component of the Affordable Care Act. For Howard Shelanski, the June 23 grilling would be a baptism under fire, since he reported for duty less than a week ago. Shelanski began work as director of the little known but influential White House Office of Inform... Read more »

No one understands the needs of students better than the parents, teachers, and school administrators who spend time with them every day. Yet current law assumes Washington knows best, mandating one-size-fits-all accountability requirements that restrict states’ ability to effectively evaluate and improve student achievement. It’s time to end this top-down approach and give state and local leaders... Read more »

The Senate is set to consider on Wednesday the Keep Student Loans Affordable Act, in what could be the chamber’s only reaction to the recent doubling of a low student-loan interest rate. We are all for taming college costs. But lawmakers should reject this pathetic non-solution and put their effort instead into finalizing a compromise plan that is well within their reach. The Senate vote is on wh... Read more »

In the latest sign ObamaCare is a train wreck, the Obama administration has announced it will not enforce the law’s employer mandate next year. This dramatic decision to delay implementation of a critical part of the health care law has surprised many. For weeks the administration has claimed the law was running on schedule except for a few minor bumps in the road. In fact, just last month Health ... Read more »

For more than a decade, federal K-12 education law has relied upon strict requirements to determine “highly qualified” teachers. These requirements focus solely on credentials and diplomas, and ignore an educator’s ability to actually teach and raise student achievement levels. Our children deserve better. The House Education and the Workforce Committee is advancing the Student Success Act, legisl... Read more »

If you think the federal student-loan program looks like a bad deal for taxpayers, imagine how it would look with honest accounting. And now you don't need to imagine thanks to a new report that's receiving far too little attention. Turns out that the official "savings" for taxpayers of $184 billion over the next decade really add up to $95 billion in losses. Here's the scam: Lawmakers peddle wha... Read more »

Today rates on new subsidized Stafford loans double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent. But it didn’t have to be this way. The Democrat infighting on student loan interest rates has left a lot of people scratching their heads. In April, President Obama urged Congress to pass a long-term, market based solution that would permanently take the threat of a rate hike off the table. One month later the Hou... Read more »

Decades of growing federal intrusion in America’s elementary and secondary schools has failed to significantly improve student achievement. Nearly half of our elementary school children are below grade level in reading and math, and far too many high school students graduate without the skills they need to succeed. It’s time for a better approach. The House Committee on Education and the Workforce... Read more »

In the debate over student loan interest rates, there’s one major thing missing: Senate action. As a new video points out, the House of Representatives is the only chamber that has passed legislation to prevent student loan interest rates from doubling on July 1st: The House Republican plan, which is similar to a proposal put forth by President Obama, ties interest rates to the market and provides... Read more »

The Supreme Court has been busy making headlines this week. One decision in particular could have significant implications for America’s workplaces and our constitutional system of checks and balances. The court agreed on Monday to consider whether President Obama’s non-recess recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board are constitutional. Education and the Workforce Committee Republ... Read more »