Dear Secretary Duncan: Congress passed the Data Quality Act to ensure the federal government utilizes reliable and accurate data as it develops guidelines and regulations. Under the Act, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requires federal agencies to publish guidelines for the purpose of “ensuring and maximizing the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of information (including sta... Read more »
Dear Mr. Dodaro: We respectfully request a review of the scope and efficacy of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education programs. Many experts agree that STEM programs, when properly focused, can help ensure a competitive workforce in the future. While it is critical for the United States to have an internationally competitive workforce, it is equally important to ensure... Read more »
Dear Colleague: Today the House will consider under suspension of the rules H.R. 6495, the Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety Protection Act of 2010. Mine safety is an important and complex issue that has historically been addressed on a bipartisan basis. Unfortunately, H.R. 6495 is a flawed bill that is being rushed through an equally flawed legislative process; it does not reflect the kind of enhanced p... Read more »
Dear Colleague, As the House prepares to vote this week on legislation to significantly expand the cost and federal mandates associated with child nutrition programs, I urge you to consider the concerns raised by school leaders in the following letter sent to Congress. The nation’s public school districts, represented by the American Association of School Administrators, Council of the Great City... Read more »
Dear Colleague: With nearly 15 million Americans unemployed and looking for work, we should be doing all we can to help job-seekers get the skills, training, and credentials they need to re-enter the workforce. Unfortunately, regulations proposed by the U.S. Department of Education threaten to reduce postsecondary options for students by restricting access to student aid at certain institutions. ... 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 »
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 »
Dear Assistant Secretary Main: I was troubled to learn of an Alert Memorandum recently submitted to you by Department of Labor Assistant Inspector General Elliot P. Lewis regarding the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s (“MSHA”) failure to fully enforce the Pattern of Violation (“POV”) provision of the Mine Act. The POV provision is one of the most powerful mine safety enforcement tools prov... Read more »
Dear Mr. Petrole: Thank you for providing a briefing to my staff regarding the June 23, 2010 Alert Memorandum issued by your office to Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health Joseph A. Main. The Alert Memorandum raises serious concerns regarding the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s (“MSHA”) enforcement of the Pattern of Violation (“POV”) provision of the Mine Act during the past yea... Read more »
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 »
