On Wednesday, July 10 at 10:00 a.m., the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, chaired by Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), will hold a hearing entitled “Examining the Labor Department’s Proposed Reforms to the FECA Program.” The hearing will take place in room 2175 of the Rayburn House Office Building. Enacted in 1916, the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA) provides workers’ compensation benefits... Read more »
On Tuesday, July 9 at 10:00 a.m., the House Education and the Workforce Committee, chaired by Rep. John Kline (R-MN), will hold a hearing entitled, “Keeping College Within Reach: Improving Higher Education through Innovation.” The hearing will take place in room 2175 of the Rayburn House Office Building. Over the last decade, college costs have risen dramatically. Annual in-state tuition and fees ... 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 »
House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) issued the following statement after the Obama administration announced plans to delay implementation of the health care law’s employer mandate until 2015: The employer mandate will destroy jobs, regardless of when it's implemented. If anything, this decision exacerbates the confusion and uncertainty employers face, and serves ... Read more »
House Education and the Workforce Committee Republicans today released the second in a series of videos highlighting the four key principles of the Student Success Act (H.R. 5), legislation to rewrite the nation’s K-12 education law. Watch Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY) explain how the bill will help school districts get better teachers in the classroom: In order to succeed in school and in life, kids ... 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 »
House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) issued the following statement after the Senate adjourned without taking up legislation to address the July 1 student loan interest rate increase: I am stunned Senate Democrats left town without passing any legislation to prevent student loan interest rates from doubling next week. We had a real opportunity for compromise on an... Read more »
The Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, chaired by Rep. Todd Rokita (R-IN), today held a hearing to examine the effects of new federal school meal program regulations issued by the Department of Agriculture under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. During the hearing, a panel of school nutrition experts described the challenges these regulations have create... Read more »
