House Education and the Workforce Committee Republicans are advancing legislation to improve the nation’s federal job training system to better serve workers and employers. In the Winter 2012 edition of the Ripon Forum, Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) describes the committee’s efforts to ensure modern workforce training programs are more effective, accountable, and flexible: According to a n... Read more »
On Tuesday, February 7 at 10:00 a.m., the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, chaired by Rep. John Kline (R-MN), will hold a hearing entitled “The NLRB Recess Appointments: Implications for America's Workers and Employers.” The hearing will take place in room 2175 of the Rayburn House Office Building. On January 4, 2012, President Obama announced three recess appointments to the NLRB. ... Read more »
U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-MN) issued the following statement after the Department of Labor released employment data for January: “The employment gains we have seen in recent months are encouraging. More Americans are heading back to work and private-sector jobs are being created. While these are welcome signs of progress, we are still struggling wit... Read more »
The Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions, chaired by Rep. Phil Roe (R-TN), today held a hearing entitled, “Examining the Challenges Facing PBGC and Defined Benefit Pension Plans.” The hearing explored the financial and management challenges at the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), as well policy proposals intended to strengthen the financial standing of the corporatio... Read more »
We are confronted today with two difficult realities. The first is the financial challenges facing the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. For more than 35 years, PBGC has provided an important safety net to millions of workers in the event a defined benefit pension plan becomes insolvent or terminated. The sheer size of the corporation’s responsibilities are quite remarkable, and they continue ... Read more »
During the State of the Union address, President Obama proposed what could be a very promising breakthrough in the effort to improve federal workforce development programs. Today, more than 47 job trainings programs are scattered across the federal government, a bureaucratic mess that fails to adequately serve workers and wastes taxpayer dollars. To fix the problem, President Obama called on Congr... Read more »
The House Committee on Education and the Workforce, chaired by Rep. John Kline (R-MN), today held a hearing entitled, “Expanding Opportunities for Job Creation.” The hearing examined ongoing challenges affecting the strength of the American workforce, the need for smarter federal regulatory policies, and the demand for pro-growth solutions such as job training reform. “Simply put, we are experienc... Read more »
One year ago, the committee met to examine the state of the workforce. It was our first hearing of the 112th Congress, and reflected our commitment to make job creation and American competitiveness top priorities. Much has happened since we met in January of 2011. Unemployment was 9.1 percent; today it stands at 8.5 percent. Nearly 14 million workers were unemployed; now one million fewer workers ... Read more »
U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) and Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) today sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis requesting more information about the president’s latest job training proposal. During his State of the Union address, the president called on Congress to “cut through the m... Read more »
“I believe what Republican Abraham Lincoln believed: that government should do for people only what they cannot do better by themselves, and no more.” - President Barack Obama, January 24, 2012 Quoting Abraham Lincoln in last week’s State of the Union address, President Obama outlined a vision for an improved education system in which more control is granted to states and schools. He pledged to g... Read more »
