In September, House Democrats passed H.R. 3221, the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act. To date, the Senate has not taken any legislative action or signaled when it plans to consider the bill. The legislation fulfills President Obama’s call to abolish the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program and replace it with a system of government-run lending directly from the U.S. Treasury. Thi... Read more »
U.S. Senators Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and U.S. Reps. John Kline (R-MN) and Brett Guthrie (R-KY) today wrote college and university presidents regarding their legislation that would preserve critical student loan options for another year. The Members are working to extend the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFEL) which has successfully helped millions of Americans re... Read more »
It’s that time of year again when people begin to make their New Year’s resolutions – promising to hit the gym, eat better, or read more. For union bosses, their number one resolution will no doubt be getting Congress to finally pass their misnamed Employee Free Choice Act. Admittedly, it has been a tough sale so far. With their failed “stimulus” package, a push for a job-killing national energy t... Read more »
The clock is winding down on the Obama Administration’s first year in office, and they have yet to pass the infamous Employee Free Choice Act – a measure that has proven unpopular with the American public, but that remains a top priority of the Administration’s staunch cheerleaders (not to mention financial backers), the union bosses. Apparently, the President and his liberal allies just cannot ge... Read more »
Earlier this week, President Obama unveiled a unique approach to economic recovery – accuse political foes of “scaring” away the jobs and look to the power of positive thinking to bring them back. “Today's meeting with Congressional leadership at the White House was intended to be a demonstration of bipartisanship as officials look to stimulate the economy. To President Obama, bipartisanship came ... Read more »
Led by Reps. Brett Guthrie (R-KY) and Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA), Republicans on the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee have introduced the Workforce Investment Improvement Act (H.R. 4271), a bill to strengthen job training opportunities for workers and job seekers. Their legislation renews workforce development programs under the Workforce Investment Act, a law that has not been reautho... 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 »
Dear Secretary Duncan: Three days ago, the Office of Management and Budget published the Open Government Initiative, which OMB Director Peter Orzag pledged “will help to make government more open, transparent, and accountable to bridge the gap between the American people and their government.” In fact, the Obama Administration has made openness and transparency a marquee promise to the American p... Read more »
Americans know how to pull together during tough times to help out a neighbor in need. Just look to the Wyoming school district of West Michigan. Hearing that some of their co-workers would be laid off due to a lack of funds, several of the school district’s employees offered to take a cut to their own paychecks in order to free up some money. Unfortunately, as Michael D. Van Beek of the Mackinac ... Read more »
Rep. John Kline (R-MN), the top Republican on the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee, today repeated his call for the Obama Administration to immediately remove Kevin Jennings from his post as the top politically appointed official responsible for keeping America’s schools safe and drug free. Media reports have surfaced in recent days bringing to light numerous examples of Jennings’ lack of ... Read more »
