News List

Dear Secretary Duncan: On October 29, 2010, the Department of Education finalized its program integrity rules, which significantly expanded the department's authority to require institutions of higher education offering programs leading to gainful employment to obtain approval of new academic programs before awarding Title IV funds to students enrolled in those programs. Under the new regulations... Read more »

Dear Secretary Solis: The appropriate expenditure of taxpayer funds by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is of the utmost importance to the committee. This week, multiple news sources have reported that in September 2009 DOL spent $495,000 in so-called “stimulus” funding to hire a public relations firm, McNeely, Pigott, and Fox Public Relations, LLC (“MP&F”), to promote Job Corps’ “existing and ... Read more »

President Barack Obama last month signed an executive order promising to "improve outcomes and advance educational opportunities for African Americans." The order instructs federal agencies to "promote, encourage, and undertake efforts" to increase "college access, college persistence and college attainment for African American students." Unfortunately, his administration remains opposed to the O... Read more »

A study released today by the National Federation of Independent Business reveals that the cost of health insurance and economic uncertainty are the most significant problems facing small business owners. The concerns expressed by the nation’s leading job creators are hardly surprising. Small businesses have experienced a 103% rise in health insurance costs in the last decade, greatly diminishing ... Read more »

U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-MN) issued the following statement recognizing the sixteenth anniversary of the 1996 welfare reform law: It was sixteen years ago today that President Clinton signed into law historic welfare reform legislation. The bipartisan achievement ended welfare policies that fostered dependency and ushered in a new era of personal r... Read more »

U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) released the following statement after the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a new report on regulatory efforts to combat black lung disease: For years, Republican and Democrat administrations tried unsuccessfully to strengthen protections against black lung disease. The views and proposals of key stakeholder... Read more »

Dear Secretary Panetta: The FY 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (P.L. 112-81) includes a provision (Section 532) to ensure "covered graduates" are given the same opportunity to enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces as traditional high school graduates, commonly called Tier I recruits. The law clearly defines covered graduates as any student who receives a diploma from a secondary school legally ... Read more »

Dear Secretary Solis: The appropriate expenditure of taxpayer funds by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is of the utmost important to the committee. Given the U.S. Government Accountability Office's (GAO) recent findings on duplication and overlap within federal programs, I respectfully request documents and communications relating to the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) participation in the Wh... 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 July: Forty-two straight months of unemployment above eight percent is a painful indictment of the president's failed policies. Whether it's implementing a government takeover of health care, rolling back successful welfare reforms... Read more »

How did you come up with that one? House Republicans want to know how and why President Obama's Labor Department decided that businesses do not need to give federal contractors 60 days' notice of the mass layoffs that are set to happen on Jan. 2 -- unless Congress does something to stop the automatic budget cuts (sequestration) that will take effect on that date. On Thursday, Rep. John Kline (R-M... Read more »