E&W Blog

With Christmas right around the corner, Santa is making his list—and checking it twice. In the Biden White House, America’s families, workers, and job creators all landed squarely on the naughty list.
 
Fortunately, Committee Republicans are helping St. Nick make some much-needed edits to find out who’s naughty and who’s nice.
 
Naughty: Teachers unions that fought to keep children trapped in failing schools.
 
Teachers unions want to keep students in government-run schools to expand membership and push leftist ideologies—even if students would be better served elsewhere. The one-size-fits-all model offered in government schools fails to provide many students with the appropriate challenge or support they need to thrive but increases unions’ ability to control the lives of students and put their education at risk. Instead of representing teachers and improving schools, union bosses are playing politics.
 
Nice: Organizations fighting to expand educational freedom for families.
 
No student should be trapped in a failing, government-run school because of his or her ZIP code. The benefits of school choice are notable, with significant improvements in student safety, academic performance, and college admission rates. Moreover, school choice expands opportunities for students and families to find schools which can provide tailored educational experiences for students that too many public schools fail to provide.
 
Naughty: Democrats’ left-wing agenda in the 117th Congress driven by special interests.
 
Special interest groups run the Biden administration. Student debt forgiveness activists were invited to the White House to help shape much of the administration’s student loan bailout, and teachers union bosses collaborated with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky to keep schools shuttered. In Congress, Democrats’ Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act reauthorization increased union representation on local workforce boards, moved funds away from skills development for workers and failed to otherwise improve workforce development programs with poor outcomes. Meanwhile, employer-led upskilling programs were restricted, and job creators became subject to vague and arbitrary work quality measures.
 
Nice: Republicans’ Commitment to America which focuses on making students, workers, and employers the priority.
 
In our Commitment to America, House Republicans outlined a commonsense policy agenda that puts Americans above the demands of progressive activists and union bosses. Republicans are advocating for school choice, defending parental rights, and reining in the government agencies openly cheerleading for union bosses. In the majority, House Republicans are committed to rigorous oversight that will put a leash on unchecked federal power.
 
Naughty: The Democrats and special interest groups fueling Biden’s student loan bailout.
 
Many advocates of the student debt bailout—including activists and Members of Congress—are self-interested. Concerned with the implications of such a self-serving policy, Republican Leaders Foxx and James Comer (R-KY) sent a letter to White House Counsel Stuart Delery to understand the extent to which President Biden’s aides, who are writing his loan cancelation policies, would benefit from loan cancelation. Instead of working to rein in college costs and promote the best interests of taxpayers, Democrats would have Americans—who never went to college—pay to pad their own wallets.
 
Nice: The Supreme Court taking up the student loan scam.
 
Currently, Biden’s student loan handout is stalled in court, and at least two separate lawsuits found it illegal. These were resounding wins for taxpayers.
 
Naughty: OSHA for pushing a permanent COVID-19 standard for health care workers.
 
OSHA’s permanent COVID-19 standard for health care workers is the height of foolishness. On one hand, President Biden claims the pandemic is over, while on the other his administration revives a regulatory scheme for health care employers and workers that expired back in 2021. Our health care workers and employers have enough challenges without the Biden administration dictating additional and burdensome COVID-19 requirements. OSHA’s continued exploitation of the pandemic as an excuse to increase federal control over the workplace is damaging to America’s health care workers and employers.
 
Nice: Supreme Court for stopping OSHA’s vaccine mandate on workers.
 
The Supreme Court blocked OSHA’s tyrannical vaccine-and-testing mandate for private sector businesses. The Court held that the Secretary of Labor lacked authority under the Occupational Safety and Health Act to impose the mandate. This was a huge win for workers and job creators who found relief from a relentless agency working to expand its own power.
 
Naughty: Jessica Looman, nominee to head the Wage and Hour Division (WHD), whose proposed independent contractor rule is hurting American workers and industry.
 
Looman, a former union official and Biden’s nominee to head the WHD, is advancing a rule to undercut Trump-era protections for independent contractors and sabotaging compliance assistance since taking over as Principal Deputy Administrator in 2021. She’s also pushed for a revival of antiquated Davis-Bacon Act provisions that disproportionately favor overinflated union wages as the prevailing industry wage—meaning employers must hire fewer employees and workers don’t get access to well-paying jobs. Like the rest of the Biden administration, Looman is coddling the unions underpinning the Biden administration, instead of helping workers succeed.
 
Nice: Republicans who are protecting independent contractors.
 
Republicans are fighting to maintain the independent contractor model. This includes standing up against the Biden administration’s attacks on independent work and undoing the radical PRO Act. Republicans also signed onto important stakeholder initiatives, like the Independent Women’s Forum’s petition to “stop the government from destroying independent contractors’ jobs,” to amplify the voices of the American people. Americans want the liberty afforded by flexible work arrangements that boost incomes—Republicans will never stop defending those freedoms.
 
Naughty: The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) proposed joint employer rule that would harm the franchise model.
 
The NLRB’s proposed joint employer rule would jeopardize franchises and small businesses across the country. Franchises are successful because they allow their owners to run the business themselves; however, Biden’s new joint employer rule assumes franchisor corporations exercise control over everyday functions of franchisees such as scheduling, hiring, and supervision. The rule would discourage franchising while franchise owners would lose the autonomy to run the businesses they worked hard to establish.
 
Nice: The Save Local Business Act.
 
The Save Local Business Act amends the Fair Labor Standards Act and the National Labor Relations Act to ensure that employers must have direct and immediate control over workers to be considered a joint employer. This is much-needed guidance to help employers understand their role and was celebrated by workers, independent contractors, and industry leaders.
 
Naughty: Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, for pushing Americans off employer-sponsored health insurance and onto Obamacare.
 
Despite Americans’ satisfaction with the high-quality plans offered to them by their employers, the Biden administration wants to push even more Americans onto taxpayer-funded Obamacare exchanges. The Biden administration also wants to eliminate innovative options like Associated Health Plans, which allow small employers to band together to offer greater health coverage, in favor of Obamacare. If the Biden administration had its way, taxpayers would be paying billions for generic, low-quality health care.
 
Nice: House Republicans fighting to protect employer-sponsored insurance.
 
A majority of Americans receive their health care through employer-sponsored plans and are extremely happy with their coverage. Moreover, less government control means more competition in the health care system. Republicans are working to lower costs for Americans—without piling costs onto taxpayers. While Democrats’ Medicare-for-All plan could cost more than $32 trillion, Republicans are promoting employer-sponsored plans that lower costs and offer tailored coverage.