Education Secretary Defends Administration's End Run Around Congress
Education Secretary Arne Duncan gave an emphatic defense Tuesday of the Obama administration's use of executive authority and competitive grants on education policy to bypass a gridlocked Congress.
View ArticlePetri Preparing Plan to Overhaul Federal Student Loan System
Rep. Tom Petri, the second-most senior Republican on the Education and the Workforce Committee, is floating the first serious proposal to overhaul the federal student loan repayment system as Congress...
View ArticleSenate GOP Takes Wide View of 'Welfare' in Tallying Federal Commitments
A senior Senate Republican is looking to redefine what constitutes welfare as he makes a case for ratcheting back government spending on programs for the poor.
View ArticleStockman Seeks Repeal of Gun-Free School Zones Law
Texas Republican Steve Stockman is searching for co-sponsors for a bill he introduced Jan. 3 that would repeal the federal law that prohibits firearms in school zones.
View ArticleRepublicans Call for NLRB to Shut Down in Wake of Court Ruling on Appointees
Senate Republicans won an important victory over President Barack Obama on Friday, when a federal appeals court ruled that his appointments to the National Labor Relations Board a year ago were...
View ArticleSupreme Court Asked to Consider Obama Recess Appointments
The issue of President Barack Obama's recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board is now before the Supreme Court, as a nursing home company Monday asked the court to block a board order....
View ArticleCantor Pledges Domestic Violence Law Is an Early House Priority
With the Senate poised to pass a renewal of the Violence Against Women Act, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor on Wednesday vowed that the bill is a priority in his chamber, as well.
View ArticleThe Next Jobs Bill Will Focus on Training Programs
After an election focused heavily on jobs, the House is poised to move quickly on a long-stalled overhaul of federal job-training programs. But hope for finally breaking through the gridlock appears to...
View ArticleRepublicans Face Test in Upcoming Vote on Renewing Domestic Violence Law
House Republican leaders may need every vote they can get this week when they bring to the floor a five-year reauthorization of the 1994 Violence Against Women Act.
View ArticleGrassley Raises Objections to Obama's Potential Labor Secretary Nominee
Sen. Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, fired a preemptive warning shot to the White House over the weekend in response to media reports that President Barack Obama intends to nominate Thomas Perez,...
View ArticleVitter Vows to Block Perez Nomination for Labor Secretary
Sen. David Vitter, R-La., announced Monday that he will block President Barack Obama's nominee for Labor secretary, Thomas E. Perez, until he receives more information about Perez's enforcement of a...
View ArticleGroup Is at the Forefront of Paid-Sick-Leave Effort
The National Partnership for Women and Families in 2004 began its push for paid sick leave when it launched its "Campaign for Paid Sick Days," and played an integral role two years later in helping San...
View ArticleBackers Hope Paid-Sick-Leave Laws Are Contagious
When Wanda Cobbs' two children fell ill for an extended period this winter due to complications from their Type I diabetes, the decision to stay home to care for them came more easily than it had in...
View ArticleHouse GOP Needles Labor Nominee on Eve of Senate Committee Vote
With a Senate committee vote set for Wednesday on the nomination of Thomas E. Perez for Labor secretary, House Republicans convened a joint hearing Tuesday to examine a whistle-blower case that GOP...
View ArticleGOP Effort Against Labor Nominee Gains Steam
The Republican campaign against Labor Secretary nominee Thomas E. Perez picked up serious momentum Wednesday, as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Marco Rubio both raised strong objections.
View ArticleJob Corps Hits Turning Point Under Congress' Watch
A banner typed across the front page of the Job Corps website in bold red letters reads, "Attention! Job Corps is enrolling students again!"
View ArticleSounding the Alarm on Job Corps' Woes
For Anand Vimalassery, watching Job Corps' finances spiral out of control has been more than frustrating. After all, he spent the better part of a year trying to warn the Labor Department that the...
View ArticleAs Clock Ticks, Senate Plans Student Loan Test Votes
With federal student loan interest rates set to double on July 1, Congress returns from recess facing a familiar partisan brawl with no quick resolution in sight.
View ArticleSenate Duo Punches Time Clock on Job-Training Bill
Bipartisan negotiations to overhaul federal job-training programs are picking up again, with Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., hoping to usher a bill through the Senate Health,...
View ArticleN.C. Workforce Board Uses Innovative Approach to Job-Training Programs
Charlotte Works, the workforce board for the Charlotte area of North Carolina, knew it needed to try something different when Siemens Energy approached the panel in 2010 looking to hire skilled workers...
View ArticleStudent Loan Rates Likely to Double With No Congressional Agreement in Sight
With immigration center stage and a bipartisan agreement to stave off the student loan interest rate hike nowhere in sight, principal negotiators on both sides conceded Tuesday that rates will likely...
View ArticleDemocrats' Split on Student Loans Breaks Into the Open
Senate Democrats battled among themselves over student loans Thursday, holding dueling news conferences about the right way to prevent interest rates from doubling in four days.
View ArticleENDA Has Been Waiting 2 Decades for Passage
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act has been pending in Congress for two decades. Here is a look at the key turning points in the legislative history. 1994: ENDA was first introduced in the 103rd...
View ArticleMomentum Bolsters Workplace Discrimination Bill
In June, several lawmakers received a visit from Kristin Beck, a Florida native who, after serving for more than 20 years as a male U.S. Navy SEAL, recently revealed her identity as a transgender woman.
View ArticleHouse GOP Seems Eager to Pass Student Loan Plan
The student loan interest rate legislation approved Wednesday by the Senate appears to face a clear path in the House, where Republicans wasted no time pointing out that the proposal closely mirrors...
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