BOBBY SCOTT

Five days have passed since Lorenzo Gamble was killed in a mass shooting at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia.

House Democrats are proposing new legislation that would increase federal student aid, lower interest rates on loans and take other steps to make college more affordable.

Building on President Joe Biden’s student debt cancellation plan, House Democrats on Thursday proposed new legislation that would increase federal student aid, lower interest rates on loans and take other steps to make college more affordable. The bill is being pushed as a complement to Biden’s plan, which promises to wipe away student debt for millions of Americans but does little to help future students avoid heavy levels of debt. Democrats say their plan would tackle the root causes behind America’s $1.6 trillion in federal student debt.

President Joe Biden’s student loan cancellation offers a life-changing financial break for millions of Americans.

A new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office finds that public schools remain highly segregated along racial, ethnic and socioeconomic lines. One reason: school district secession.

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona says he's ashamed the United States is "becoming desensitized to the murder of children” and he's calling for action to prevent more lives from being lost in school shootings like the one in Uvalde, Texas.

A new federal report finds that record-keeping failures by the Education Department may have left thousands of Americans stuck with student debt that should have been forgiven.

Income-driven repayment plans were intended to help low-income student loan borrowers, and eventually cancel their debt. New documents paint a breathtaking picture of the program's failure.

Terry McAuliffe won Virginia’s 2013 governor’s race by embracing his own brand of personal politics that rely on decades-old friendships, backslapping charisma and tell-it-like-it-is authenticity.

A growing number of school districts in the U.S. are using federal pandemic funding on athletics projects.

Officials at historically Black colleges thought they might finally have a pipeline for long-term funding from the federal government after the Biden administration included at least $45 billion for them in its multitrillion dollar economic package.

A report by the Government Accountability Office, a congressional watchdog, found many Americans do not understand fees for their 401(k) retirement plans.

Some Republican governors are using federal pandemic assistance to promote school choice programs, including charter schools and vouchers for private schools.

House Republicans are demanding an apology after a Democrat yelled, "Racist," at a colleague who was quizzing Education Secretary Miguel Cardona about critical race theory during a committee hearing Thursday.

The U.S. Education Department on Wednesday expanded its interpretation of federal sex protections to include transgender and gay students.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

A group of House Democratic leaders are questioning the basis for the Biden administration's guidance on aerosol transmission of COVID-19, which they say relies on "outmoded" science. A dozen doctors and experts detailed their concerns in a letter in mid-February to the Biden administration. Congressman Bobby Scott, the chairman of the House education and labor committee, is leading the advocacy effort for greater workplace protections and regulations regarding COVID-19 safety. Experts told CBS News the lack of specificity from the CDC could be an impediment for OSHA. The White House, CDC and Labor Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A group of House Democratic leaders are questioning the basis for the Biden administration's guidance on aerosol transmission of COVID-19, which they say relies on "outmoded" science. A dozen doctors and experts detailed their concerns in a letter in mid-February to the Biden administration. Congressman Bobby Scott, the chairman of the House education and labor committee, is leading the advocacy effort for greater workplace protections and regulations regarding COVID-19 safety. Experts told CBS News the lack of specificity from the CDC could be an impediment for OSHA. The White House, CDC and Labor Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The plan faces opposition from Republicans who want to tie new school funding to reopening. Biden's plan for $130 billion in school funding is in addition to more than $8 billion from previous relief packages. Stop ruining their futures and stop playing games.”Scott countered that schools can't make changes needed to reopen safely unless they get the funding in Biden's plan. AdRepublicans also signaled a fight over standardized testing, backing a proposed change to prevent relief funding from being used on academic assessments. The $350 billion portion of the bill before the committee also includes Biden's plan to raise the minimum wage from $7.25, where is has been since 2009.

The plan faces opposition from Republicans who want to tie new school funding to reopening. Biden's plan for $130 billion in school funding is in addition to more than $8 billion from previous relief packages. Stop ruining their futures and stop playing games.”Scott countered that schools can't make changes needed to reopen safely unless they get the funding in Biden's plan. AdRepublicans also signaled a fight over standardized testing, backing a proposed change to prevent relief funding from being used on academic assessments. The $350 billion portion of the bill before the committee also includes Biden's plan to raise the minimum wage from $7.25, where is has been since 2009.

Less than three weeks into his presidency, Biden has declared that vanquishing the virus and resuscitating the economy are his top priorities. AdHouse Education and Labor Committee Democrats also previewed their plans Monday. Couples who make up to $150,000 would be entitled to $2,800 relief payments, which would gradually diminish and fully disappear for those earning $200,000. Biden has said he will not allow the per-person payments to fall below $1,400 but has indicated flexibility on the income thresholds. A federal law known as COBRA already allows them to temporarily keep their old employer’s health plan, but they typically have to pay prohibitively high premiums.

Democrats are reintroducing a sweeping labor rights bill on Thursday, touting it as a means to create safer workplaces and boost employee benefits during the coronavirus pandemic. Even so, the bill highlights Democrats' push to strengthen labor unions after years of eroding membership. "The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the urgent need for Congress to protect and strengthen workers' rights," he said in a statement Thursday. The reintroduction of the bill underscores the party's renewed focus on using unified control of Congress and the White House to boost labor rights. During her introduction of Walsh, committee Chair Sen. Patty Murray of Washington touted the PRO Act as one of the policies she aims to pursue.

It also removes a rule telling religious groups to give clients written notice about their rights, including that they can’t be forced to participate in religious activities. Trump also vowed to protect prayer in public schools and bolster the rights of religious groups on college campuses. Civil rights group blasted the new changes, saying the previous rules were meant to protect LGBTQ people, religious minorities and others who may face discrimination from religious groups. American Atheists, a civil rights group, said the previous rules were created with support from religious and civil rights groups alike. Religious groups applauded the changes, while civil rights groups said they opened the door for discrimination.

DeVos and President Donald Trump have repeatedly invoked school choice as the solution to parents’ woes. And in fact, we are.”In nearly every public appearance she has made during the pandemic, DeVos has used the spotlight to draw attention to school choice. Her focus on school choice has drawn sharp opposition from Democrats and public school leaders. And supporters of school choice say DeVos is right to press for the issue now. “I’m focused on students, not on school buildings, school systems or any word that comes before school,” DeVos said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will not continue to provide food program waivers that have ensured students are fed while schools are closed during the coronavirus pandemic unless Congress acts, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan warned Tuesday. Some children get their only meals at school. Should Congress choose to go in this direction, USDA stands ready to provide technical assistance.The USDA did not return a request for further comment Tuesday. She said she hoped it was not coming from the Trump administrations push to put students back in schools for in-person instruction. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Robert Redfield, speaks during a White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing at the Department of Education July 8, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)WASHINGTON House Democrats are criticizing the White House for blocking the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from testifying at a public hearing on safely reopening the nation's schools. Democrats said they invited CDC officials, including director Robert Redfield, to testify at a hearing next Thursday but were rebuffed by the White House. A committee spokesperson said the panel asked for any CDC official to testify but was rejected. A White House spokesperson said Friday that Dr. Redfield has testified on Capitol Hill at least four times over the last three months.

The policy has drawn backlash from Democrats and state education leaders who say it reroutes money from needy public schools to wealthier private ones. The legislation tells states to divide the funding among public schools based on the number and share of low-income students they teach. It also tells public schools to use a portion of the money to provide services, such as busing or tutoring, to students who attend local private schools. On April 30, however, DeVos issued new guidance telling public schools to divide the coronavirus aid based on the total number of students at local private schools, not just low-income ones. In the state's Orleans Parish, at least 77% of its relief allotment would end up going to private schools.

Andrew Burton/Getty ImagesWASHINGTON, D.C. - Rep. Bobby Scott says the US Department of Agriculture concealed data showing that its recent proposed changes to the food stamp program could result in more than 500,000 low-income students losing free meals. Scott writes that "the proposed rule will impact not only SNAP eligibility, but will also affect children's eligibility for school meal programs." The program, Scott noted, "allows schools to provide free meals to all students in high-poverty communities." The proposed rule, released last week, could end up stripping more than 3 million people of their food stamp benefits. It would curtail so-called broad-based categorical eligibility, which makes it easier for Americans with somewhat higher incomes and more savings to participate in the food stamp program.

The House passed a bill Thursday to hike the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour in a win for liberal activists who have long pushed to give low-wage workers a raise. Congress last raised the federal minimum wage to $7.25 per hour about a decade ago. Now, 29 states and Washington, D.C., have higher pay floors than the U.S., while seven states have approved $15 per hour minimum wages. An amendment adopted Thursday, proposed by Rep. Tom O'Halleran, requires a Government Accountability Office report on the effects of minimum wage increases. Activists such as Fight for $15, a movement started by striking fast-food workers, helped to spur $15 per hour minimum wage laws around the country.

The Raise the Wage Act would also create an equal minimum wage for Americans with disabilities. Many Republicans cited concerns that a $15 federal minimum wage may cause significant job loss. Why advocates say minimum wage needs to increaseIt's been 10 years since Congress set the current federal minimum wage at $7.25. In recent years, some cities and states have taken steps to increase local minimum wage statutes, but there are still 21 states where the minimum wage remains frozen at $7.25. Nicholson, 28, makes $8.60 an hour, $1.35 more than the federal minimum wage, thanks to a recent state increase.

People gather together to ask the McDonalds corporation to raise workers wages to a $15 minimum wage as well as demanding the right to a union on May 23, 2019 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Hiking the U.S. minimum wage to $15 per hour would give millions of Americans a raise but put a smaller share of people out of work, according to projections released Monday. Raising the pay floor to $15 per hour by 2025 would boost wages for 17 million workers, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated. Earlier this year, House Democrats led by Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., introduced a bill to gradually raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2024. Opponents of hiking the pay floor to that level more than twice the current U.S. minimum wage of $7.25 that took effect in 2009 argue it would cut positions for minimum wage workers amid higher costs.