Committee on Education and the Workforce

Education and Workforce Priorities
Second Session, 106th Congress
Statement of Chairman Bill Goodling (R-PA) 

“We have a full agenda for 2000, and much to accomplish.  As we complete reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and deal with other legislation for students across America, we will continue to focus on state and local flexibility, quality teaching, accountability for student achievement, and assurance that more dollars reach the classroom. 

     “We will also devote considerable attention to our nation’s workforce, stressing security for families, fairness for all workers, and flexibility in the workplace.  We have several bills that the Committee has approved and are awaiting action in either the House or the Senate.  And of course, a major item on our agenda is keeping in check the Clinton-Gore Administration’s flawed, risky regulatory frenzy. 

“Our Education and Workforce priorities follow: 

Education Priorities

Support for Public Schools & Local Control:  “We will complete reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and hope to be in conference with the Senate by summer.  As we look at the remaining programs, we will do all we can to provide flexibility to states and local school districts.  Our Straight A’s legislation is pending in the Senate, and I look forward to incorporating that pilot program into the final ESEA package.  When we reauthorize the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Act, we will provide support for local efforts to ensure secure and drug-free environments for our children.  We’ll revise and consolidate technology programs for improved flexibility and better coordination. 

Quality Teaching: “After parents, a good teacher is the most important factor in a child’s academic success.  Our bipartisan Teacher Empowerment Act, which is pending in the Senate, would provide needed funds for local schools to ensure that every student has a qualified teacher.  In reauthorizing Title I in the fall, we stressed the need for quality instruction, and we will continue to do so as we look at the rest of ESEA, including family literacy in the Even Start program.  When we mark up LIFT (H.R. 3222, Literacy Involves Families Together) next month, we will include a new component for research into adult literacy.  To provide quality teaching to adults, we need to know more about effective means to teach adults with reading difficulties.  When we review technology programs, we will ensure that teachers have the skills to use technology for increasing student achievement in basic academics. 

Accountability: “In every program that the federal government funds, we must continue to stress the need for results.  We must continually ask, ‘Are students learning?’  If we cannot answer that affirmatively, then we need to re-examine what we’re doing.  In the Title I reauthorization, we ensured that students who are not learning because they’re trapped in a failing school can escape to a successful public school.  States that want maximum flexibility and opt to participate in the Straight A’s program must be able to show that academic achievement is increasing among all students.  We will continue to scrutinize every proposal based on its impact on student achievement. 

 Dollars to the Classroom: “The 106^th Congress will send more federal dollars directly to the classroom.  Taxpayers want their hard-earned funds to help students, not to fund bureaucracies in Washington, in state capitals, or school districts’ central administration buildings.  We are making progress on this and will continue our efforts. 

Education Savings Accounts:  “Last year, President Clinton again vetoed a bill that would help parents save for education.  Congressional Republicans will give him another opportunity to support families by presenting this in a stand-alone bill. The Ways and Means Committee has jurisdiction over this tax issue, and I will help Chairman Archer in any way I can to get this bill passed and signed into law. 

Workforce Priorities 

Security for Families: “Republicans will expand access to affordable health care coverage for the 44 million Americans who are uninsured.  In the pension area, the Committee has approved a comprehensive reform package that will simplify pensions and promote savings for retirement.  We have a stock options bill, H.R. 3462, which would encourage employers to offer stock options to all workers rather than just top executives.  The bill would also encourage employees to hold their stock options for longer periods of time, maximizing their savings and investment potential. 

Fairness for All Workers: “We are creating fairness for all workers, rank-and-file, entrepreneurs, middle managers, teachers, and working parents. Our FAIR (Fair Access to Indemnity and Reimbursement, H.R. 1987) bill would allow small businesses and unions to be reimbursed for attorney’s fees they incur in defending themselves and prevailing in actions brought by certain federal agencies.  This bill has been approved in Committee and is awaiting action in the House, along with the Worker Paycheck Fairness Act, H.R. 2434, which would allow union members to decide whether their union dues may be spent for purposes other than collective bargaining.  The legislation would also require that unions provide their members with better information on how dues are spent. 

Protection from Flawed Regulations: “As the Clinton-Gore Administration nears its end, there is a proliferation of flawed regulatory initiatives which would have a detrimental impact on the American workforce.  The list includes: 

• The Department of Labor’s (DOL) plan to proceed with ergonomics regulations before we have a scientific appraisal of the cause and definition of muskoskeletal injuries, what causes them, and how we can prevent them.

• An aborted attempt by DOL to expand health and safety rules to telecommuters and others who work at home.

• Similarly, DOL issued an advisory that threatens existing employee stock option plans by requiring employers to figure stock options into employees’ overtime pay.

• The administration is also moving forward with plans to allow states to use unemployment insurance funds for purposes never intended -- to provide paid family leave for employed workers.  This could leave unemployed workers competing for funds with those who hold jobs but voluntarily choose to take time off.

• The administration’s attempt to unfairly “blacklist” certain contractors and prevent them access to federal contracts is a blatant over-reach of regulatory authority.

Flexibility in the Workplace: “Our comp time legislation would allow all workers, particularly working parents, to better balance their work and family responsibilities.  H.R. 1380 would allow employees to voluntarily accept compensatory time off in lieu of overtime wages.”

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