Reports continue to reveal new school lunch requirements are leaving students hungry, increasing food waste, and running up costs for schools nationwide. According to a school food services director from Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, "Participation is down, and the feedback we are getting is that [students are] not getting enough to eat. I like the regulations, but the one-size-fits-all doesn’t real... Read more »
House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN), along with Representatives Kristi Noem (R-SD) and Phil Roe, M.D. (R-TN) today asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to evaluate the impact of new requirements under the National School Lunch Program on students, schools, and taxpayers. In recent months, reports have indicated the standards are leading to hungrier st... Read more »
Dear Mr. Dodaro: In December 2010, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act was signed into law, enacting the most comprehensive changes to the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) in more than 15 years. Among the most significant change was a requirement that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) update nutrition standards for school meal programs. These new requirements, which recently went into e... Read more »
A group of House Republicans are sharply questioning a lengthy delay by the Obama administration this year in producing a mandatory report that details the government’s regulatory agenda and what impact it will have on businesses and the economy. “For some reason, they’re just not telling us — the American people, businesses, Congress — what’s on the agenda, what’s coming up,” said House Educatio... Read more »
The College Board this week released a pair of reports on trends in student aid and college costs. According to the reports, average college tuition increased at the lowest rate in more than a decade – welcome news in these times of soaring student debt. However, more must be done to help students earn a degree at a more affordable price. House Education and the Workforce Committee Republicans kno... Read more »
A day after his inauguration, President Obama promised his administration would be defined by its openness and transparency, proudly declaring, "I will also hold myself, as president, to a new standard of openness….Transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency." Sadly, the Obama administration has failed to live up to the president’s lofty rhetoric, and its record on ... Read more »
Dear Secretary Sebelius: As you are aware, under current law the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is required to issue an annual "Indicators of Welfare Dependence" report. Past issues of this report have provided Congress ant the public valuable information about Americans' dependence on various public benefit programs, including the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF... Read more »
Dear Acting Administrator Bershteyn: Thank you for taking the time to discuss the status of the Spring 2012 Unified Agenda ("Spring Agenda") on October 12, 2012. It became clear during our conversation that rather than publishing the Spring Agenda, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) is working to publish the Fall 2012 Unified Agenda ("Fall Agenda"). OIRA's handling of the Spr... Read more »
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) this week released a report titled “The Imperial Presidency” that highlights the Obama administration’s pattern of executive overreach. “The president’s disturbing track record of legislating by executive fiat is simply unacceptable. I applaud Majority Leader Cantor for compiling this report to show the American people the lengths to which the Obama adminis... Read more »
U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce Chairman John Kline (R-MN), House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI), Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Ranking Member Mike Enzi (R-WY), and Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-UT) today sent a letter to members of the Obama administration requesting two overdue reports on the multiemployer... Read more »
