News from June 2023


Ranking Member Cassidy on Troubling Report Showing Declining Reading and Math Scores Among Students Post-Pandemic

Today, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released a statement following the publication of the 2023 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Long-Term Trends report showing a 4-point decline in reading performance and a 9-point decline in math performance among 13-year-old students compared to their pre-pandemic levels during the 2019–20 school year. These are the largest declines since the test was first administered in 1971


Ranking Member Cassidy Delivers Remarks During Committee Markup of Partisan Labor Bills

U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, delivered remarks during today’s markup of partisan labor bills. This is the HELP Committee’s first partisan markup since the Affordable Care Act in 2009.


House Approves Bill to Reassert Congress’ Constitutional Authority Over Trade, Strengthen U.S.-Taiwan Relationship

The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation today to reassert Congress’ sole authority over international trade while showcasing significant support for the U.S.-Taiwan relationship


Ways and Means Republicans Demand Answers on Welfare Fraud in Mississippi Scandal Involving Millions in Misspent Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Funds

In a new letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08), joined by Work and Welfare Subcommittee Chairman Darin LaHood (IL-16) and Ways and Means Committee Republicans, called for improved oversight from the Biden Administration within the TANF program after reports exposed massive fraud in Mississippi.


ICYMI: Big Banks Already Planning on How to Cash in on Democrat’s Welfare for the Wealthy

While Ways and Means Republicans were taking action last week to help workers, families, farmers, and small businesses by passing the pro-growth, pro-worker American Families and Jobs Act, Democrats were defending their welfare-for-the-wealthy special interest tax breaks in their so-called Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Across town, the White House was releasing rules to expedite government checks to big banks and other large corporations looking to cash in on the IRA’s “green” welfare for the wealthy.


Chairmen Smith, Jordan Demand Answers on Alleged IRS Whistleblower Retaliation

Today, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO- 08), joined by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (OH-4), sent letters to the Department of Justice’s Office of Inspector General (DOJ OIG) and Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) demanding information related to their Committees’ investigations into alleged whistleblower retaliation.


Analysis: Guaranteed Deduction Bonus is a Targeted Working-Class Tax Cut

Working families will be the primary beneficiary of a new bill passed out of Congress’s tax-writing panel last week, as new analysis debunks Democrats’ misleading claims otherwise. The $4,000 Guaranteed Deduction Bonus in the Tax Cuts for Working Families Act approved by the Ways and Means Committee provides targeted tax relief for working families, according to the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn-Wharton Budget Model.


JCT: U.S. Stands to Lose Revenue Under OECD Tax Deal

The United States stands to lose over $120 billion in tax revenues under the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) global minimum tax – known as Pillar 2 – negotiated by the Biden Administration, according to an analysis by the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT).


Chairman Smith Remarks: Rules Testimony on CHOICE Arrangement Act and Small Business Flexibility Act

Chairman Smith Remarks: Rules Testimony on CHOICE Arrangement Act and Small Business Flexibility Act


Smith: Ways and Means to Hold Closed Executive Session on Sensitive Whistleblower Allegations of Government Abuse and Misconduct

House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) announced a special closed executive session for Committee members to review claims made by multiple IRS whistleblowers about the handling of a matter involving a high-profile individual and allegations of retaliation.


Chairman Smith Floor Remarks – Opening Statement on the Paperwork Burden Reduction Act

Chairman Smith Floor Remarks – Opening Statement on the Paperwork Burden Reduction Act


Chairman Smith Floor Remarks – Opening Statement on the Employer Reporting Improvement Act

Chairman Smith Floor Remarks – Opening Statement on the Employer Reporting Improvement Act


Chairman Smith Floor Remarks – Opening Statement on Taiwan Trade Legislation

Chairman Smith Floor Remarks – Opening Statement on Taiwan Trade Legislation


Labor Department publishes 12 notices in week ending June 10

There were 12 notices published by the Labor Department in week ending June 10, according to the Federal Register.


US Department of Labor, Georgia road contractors to promote workplace safety during I-285, I-20 East interchange project

News Release: US Department of Labor, Georgia road contractors to promote workplace safety during I-285, I-20 East interchange project



Notice published on June 26 by Labor Department

The US Labor Department published a two page notice on June 26, according to the U.S. Government Publishing Office.


Large Scale Fraud In-The-Making at Department of Education

News Release: WASHINGTON - The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently briefed the Committee on Education and the Workforce on the massive potential for fraud if the Supreme Court permits the Department of Education to move forward with Biden’s student loan scam. Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman...


US Department of Labor, North Florida non-profit initiative align to safeguard agriculture, construction industries' workers

News Release: US Department of Labor, North Florida non-profit initiative align to safeguard agriculture, construction industries' workers


US Department of Labor cites Utah solar power company after inspectors find workers atop snow-covered Johnstown roof without fall protection

News Release: DENVER - Cited 12 times since 2018 for endangering workers, a Utah-based solar provider allowed employees to work on an icy, snow-covered two-story roof in Johnstown without legally required fall protection in late December 2022, a U.S. Department of Labor safety investigation found.