United States House Committee on Education and Labor

Committee information

• Date created: March 21, 1867
• Members: 37 members in the 119th Congress (2025-2026)
• Subcommittees: Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education; Workforce Protections; Higher Education and Workforce Training; Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions

Role

The United States House Committee on Education and Labor is a standing committee in the House of Representatives that is responsible for aligning the education of US citizens with the requirements of the nation’s economy. All bills originating from this committee must be passed by the committee before presenting it to the full Congress for a final vote. The purpose of the committee is to ensure that students and workers are trained from early learning through secondary education and from job training through retirement in such a way that they live independently and compete in a global economy. The Committee on Education and Labor focuses on increasing educational and work opportunities for every citizen in order to maintain the United States as a world leader.

The focus of legislative actions regarding education is driven by developing policy, procedures, and resources necessary to provide quality education to all. This committee presides over early childhood and preschool education programs that are funded and implemented to promote enhanced cognitive, emotional, and behavioral health, especially in low-income children. The elementary and secondary education initiatives focus on requiring racial and socioeconomic equality and protecting the rights of students with disabilities, all under the umbrella of providing safe schools with fair and effective discipline processes. Education quality is promoted through regulation and resources to attract, train, and retain the best qualified teachers. Post-secondary legislative initiatives include making college a viable option for more students by providing access and affordability solutions for students to complete degrees. In addition, legislation targets those who have limited proficiency in English or lack basic skills through adult education programs. Funding and federal training provisions are provided for those who are underemployed or unemployed.

Through workforce legislative actions, this committee is responsible for all matters dealing with relationships between employers and employees. It focuses on protecting workers from discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, or national origin. It promotes the democratic rights of workers through unions and their safety through occupational safety and health standards. It provides guidelines for pension and retirement security for workers as well as wages, work conditions, workers’ compensation, and family medical leave. It regulates anti-poverty programs, job training and retraining, workforce development initiatives, and work benefits. The Committee on Education and Labor also develops welfare reforms.

History

During the early years of the United States, many attempts were made to create a congressional committee that regulated education and labor. However, the formation of such a committee was delayed due to a disagreement over whether Congress had the authority to rule over education issues as outlined in the Constitution. It was the belief of the era that education was the responsibility of individual states.

The inaugural committee, which consisted of nine members, was founded after the Civil War on March 21, 1867, and named the Committee on Education and Labor. It was chaired by John Baker. This was the beginning of the rapid industrialization of the United States. It was clear that the country needed a systemized way to educate citizens so that they had the work skills needed in the Industrial Age.

However, in 1883, the Committee on Education and Labor split into two committees: the Committee on Labor and the Committee on Education. The two committees operated separately for more than sixty years. On January 7, 1947, both were terminated after the passage of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, which streamlined overlapping initiatives. It once again combined the organizations to form a new Committee on Education and Labor. The name remained the same for fifty years until the Republicans took control of the House and in 1995 renamed it the Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities. In 1997, the name was changed to the Committee on Education and the Workforce. It was renamed again on January 4, 2007, when the Democrats took the majority. They reverted to the name Committee on Education and Labor. Then again as the majority changed on January 5, 2011, the Republicans renamed the organization the Committee on Education and the Workforce. After Democrats recaptured the House majority in the 2018 elections, they similarly returned to the previous name, Committee on Education and Labor, effective with the opening of the 116th Congress in 2019. However, the 118th Congress renamed the committee the Committee on Education and the Workforce once again.

After the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack by Hamas that killed nearly 1,200 people in Israel, the Committee held a hearing on antisemitism. The investigation discovered antisemitism at three major US universities. The president of the University of Pennsylvania resigned because of discoveries made at the hearing, and the president of Harvard University was forced to leave because of allegations of plagiarism. The hearing revealed that these university presidents, along with the president of the University of California, Los Angeles, had failed to confront antisemitism on their campuses.

Another hearing was held in April 2024 with the president of Columbia University about the protests on its campus. The protests were by students who supported Palestine after Israel launched an attack on Gaza after it was attacked by the terrorist group Hamas. The president of Columbia University also resigned.

Subcommittees

As of 2019, the US House Committee on Education and Labor was one of twenty-one House committees in the 116th Congress. It was currently chaired by Bobby Scott, the US Representative for Virginia’s 3rd Congressional District. It had a membership of twenty-seven members from the Democratic Party, fourteen of them new to the committee as of January 15, 2019. The names of Republicans on this committee were still to be released at this time. Historical data shows that the membership ranges from 34–49 total members.

As of 2024, the Committee on Education and Labor had four subcommittees: Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Committee; Workforce Protections; Higher Education and Workforce Training; Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions.

United States House Committee on Education and Labor Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Subcommittee

This committee is responsible for overseeing educational activities from preschool to high school. It oversees education, homeless education, migrant education, overseas dependent schools, and career and technical education. It is also responsible for such programs as school safety and drug prevention, environmental education, school lunch and nutrition programs, educational research and improvement, including the Institute of Education Sciences, and pre-service and in-service teacher professional training.

United States House Committee on Education and Labor Subcommittee on Workforce Protections Subcommittee

This committee oversees activities, budgets, and policies regarding hourly wage initiatives, worker safety and health, civil rights protections while on the job, employee benefits, collective bargaining and union membership, retirement and pensions, and the rights of older working Americans. Current issues include raising the minimum wage, expanding overtime pay protections and preventing miscalculation of employees as independent contractors, and assuring that businesses receiving federal contracts comply to all workplace regulations.

United States House Committee on Education and Labor Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training Subcommittee

The jurisdiction of this subcommittee includes initiatives regarding education and training beyond high school, more specifically postsecondary assistance including college and career attainment and employment assistance. This committee administers the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, and all such proposals relating to displaced homemakers, adult basic education, family literacy, rehabilitation, immigration funding, teacher training, and science and technology programs. It oversees the Title II sector of ESSA and the Higher Education Act. The subcommittee also administers all welfare reform programs including work incentive programs, welfare-to-work requirements, the Native American Programs Act, the Robert A. Taft Institute, and the Institute for Peace.

United States House Committee on Education and Labor Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee

This subcommittee deals with all that encompasses the employer-employee relationship. It reinforces the National Labor Relations Act that protects the rights of employees hired from the private sector to form alliances to improve wages and working conditions. It oversees the requirements outlined by the Labor Management Relations Act as it applies to union conduct and processes for labor disputes in times of national emergencies. It monitors the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, which is a law that regulates the internal affairs of unions. This subcommittee deals with retirement security and benefits received through employment, such as pensions, health benefits, and paid leave. Finally, matters related to equal opportunity and civil rights in employment, including affirmative action, fall within this subcommittee’s jurisdiction.

Bibliography

"Antisemitism on College Campuses Exposed, Education and the Workforce Committee Releases Report." Committee of Education and Workforce, 31 Oct. 2024, edworkforce.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=412025. Accessed 28 Jan. 2025.

"Education and Workforce Committee Adopts Rules, Oversight Plans for 119th Congress." Committee of Education and Workforce, 15 Jan. 2025, edworkforce.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=412152. Accessed 28 Jan. 2025.

"Guide to House Records: Chapter 9.”National Archives,www.archives.gov/legislative/guide/house/chapter-09.html. Accessed 21 Jan. 2019.

“Head Start ECLKC.” Head Start, ECLKC, eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/about-us/article/head-start-timeline. Accessed 21 Jan. 2019.

“History of the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Members Who Have Served As Chairman.” U.S. House of Representatives, 109th Congress, archives-republicans-edlabor.house.gov/archive/committee/history.htm. Accessed 21 Jan. 2019.

“Press Release Chairman Scott Welcomes New Committee Members for 116th Congress.” Education and Labor Committee,

edlabor.house.gov/media/press-releases/chairman-scott-welcomes-new-committee-members-for-116th-congress. Accessed 21 Jan. 2019.

Statistics and Historical Comparison. govtrack,www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/statistics. Accessed 21 Jan. 2019.

“Top Democrats Introduce Bill Gradually Raising Minimum Wage to $15 by 2024.” Education and Labor Committee, 16 Jan. 2019,edlabor.house.gov/media/press-releases/top-democrats-introduce-bill-gradually-raising-minimum-wage-to-15-by-2024. Accessed 21 Jan. 2019.