On Labor Day Chair Walberg Highlights Republican Initiatives for America’s Workers
Today, Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) issued the following statement celebrating Labor Day and recognizing Republican initiatives that deliver for America’s workers:
“Today, we celebrate the contributions of American workers driving our nation’s booming economy. While these hardworking Americans deliver for this nation, President Trump and House Republicans are working for them. This includes the One Big, Beautiful Bill—historic legislation that greatly expands opportunities for workers and puts more money back in taxpayer pockets. This and other Republican efforts are paying off, as blue-collar workers are seeing the biggest wage increases in decades. I remain committed to working alongside President Trump to implement policies that allow all American workers—from the independent contractor to the rank-and-file union member to the single mom—to thrive.”
BACKGROUND
Education and Workforce Committee Accomplishments in the 119th Congress:
Expanding Upskilling Opportunities: The One Big, Beautiful Bill expands Pell Grants for short-term credentialing and upskilling opportunities, allowing more Americans to access programs that will help them find good jobs in booming industries.
Protecting Flexibility for American Workers: There are many paths to the American Dream. H.R. 2262, the Flexibility for Workers Act, removes obstacles preventing businesses from offering training opportunities to workers and empowers workers to pursue employer-offered upskilling opportunities at no cost to the worker.
Clarifying the Joint Employer Rule: The Biden-Harris administration’s confusing joint employer rule created chaos for workers and job creators. H.R. 4366, the Save Local Business Act, fixes this by clearly defining a joint employer as one that shares direct, actual, and immediate control over employees with another employer.
Empowering Independent Contractors: Modern workers want choice—and to be able to work on their terms. H.R. 1319, the Modern Worker Empowerment Act, clearly defines whether a worker is an independent contractor or traditional employee based on common law principals, while H.R. 1320, the Modern Worker Security Act, lets businesses provide portable benefits to employees so workers transfer those benefits between concurrent jobs without being forcefully reclassified as a traditional employee.
Creating Pro-Family Work Environments: Parents and families should be able to pursue fulfilling careers and ensure dependents’ needs are met. H.R. 2270, the Empowering Employer Child Care and Elder Solutions Act, incentivizes employers to offer child and elder care as an employee benefit without incurring additional costs from burdensome regulations.
Expanding Health Care Options: Small businesses want to provide high-quality, low-cost health care choices for their employees—but under Obama and Biden-era policies, that wasn’t always possible. H.R. 2528, the Association Health Plans Act, expands options through association health plans, which allow small businesses to band together and purchase health coverage outside of the pricey, confusing Affordable Care Act marketplace. Additionally, H.R. 2571, the Self-Insurance Protection Act, protects small and mid-sized businesses’ access to stop-loss insurance, which shields businesses and employees from catastrophically high health care costs.
Improving Federal Workers’ Access to Treatment: We should never limit access to health care options for workers who want to get back on their feet. H.R. 3170, the Improving Access to Workers' Compensation for Injured Federal Workers Act, allows injured federal workers to receive treatment from state-licensed medical professionals—like physician assistants and nurse practitioners—when they suffer a work-related injury. Expanding treatment options would greatly improve access to care, lower costs, and help workers get back on their feet.
Ensuring Responsible Investments for Retirees: Under the Biden-Harris administration, many retirement fiduciaries sacrificed retirees’ best interests to invest their hard-earned savings to advance a radical environmental, social, and governance (ESG) agenda. H.R. 2988, the Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act, protects retirees from this kind of overreach by requiring fiduciaries to focus on maximizing returns for their clients instead of woke ESG factors.