Tag: Senators

  • Democratic senators call for probe of Trump Education Department cuts

    Democratic senators call for probe of Trump Education Department cuts

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    Democrat efforts to challenge President Donald Trump’s dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education mounted Thursday, as 11 senators asked the agency’s acting inspector general, René Rocque, to investigate the push. 

    Sen. Elizabeth Warren and senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer were among those requesting an evaluation of whether the administration is undermining the Education Department’s ability to provide students with equal access to education and to help state and local governments’ education systems

    “Decimating the Department of Education’s abilities to administer financial aid, investigate civil rights violations, conduct research on educational outcomes, and oversee the use of federal education grants threatens to have disastrous consequences for American students, teachers and families,” they wrote in a March 27 letter to Rocque. 

    “The Trump Administration’s further attempts to close the Department entirely and transfer its responsibilities over to other agencies will likely interrupt and degrade education programs and services, causing additional pain for the 62 million students across the country that the Department serves.” 

    The administration’s gutting of the Education Department not only impacted nearly half of the department’s workforce, but also left civil rights investigation and enforcement offices at half their previous capacity, cut the Federal Student Aid office by over 450 employees, and slashed 90% of the Institute of Education Sciences staff. 

    These decisions would likely impede key functions of the department, including ensuring all students’ civil rights are protected, administering federal loans and overseeing lenders and FAFSA, and tracking students’ educational outcomes and the condition of education in the nation, the Democratic senators told Rocque.

    Rocque, who joined the Education Department’s Office of Inspector General as deputy inspector general in December 2023, became acting director in January.

    As with many other issues dividing lawmakers today, Democrats and Republicans have been starkly divided over the Trump administration’s efforts to eliminate the department altogether. This makes attaining a Senate supermajority of 60 votes — which is required to officially shut the department — unlikely. 

    House Democrats introduced a resolution on March 21 calling for transparency and information from the administration, including unredacted copies of all federal documents referring to the department’s closure and information on workforce reduction decisions.

    About a week after the massive reduction in force on March 11, Democrat lawmakers from both the House and Senate wrote the department demanding information on the layoffs, saying that halving its workforce could impact the agency’s ability to perform vital functions required by law.

    Meanwhile, Republicans in some states have taken the opportunity to ask the administration for more leeway in their education spending. 

    On March 25, for example, Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters sent a letter to the Education Department requesting a waiver to receive a block grant for all funds allocated to his state under the Every Student Succeeds Act. Such a consolidated block grant would “significantly enhance local flexibility” so “schools will be able to address their unique needs and priorities,” Walters wrote.

    The block grant would be used to “expand educational choices,” including attendance at private schools, and would loosen federal oversight of education spending requirements.

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  • Senators Introduce Bill to Implement 32-Hour Workweek – CUPA-HR

    Senators Introduce Bill to Implement 32-Hour Workweek – CUPA-HR

    by CUPA-HR | April 3, 2024

    On March 14, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Senator Laphonza Butler (D-CA) introduced the Thirty-Two-Hour Workweek Act, which would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to reduce the standard workweek from 40 hours to 32 hours, while also providing that workers do not lose pay as a result of the reduced hours. A nearly identical bill was introduced in the House earlier this Congress.

    According to the Senate version of the bill, the FLSA would be amended to reduce the standard workweek from 40 hours to 32 hours by requiring overtime payment for any work done in excess of 32 hours in a given week. The bill includes a new requirement to provide overtime pay at the standard rate of one-and-a-half times the regular rate for any workday that is longer than eight hours but shorter than 12 hours, and it requires employers to pay an overtime rate of double the regular rate for any workday longer than 12 hours. The bill also stipulates that employers subject to the shortened workweek requirements may not reduce the total workweek compensation or any other benefit of an employee due to the employee being brought into the purview of the legislation. The 32-hour workweek would be phased in over a four-year period.

    The same day the bill text was introduced, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing on the need for a 32-hour workweek. Senator Sanders serves as the chairperson of the committee and led the Democrats’ arguments for shortening the workweek without reducing pay. He argued that new technology has increased the productivity of American workers, therefore decreasing the need for a 40-hour workweek as was enacted in the FLSA over 80 years ago. Republicans, on the other hand, argued that shortening the workweek without decreasing pay would hurt small businesses and would result in increased prices for goods and services and more automated jobs. They argued against a law mandating the 32-hour workweek and preferred flexibility for employers to choose to make that change if appropriate for their business operations.

    Given the partisan divide shown during the hearing, the bill is unlikely to move in the Senate anytime soon. Even if the bill passed out of the HELP Committee, it appears unlikely that it will garner the 60 votes necessary to bypass the filibuster if brought to the floor for a vote. The House version of the bill faces a similar fate, as the House Republicans currently have the majority. With the upcoming election in November, it will be interesting to see if power shifts in favor of Democrats in either chamber, which will likely be the only way the bill could pass in the House or Senate.

    CUPA-HR will keep members apprised of any updates as it relates to this legislation and future policy related to a shortened workweek.



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  • CLASS BIAS AND RANDOM THINGS LAW REVIEW: Excerpt from In the Company of Thieves: The Senator’s Visit

    CLASS BIAS AND RANDOM THINGS LAW REVIEW: Excerpt from In the Company of Thieves: The Senator’s Visit

     

    The
    Senator

    [This is an an excerpt from the diary of one of
    my more elitist colleagues. (Reprinted with Permission) The particulars of the story were generally well
    know  by every one including me but I
    will let him tell it in his own words. [I have changed the name of the Senator involved because I cannot guarantee all the facts.]

    At Nine couple of weeks ago, I received the following
    from Dean Bob:

    Memorandum

    To: Professor Harris

    From: Dean Bob

    Date: February 7, 2007

    Re: Visit of Senator Faceworth

    As you are aware [I was not aware]
    the Law School has invited Senator Jerry Faceworth to guest lecture for two
    weeks on the subject of Labor Law. I would like to you to serve as his host
    during this time. I know you have many commitments [actually I don’t] but we
    need to put our best foot forward given that Senator Faceworth has recently
    announced his candidacy for President of the United States.

    Please advise me of your availability
    as soon as it is convenient. Senator Faceworth arrives on February 15th.

    I
    responded right away feeling kind of honored. Playing host to an honest to
    goodness presidential candidate sounded like it would be fun.

    So let’s  start with Senator Faceworth. First you should know that I read in the Times
    that in response to some questions about his private life he dared reporters to
    follow him around. “You will regret it. The boredom will be
    intolerable.”

    He
    arrived by private jet. A squadron of reporters arrived soon thereafter and
    more were waiting at the hotel when I took him there at about 8 P.M. I gave him
    my cell number and the phone rang a midnight just as I was dozing off.
    “Let’s have a drink,” he said. “I’ll be at the service ramp. Be
    here in 15 minutes” I was and found him, a knit cap pulled low and
    wrap-around sun glasses. He was very direct about wanting to go to a student
    “club.” I had no idea where to take him but drove him to a part of
    town with student bars. We parked and went into something called the
    “Music Store.” Average age 21. By now, if you know Senator Faceworth,
    you know what happened. After 30 minutes he found me. He wanted to go back to
    his room. “Of course,” I said, not realizing that the two coeds – one
    on each arm – were to accompany him. So, at 1:00 A.M. I left him as he and his
    new playmates quickly scrambled from the car and darted for the service
    elevator. This cannot be good. And, he is here for three weeks.

            The
    next night the same midnight call and it was off to the same bar. This time he
    emerged with two more pals.  The next day Dean Bob picked up the Senator in the hotel lobby – again was the ever
    present   swarm of reporters–  and took him to school. My assignment? Go to
    the service entrance and pick up his two companions from the previous night —
    Heather and Misty. They piled in the car and immediately said. “Jeffy, Gar-Gar told us you
    would take us to breakfast and for tanning.” And I did. What could I do? I
    wore dark glasses but I was a little nervous about the car that seemed to be
    following.

            So you get the drift. The
    man who said people would be bored if they following him was and absolute hound
    for college girls. And this went on non stop. Well non stop until some rapidly
    unfolded events.

    The
    Senator is off to Bimini for the week end and I am sleeping.

    Senator
    Faceworth evidently came back late last night, having taken Monday off. Judging
    by his sun burn, the trip to Bimini was a success. Now he is followed by a
    caravan of pink faced reporters. The cocktail party in is honor is this
    Thursday. He has not thanked me for the selection of single malt scotches in
    his office. I am beginning to look forward to his departure. I have had
    way too many Heathers and Jennifers to escort back to their apartments or
    dorms.

    Two
    more midnight calls from Faceworth and four more Gingers or Kimberlys — who
    knows, who cares. Even though I pick him up at the loading dock of the hotel
    and he has his stocking cap pulled low, it is not always fool proof. Last night
    at what has become his favorite bar I spotted a pink-faced reporter who I
    recognized from the caravan of cars that following us each day. He definitely
    saw Faceworth and then left hurriedly.

    Faceworth
    finally made his break back to Bimini for the weekend. This time he took two
    Jennifers who were on the same flight to Miami. I took all three to the airport
    but dropped them at different places. At one point we were almost spotted by
    reporters and Faceworth hit the floor while the Jennifers giggled and did other
    unmentionable things.

     I am not cut out for this!! Word has leaked
    out among the faculty and today someone accused me of “pimping” for
    Gerard.

    You know the routine. A
    midnight run and two Jennifers each night.
    I find it very annoying that on our trips to the clubs the Senator sits in the
    back seat and rarely speaks to me. On the way back, he is in the back with his
    pals.
        Faceworth  left Thursday late for Binimi, too early the see the following article in
    today’s Ivyville Sun. First you should know that that there is big photo on Faceworth on the front page leaving his regular bar at 1:00 with two Jennifers,
    miniskirts and cowboy boots. I am in the photo just barely. The caption:
    Senator Gerard Faceworth parties with friends and an unidentified law
    professor.

    The article:

    “Senator Gerard Faceworth, a
    visiting professor at the Ivyville Law School, has been photographed with two
    companions leaving the Campus Buzz, a popular late night gather place for
    Ivyville singles. Senator Faceworth only recently challenged reporters to
    follow him around after rumor emerged that he is something of a
    “womanizer.” According the regulars at the Buzz, Senator Faceworth
    has been in the club several nights, usually escorted by a law professor. The
    routine is that he arrives soon after midnight and leaves by 1:00 A.M. with one
    or two college aged women. The hotel management where the Senator is staying
    declined comment. The identity of his law professor host is currently being
    examined.”

            I am happy to report that Faceworth  called in Monday morning to say that he would be unable to finish his
    three week teaching assignment here. The Ivyville Sun article about his late
    night activities — as surely you know — has gone national, even
    international.
            Reporters are everywhere wanting to know the details and trying to identify his
    mysterious law professor escort. So far no one on the faculty had identified
    me.

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