ADVOCACY & POLICY UPDATE - January 16th, 2023

Foxx to Helm House Education and the Workforce Committee

Washington Update

House Education and the Workforce Committee

On Monday, January 9, Republicans approved Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (NC) to chair the House Education and the Workforce Committee. Foxx secured a waiver from the GOP conference rule that bars members from serving more than three consecutive terms as a ranking member or chair of a committee. In an email statement, Foxx said she plans to conduct aggressive oversight of the Administration’s actions on highly divisive labor and education issues. Democrats have already selected Congressman Bobby Scott (VA) as ranking member of the committee.

House Appropriations Committee

New House Appropriations Chair Kay Granger (TX) selected her subcommittee chiefs, informally known as ‘cardinals,’ who will manage funding for federal agencies. Congressman Robert Aderholt (AL) is listed as the member who will lead the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education subcommittee. The GOP steering committee will meet this week to review and ratify the list. Granger’s office also said the list could change before it’s presented to the full conference. Additionally, Republicans are curbing the use of remote testimony as part of congressional depositions, barring the practice from government witnesses and imposing strict restrictions for those outside the government.

Initial Jobless Claims

In the week ending January 7, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 205,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 204,000 to 206,000. The 4-week moving average was 212,500, a decrease of 1,750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 500 from 213,750 to 214,250. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.1 percent for the week ending December 31, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the previous week's unrevised rate.

Click here to access the report.