The Committee on Education and the Workforce is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. There are 45 members of this committee. Since 2023, the chair of the Education and the Workforce committee is Virginia Foxx of North Carolina.

History of the committee

Attempts were made to create a congressional committee on education and labor starting with the early congresses but issues over Congress's constitutional ability to oversee such issues delayed the committee's formation. Finally, on March 21, 1867, the Committee on Education and Labor was founded following the end of the Civil War and during the rapid industrialization of America. On December 19, 1883, the committee was divided into two, the Committee on Education and the Committee on Labor. The committees again merged on January 2, 1947, after the passage of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, becoming the Committee on Education and Labor again.

Name changes

On January 4, 1995, when the Republicans took over the House, the committee was renamed the Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities. It was renamed again as the Committee on Education and the Workforce two years later on January 7, 1997. On January 4, 2007, with the Democrats once again in the majority, the committee's name was changed back to Committee on Education and Labor. After Republicans recaptured the House majority in the 2010 elections, they returned to the name, Committee on Education and the Workforce, effective with the opening of the 112th Congress in 2011. 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. With the passing of the new House Rules associated to the Speaker negotiations in January of 2023, the 118th Congress renamed the committee as the Committee on Education and the Workforce again.

Activity

In December 2023, the Committee held a hearing on antisemitism at which three university presidents were invited to speak about their handling of antisemitism on their campuses, and later pressured to resign. Ultimately, within weeks the president of the University of Pennsylvania, M. Elizabeth Magill, resigned as direct consequence of the hearing, and Claudine Gay, president of Harvard University was forced out because of plagiarism accusations amplified in part due to the hearing. An April 2024 hearing with Columbia University president Minouche Shafik was held later in the morning of the first day of the 2024 Columbia University pro-Palestinian campus occupation. Shafik resigned as President on August 14th of that same year.

Members, 118th Congress

Resolutions electing members: (Chair), (Ranking Member), (R), (D)

Subcommittees

Historical membership rosters

115th Congress

Sources: (Chair), (Ranking Member), (D), (R), (D), (R)

116th Congress

Sources: (Chair), (Ranking Member), (D), (R), (D), (R), (R), (R)

117th Congress

Resolutions electing members: (Chair), (Ranking Member), (D), (R), (removing Rep. Greene), (D), (D), (R), (D), (R), (D)

Chairs