Scott, DeSaulnier Demand Answers from Trump Administration on Ability to Protect 155 Million Workers’ Benefits

As originally released by the Committee on Education and Workforce, Democrats

WASHINGTON - House Committee on Education and Workforce Ranking Member Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) and Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee Ranking Member Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10) demanded the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) Assistant Secretary Daniel Aronowitz share a detailed accounting of the agency's staffing, the damage done by the Trump-Musk federal workforce cuts, and its actions to effectively enforce the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).

ERISA governs 2.8 million health plans, 837,000 retirement plans, and 521,000 other employee benefit plans that cumulatively cover 155 million Americans. However, under the Trump Administration, EBSA has experienced chronic underfunding, reduced staff, and weakened enforcement capacity, allowing bad actors to evade accountability for harming workers' hard-earned benefits.

"The chaotic nature of the Trump Administration's campaign to slash the federal workforce has also obscured the exact scope and severity of the damage imposed on the Agency's workforce. Over the last 20 months, we have had to rely on media reports and top-line figures in annual budget requests to ascertain EBSA's capacity, which are often vague or outdated. Moreover, your responses to the Committee's questions for the record after your appearance failed to provide any substantive information on staffing. In order for the Committee to evaluate EBSA's ability to effectively carry out its mission, as well as to advocate for more resources, it is imperative we have a robust and up-to-date picture of the Agency's workforce changes and composition,"wrote Ranking Members Scott and DeSaulnier.

The Ranking Members requested the agency turn over documents and information related to this request no later than October 22, 2026.

Background:

On November 18, 2025, the Ranking Members urgedthe Trump Administration to adequately staff EBSA to ensure it can fulfill its enormous mission and called on Secretary Aronowitz to tackle wrongful claim denials by group health plans and insurance companies and secure coverage for working people under ERISA.

To read the full letter to Assistant Secretary Aronowitz, click here.

###