Press Releases
Miller Statement on Department of Education’s New Civil Rights Data
03.21.14 WASHINGTON-Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, issued the following statement upon the release of the Department of Education's Civil Rights Data Collection for the 2011-12 school year. It is the first comprehensive look at civil rights data from every public school around the country in nearly 15 years. "This new data shows how far we still have to go to give all kids an equal shot at a good education. By tracking vital issues like… Continue Reading
Congress Must Act on Comprehensive Immigration Reform and DREAM Act So All Students Have Opportunity to Succeed
03.18.14 LAS VEGAS, NV- By passing comprehensive immigration reform and the DREAM Act, Congress can help ensure that all American high school students-including undocumented immigrants-have the opportunity to pursue college and a career, members of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce learned at a field hearing on career and technical education programs today. "Today's career and technical education programs, or CTE, are successfully preparing millions of students for lifelong success, bri… Continue Reading
Miller Applauds President Obama’s Plan to Strengthen Overtime Protections
03.13.14 WASHINGTON-In response to President Obama's announcement today that he will direct the Department of Labor to revamp regulations on overtime pay, Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, released the following statement. "It's pretty simple: people deserve fair pay for a fair day's work. This is a basic promise of the American Dream. President Obama has moved to ensure we make good on that promise. Today's announcement will strengthen ov… Continue Reading
Senators Baldwin and Harkin, Reps. Miller and DeLauro Stand up for American Workers, Strengthening Opportunity for Economic Security
03.13.14 WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Congressman George Miller (D-CA) and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), have introduced legislation to give American workers the opportunity to succeed free of workplace harassment. The Fair Employment Protection Act corrects the error of the U.S. Supreme Court's June 2013 decision in Vance v. Ball State University, which significantly weakened the ability of workplace harassment victims to seek legal recourse. Baldwin… Continue Reading
Charter Schools Can Boost Educational Success, Must Be Held Accountable for Serving All Students Equitably, Committee Learns
03.12.14 WASHINGTON—Exceptional charter schools are closing achievement gaps and shattering low expectations that have stood in the way of educational success for at-risk students, but, as public schools, charters must be held to a high standard of accountability to ensure they equitably serve all students, Representatives learned at House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing today. “In many ways, charter schools have been teaching us what is possible when it comes to educating kids—and their w… Continue Reading
House Dems Seek International Labor Accord on Gender-Based Violence at Work
03.12.14 WASHINGTON—In advance of this month’s International Labour Organization (ILO) Governing Board meeting, leading Democratic lawmakers today asked the Obama Administration to support the ILO’s efforts to combat gender-based violence in the workplace around the world and across industries. Reps. George Miller (D-Calif.), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), and 34 other Democratic Representatives sent a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Labor Tom Perez seeking their backing for a proposed … Continue Reading
Harkin, Miller Welcome DOL Rule to Strengthen Fee Disclosure for Worker Retirement Accounts
03.11.14 WASHINGTON, D.C.- U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and U.S. Representative George Miller (D-CA), senior Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee, today welcomed the Department of Labor's (DOL) proposed rule to ensure employers are given a summary of the fees being charged in connection with their 401(k) and other retirement plans. "Millions of people are counting on their 401(k) plans to provide financ… Continue Reading
Inspector General Report on Campus Debit Card Use Confirms Need to Better Protect Students
03.11.14 WASHINGTON, D.C.--U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and U.S. Representative George Miller (D-CA) today said that a Department of Education Inspector General (IG) report they requested in 2012 recommends that the Department of Education should take action to better ensure that student interests are protected when colleges and universities use third-party servicers - such as Higher One and Sallie Mae - to deliver Title IV student financial aid dollars to students. “The Inspector General has expande… Continue Reading
Miller Announces Congress’s First eForum to Showcase Nationwide Importance of Increasing the Minimum Wage to $10.10 per Hour
03.10.14 WASHINGTON-People and organizations now have an opportunity to share their stories and research with the U.S. House of Representatives on the importance of increasing the minimum wage, thanks to an eForum announced today by Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), author of a bill to increase the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. "Study after study demonstrates the pressing need to raise the minimum wage. Academics and advocates will tell you that increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour will… Continue Reading
Allegations of Illegal Pay Practices Lead Miller and Courtney to Question Fast Food Companies’ Labor Policies
03.06.14 WASHINGTON-Fast food workers already struggling to survive on the industry's low wages are also victims of an alarmingly widespread pattern of illegal pay practices. To learn more about the policies behind this reported abuse, senior Democratic members on the House committee with jurisdiction over labor laws today requested detailed information about the business model and labor practices at five of the nation's largest fast-food companies. Citing numerous reports of wage theft and the large pe… Continue Reading
New Report: 57 Percent of Small Business Owners Support Harkin-Miller Proposal to Raise Minimum Wage to $10.10
03.06.14 WASHINGTON, D.C.-Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Rep. George Miller (D-CA), senior Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee, released the following statement today in response to a new report from the Small Business Majority showing that 57 percent of small business owners support the Harkin-Miller proposal to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 because it will boost consumer demand for small businesses, h… Continue Reading
Union Elections Ambushed by Threats Against Workers, Not NLRB Rule, Witness Tells Committee
03.05.14 WASHINGTON-Free and fair union elections are jeopardized by anti-labor threats, such as those made recently in Tennessee, but not by the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) new election rule, according to witness testimony before the House Education and Workforce Committee today. During the hearing, Democratic committee members defended the NLRB's proposed rule from unfounded Republican attacks, while raising concerns about the democracy-threatening public comments that were made recently… Continue Reading
Miller Fought to Protect Taxpayers, Workers' Lives from House Republican Efforts to Impose Unnecessary, Onerous New Requirements
02.27.14 WASHINGTON-Today House Republicans jammed misguided legislation through the House that would unnecessarily hamstring the federal government's efforts to protect taxpayers and preserve American lives. In response to the 60 onerous new requirements included in the All Economic Regulations Are Transparent Act (Alert) Act (H.R. 2804), Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) offered two amendments aimed at safeguarding taxpayers and students, protecting public and workplace safety and health, and otherwise inc… Continue Reading
Bishop, Miller Take Action to Give Millions of Americans a Raise
02.26.14 WASHINGTON-Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY) today filed a discharge petition to force an up-or-down vote on Rep. George Miller's (D-Calif.) bill that will give at least 25 million hard-working Americans a raise. The Fair Minimum Wage Act (H.R. 1010) increases the minimum wage over three years from $7.25 to $10.10 per hour, indexes future annual increases to inflation thereafter, and gradually increases the tipped minimum wage to 70 percent of the minimum wage. "The discharge petition I filed today is an … Continue Reading
Self-Funded Health Insurance Plans Offer Employees Critical Consumer Protections Under the ACA but Need Oversight to Protect Enrollees, Subcommittee Hears
02.26.14 WASHINGTON—Provisions within the Affordable Care Act are both boosting the economy and helping millions of Americans receive affordable, quality health care, but adequate oversight is needed for “self-funded” insurance plans, witnesses testified at a Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee hearing today. “Of the workers who get coverage through their jobs, about three in five work for an employer who self-funds their coverage, which means that they directly assume responsibility fo… Continue Reading
Miller and Hinojosa Encouraged by Department of Education’s Efforts to Rein in Distance Education Fraud, Recognize More Work is Needed
02.25.14 WASHINGTON-Congressmen Miller and Hinojosa released the following statement in response to a report from the Department of Education's Office of Inspector General highlighting the need for additional safeguards to protect taxpayer money used by students to pay for distance education. "Today's report underscores the ongoing challenges we face in the unique environment of distance education, which is rapidly evolving and expanding. The Education Department has already taken a number of positive … Continue Reading
Miller Recommits to Raising the Federal Minimum Wage in Light of New CBO Report
02.18.14 WASHINGTON-Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, released the following statement in response to today's Congressional Budget Office report on the effects of a minimum wage increase on employment and family income. "No one who works full time should live in poverty, and today's CBO report confirms that raising the minimum wage will lift nearly a million people above the poverty line. While CBO has reproduced an outdated view of the em… Continue Reading
GAO Report Highlights Troubling Practices at Schools Offering Campus Debit and Prepaid Cards; Harkin and Miller Urge Action to Protect Students
02.13.14 WASHINGTON, D.C.- Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Congressman George Miller (D-CA) called for action to better protect students and increase transparency around debit and prepaid card agreements between schools and financial firms. The lawmakers' action follows the release of a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report today that confirms a number of alarming practices that occur when colleges partner with financial institutions to market debit cards to students. Harkin chairs the Sen… Continue Reading
Executive Order Raising Minimum Wage a Good First Step; Now Congress Needs to Act, Says Miller
02.12.14 WASHINGTON-Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) lauded President Obama's executive order to raise the minimum wage for federal contract workers and called on Congress to finish the job for all Americans by passing the Fair Minimum Wage Act today in the following statement: "By raising the minimum wage for federal contractors, President Obama's new executive order will benefit hundreds of thousands of hard-working Americans and boost productivity, reduce costs, and improve efficiency on federal contrac… Continue Reading
Miller Calls on Department of Education to Better Protect Students’ Civil Rights and Promote Equity
02.12.14 WASHINGTON—Without immediate action from the Department of Education (ED), students’ civil rights could be at risk, said Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus today in a letter to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. The letter explains that ED has approved policies under Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) flexibility that weaken accountability for student achievement. In 2… Continue Reading