Press Releases
Senior Dem Lawmakers Call on Bangladesh to Address Unfair Labor Practices and Anti-Union Violence
07.02.14 WASHINGTON-Senior U.S. lawmakers this week called on the prime minister of Bangladesh to address unfair labor practices and violence against union activists in the country's garment industry. The Bangladeshi minister of commerce and the head of the nation's garment industry have recently called for the criminal prosecution of a union leader for sharing information with the U.S. Congress about a particular case of anti-union violence and harassment of garment workers. In a letter sent to Prime M… Continue Reading
Committee Leaders Issue Joint Statement in Response to PBGC Financial Report
06.30.14 WASHINGTON, D.C. - House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN), Education and the Workforce Committee Senior Democrat George Miller (D-CA), Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee Chairman Phil Roe (R-TN) and Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee Senior Democrat John Tierney (D-MA) issued the following joint statement after the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) released its latest financial projections report: The latest PBGC repo… Continue Reading
Levin, Waxman, Miller Statements on Hobby Lobby Decision
06.30.14 WASHINGTON - The ranking members of the Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and the Workforce Committees today issued statements in response to the Supreme Court decision in the case of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, allowing some for-profit corporations to exclude contraception coverage in their employees' insurance plans: Rep. Sander Levin: "Today's Supreme Court ruling undermines a woman's right to make health decisions that are best for her and her family. This ruling not only limit… Continue Reading
Miller: Harris v. Quinn Decision Ignores Realities of Modern Workplace
06.30.14 WASHINGTON-Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, released the following statement today in response to the Supreme Court's decision in the case of Harris v. Quinn, in which the Court ruled that in-home health care workers in Illinois who are paid by the state are not similar enough to full-fledged government employees to be compelled to pay union dues. "It is unfortunate and discouraging that the Supreme Court disregarded both 40… Continue Reading
Congressional Leaders to Chairman Camp: Proposed Fast Track Is DOA in This Congress
06.19.14 WASHINGTON, DC--Representatives Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Louise Slaughter (D-NY) and George Miller (D-CA) released the following statement today responding to Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp's speech at the Global Business Dialogue. In his speech, Chairman Camp called for congressional approval of outdated "Fast Track" Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), on which the three representatives have led the opposition. "The Fast Track mechanism at the core of Chairman Camp's TPA legislation is t… Continue Reading
Miller to CA Delegation: Vergara Affirms Civil Rights of Students, Presents Opportunity to Develop Modern Education System
06.19.14 WASHINGTON-Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, sent a letter to California's congressional delegation today, lauding the Vergara v. California decision issued June 10, in which a Los Angeles Superior Court judge challenged state policies on tenure, dismissal, and layoffs based on their effect on low-income and minority students. "I strongly support the plaintiffs and the decision in this case and I believe California must take the o… Continue Reading
Democratic Lawmakers Seek to Investigate Reports of Child Labor in Tobacco Farming
06.12.14 WASHINGTON-In response to a recent report on the dangerous working conditions and resulting job-related illness experienced by children working on U.S. tobacco farms, Democrats on the House Education and the Workforce Committee are seeking to examine whether and how the government should strengthen child labor protections. Led by the committee's senior Democrat, Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), all 18 Democratic committee members sent a letter to committee Chairman John Kline (D-Minn.) yesterday … Continue Reading
Miller Encouraged By Accreditation Path for City College of San Francisco
06.12.14 WASHINGTON-Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) released the following statement today after the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) proposed options that give the City College of San Francisco (CCSF) two years to come into compliance with ACCJC's accrediting standards, rather than forcing the college to close its doors: "I am encouraged by the fact that ACCJC has identified a path within accreditation for City College to rebuild. A rigorous accreditation process is essen… Continue Reading
Reps. Farr, DeLauro and Miller fight Republican attempts to weaken school lunch nutrition standards
06.11.14 Washington, D.C. -Representatives Sam Farr (D-CA), Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and George Miller (D-CA) were joined by Tom Colicchio, head judge on Top Chef and a founder of Food Policy Action, and parents with the FED UP campaign today to call attention to Republican efforts to weaken nutrition standards in the FY15 Agriculture Appropriations bill. The bill, scheduled to be voted on by the House of Representatives later tonight, includes a Republican proposal that would allow schools to opt out of the … Continue Reading
Miller Applauds Vergara Decision, Affirms Students’ Right to Equity in Education
06.10.14 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 decision in the Vergara v. California case, in which a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled that three state laws regarding teacher tenure and dismissal are unconstitutional because they infringe upon poor and minority students' right to an equitable education: "Judge Treu's ruling affirms the simple and undeniable premise that e… Continue Reading
EEOC Remains Critical to Stopping Workplace Discrimination, Subcommittee Learns
06.10.14 WASHINGTON-Fifty years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act, there remains a substantial, ongoing need to combat discrimination and advance civil rights in the workplace, members of the House Education and the Workforce Committee learned at a hearing on the Equality Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today. "The foundation of our civil rights laws is to ensure that all Americans have the opportunity to participate in and contribute to society, while being able to provide for themselv… Continue Reading
Miller: President Obama’s New Plan Will Help Millions Manage their Student Debt
06.09.14 WASHINGTON—Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), senior Democrat on the Education and the Workforce Committee, released the following statement today in support of President Barack Obama’s plan to help millions of people who have borrowed to pay for their college education better manage their debt: “A higher education remains the surest path to the middle class and economic prosperity in this country,” said Rep. Miller. “Unfortunately, too many families have been engulfed by debt as they work to affor… Continue Reading
Praise for Bipartisan, Bicameral Bill to Improve America’s Workforce Development System
06.05.14 WASHINGTON, D.C.- Since a bipartisan, bicameral group of legislators announced a deal to improve the nation's workforce development system through the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), a broad array of labor, business, and workforce development leaders, as well as governors and mayors from around the country, has expressed support for the proposal. Read a summary of the bill here. Excerpts from letters of support sent to the bipartisan, bicameral group are immediately below, and … Continue Reading
Miller Announces Changes to Education and the Workforce Committee Democratic Staff
06.02.14 WASHINGTON-Rep. George Miller, senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, today announced changes to the committee's Democratic staff. Megan O'Reilly has been promoted to staff director for the Committee Democrats. She is replacing Jody Calemine, who is leaving the committee after more than a decade of service to take a position with the Communications Workers of America. Brian Kennedy will assume Megan's former role as general counsel. Miller lauded Calemine upon his … Continue Reading
Miller: Republicans Put Special Interests Ahead of Children’s Health
05.29.14 WASHINGTON—Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, released the following statement today after Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee passed an agriculture spending bill that will allow schools to opt out of standards requiring that students across the country receive healthy school meals. Rep. Miller was the original sponsor of the House version of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which made the nutrition requirements law … Continue Reading
153 House Democrats to USTR Froman: Protect Workers’ Rights in TPP Negotiations
05.29.14 WASHINGTON, DC-More than 150 House Democrats today called on United States Trade Representative Michael Froman to do more to protect and strengthen international workers' rights as part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. Led by Reps. George Miller (D-Calif.), Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.), Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.), and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), 153 Democratic Representatives sent a letter to Ambassador Froman asking that the ongoing TPP negotiations include an enhanced framework for pr… Continue Reading
Miller: President’s Plans Will Help Protect Youth from Concussions
05.29.14 WASHINGTON-Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee and leader of legislative efforts to better protect our nation's children from concussions sustained while playing sports, released the following statement in response to the White House's Healthy Kids & Safe Sports Concussion Summit: "Sports are a great way for our nation's youth to stay healthy, as well as to learn important leadership and team-building skills. But concussions sust… Continue Reading
Bicameral Group of Democratic Lawmakers Introduces Legislation to Prohibit Risky Banking Practices on College Campuses
05.22.14 WASHINGTON, D.C.—Lawmakers in both the Senate and House today introduced legislation to protect students from unfair banking practices involving campus-sponsored financial products and to preserve the integrity of federal student aid programs. These bills remove conflicts of interest and end kickbacks between financial institutions and schools, ensure that students are in control of their own financial aid and banking products, and provide much-needed transparency over campus-sponsored financia… Continue Reading
Leading Congressional Democrats Call for Stronger Oversight of Dangerous Chemical Storage Facilities
05.21.14 WASHINGTON—Following the recommendations of a newly released Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, leading Democratic lawmakers called on the Obama administration to better protect workers and communities against disasters like last year’s massive ammonium nitrate fertilizer explosion in West, Texas. “Last year’s devastating ammonium nitrate fertilizer explosion in West, Texas, is a tragic example of what can happen when there are inadequate protections on the use of highly explosive c… Continue Reading
Bipartisan, Bicameral Group Announces Deal to Improve American Workforce Development System
05.21.14 (Washington, D.C.) - Today, a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers announced that they have reached a deal to improve the nation's workforce development system through new legislation, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). The bill, which will now be considered by both the House and Senate, modernizes and improves existing federal workforce development programs, helps workers attain skills for 21st century jobs, and fosters the modern workforce that evolving American business… Continue Reading