Press Releases
Miller Statement on Fast Approaching Increase of Student Loan Interest Rates
04.20.12 Washington, DC - Rep. George Miller, the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, today released the following statement regarding the approaching increase of student loan interest rates this summer: "This week, instead of taking action to stop a $6 billion interest rate hike on low-income and middle-income families, House Republicans passed a tax cut for the rich-and-famous that adds $46 billion to the deficit. At a time of historically low interest rates and with … Continue Reading
New GAO Report: Burdensome OSHA Regulatory Process Costs Lives
04.19.12 WASHINGTON-Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions; Representative George Miller (D-CA), Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Representative Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) reacted to a new Government Accountability Office report on workplace safety, released at a HELP Committee hearing. The GAO compiled the report on burdensome rulemaking process the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) must use to regulate workplace safety, an… Continue Reading
U.S. Members of Congress Continue to Monitor Implementation of Colombia Labor Action Plan
04.19.12 WASHINGTON - Members of the U.S. House of Representatives who participate in the Congressional Monitoring Group on Labor Rights in Colombia issued the following statement today. The Monitoring Group was formed after Congress approved the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement to monitor implementation of the Colombian Action Plan Related to Labor Rights and ensure that it produces meaningful results in protecting the fundamental internationally-recognized rights of workers, including providing … Continue Reading
Enforcing Nondiscrimination Protections Vital to Families’ Economic Security
04.18.12 WASHINGTON - Democrats on the Committee on Education and the Workforce’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittee, led by acting Ranking Member Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), today stood up for the mission of an important federal agency that protects the rights and opportunities of American workers who work for government contractors. Members of the HELP Subcommittee heard testimony about how the enforcement of existing guidelines and others proposed by the Office of Federal Contra… Continue Reading
Rep. George Miller Statement on Equal Pay Day
04.17.12 WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, issued the following statement on Equal Pay Day. Equal Pay Day marks how much longer a woman must work into 2012 to earn as much as a man earned in 2011 alone. According to Census data, in 2011 women earned just 77 percent of what was earned by their male counterparts. "Equal pay for equal work is about basic fairness. Paying women less than men for doing the same work is … Continue Reading
Modern, Accountable Federal Workforce Investment and Training Program a Key to Economic Growth
04.17.12 WASHINGTON - Witnesses told a House committee today that the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) system needs to be modernized to better assist out-of-work Americans, including the long-term unemployed, acquire the skills that growing industries need. "These investments need to be smart investments," said Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat of the Education and the Workforce Committee. "They need to be made efficiently and effectively, ensuring job training and employment services get to … Continue Reading
Rep. George Miller Statement on Death of Mark Ayers
04.10.12 WASHINGTON - Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, issued the following statement today on the death of Mark Ayers, the president of the Building and Construction Trades Department of the AFL-CIO. "I was deeply saddened to learn of the sudden passing of Mark Ayers over the weekend. A champion of the American workforce, Mark spent his career fighting for good jobs that support families, for upgrading the nation's infrastructure, and f… Continue Reading
Miller Statement on Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge
04.09.12 WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the Education and the Workforce Committee, released the following statement after the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services announced today that $133 million from the Race to the Top fund will be available for continued investments in state-level, comprehensive early education reform. Administered jointly by the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services, the Race to the T… Continue Reading
Miller and Woolsey Statement on Two-Year Anniversary of the Upper Big Branch Mine Tragedy
04.05.12 WASHINGTON - Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, and Rep. Lynn Woolsey, the senior Democrat on the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, issued the following statement today on the two-year anniversary of the Upper Big Branch mine explosion that killed 29 miners. Miller and Woolsey are coauthors of the Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety Protection Act (H.R. 1579). As chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, Miller called the only cong… Continue Reading
Students face billions in added repayment costs if interest rates double
04.02.12 WASHINGTON - Democrats on the House Education and the Workforce Committee today released new data showing the additional costs that students will incur if interest rates on need-based student loans increase from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent this summer. More than 7 million students will incur an additional $6.3 billion in repayment costs for the 2012 - 2013 academic school year if student loan interest rates double on July 1. Despite calls from President Obama, Congressional Democrats and student… Continue Reading
Miller Statement on 2-year Anniversary of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act
03.30.12 WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the Education and the Workforce Committee and the author of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA), which was enacted into law two years ago today, released the following statement commemorating the anniversary of the law. “Two years ago today, as part of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, President Obama enacted a law that put a college education within reach for students who rely on gr… Continue Reading
Illegal Advanced Notice of Mine Inspections Still a Problem, Puts Lives in the Crosshairs, Rep. Miller says
03.29.12 WASHINGTON - Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, issued the following statement today after the Mine Safety and Health Administration outlined recent incidents where mine operators and contractors provided unlawful advance notice of impending mine inspections in order to give enough time to cover up or fix hazardous conditions in mines before inspectors were able to arrive in the area where mining was being conducted. “Recent tro… Continue Reading
Republican budget cuts students from Pell grant program
03.28.12 WASHINGTON - Democrats on the House Education and the Workforce Committee today released new data that illustrates the detrimental effects the Republican budget would have on students seeking access to higher education in each state. The Republican budget would cut 400,000 students from the Pell Grant program in the 2013-2014 school year. Their budget rolls back a key improvement to the program authored by Democrats that indexed the maximum award to inflation and eliminates other protection… Continue Reading
President Obama’s Budget Strengthens Workforce and Rebuilds American Economy, Secretary Duncan tells Congress
03.28.12 WASHINGTON - At a hearing on Capitol Hill today, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan outlined for members of the House Education and the Workforce Committee President Obama’s fiscal year 2013 education priorities. In discussing the Obama administration’s education agenda, Duncan underscored the administration’s commitment to ensuring all students gain the skills and knowledge they need to succeed while continuing to empower states, districts and schools to pursue bold reforms. “The Preside… Continue Reading
Republican budget cuts students from Pell grant program
03.27.12 WASHINGTON - Democrats on the House Education and the Workforce Committee today released new data that illustrates the detrimental effects the Republican budget would have on students seeking access to higher education in each state. The Republican budget would cut 400,000 students from the Pell Grant program in the 2013-2014 school year. Their budget rolls back a key improvement to the program authored by Democrats that indexed the maximum award to inflation and eliminates other protections f… Continue Reading
Congressional Action Needed to Prevent another Upper Big Branch Mine Tragedy, Experts tell House Panel
03.27.12 WASHINGTON - Nearly two years after the worst coal mine tragedy in four decades, witnesses told the House Education and the Workforce Committee today that Congress still needs to strengthen the law in order to keep miners safe on the job. In April 2010, a massive explosion ripped through the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia, killing 29 miners. Since then, four investigations have concluded that the actions of owner of the mine, Massey Energy, caused the tragedy. “We recognize that the… Continue Reading
Inside Information at NLRB Converted for Private Benefit of Former Members, says NLRB Inspector General
03.23.12 WASHINGTON - Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, wrote the Attorney General today asking him to consider evidence resulting from an investigation by the National Labor Relations Board Inspector General, which found that current Board Member Terence Flynn, when serving as a chief counsel, provided confidential information to former Board Members Peter Kirsanow and Peter Schaumber for their private benefit. “As the senior Democratic m… Continue Reading
Miller Welcomes Rep. Fudge Back to the Education and the Workforce Committee
03.21.12 WASHINGTON, D.C. - U. S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the Education and the Workforce Committee, issued the following statement after Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-OH), was assigned back to the committee to fill the vacancy resulting from the passing of Rep. Donald Payne (D-NJ). Fudge will sit on the Workforce Protections and the Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittees. "I am pleased to welcome back to the committee Rep. Marcia Fudge from Ohio's 11th di… Continue Reading
Labor Department Priorities are Moving Country Forward to Rebuild Nation’s Middle Class
03.21.12 WASHINGTON - Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis testified today before the House Education and the Workforce Committee emphasizing efforts that she and the Obama administration are taking to improve employment opportunities and ensure that all Americans can benefit from the economic recovery. “At stake is the very survival of the basic American promise that if you work hard, you can do well enough to raise a family, own a home and put enough away for retirement,” said Sec. Solis. “The best way to c… Continue Reading
Reps. Tierney, Hinojosa, Miller to Offer Bill to Address Worker Retraining Crisis
03.20.12 Washington, D.C. - As the House Committee on Education and the Workforce looks to start work on reauthorizing the Workforce Investment Act, which is the preeminent federal employment service and job training law, Congressmen John Tierney (D-MA), Rubén Hinojosa (D-TX), and George Miller (D-CA) held a conference call with reporters today to announce their blueprint for how to strengthen and modernize this critical law. Later today, the lawmakers will introduce sweeping legislation to expand opport… Continue Reading