Press Releases
Currently showing results related to Worker Safety and Health
Miller Statement on MSHA Internal Report on the Upper Big Branch Mine Tragedy
03.06.12 WASHINGTON - Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, issued the following statement today after the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) released a report looking into the agency’s actions leading up to the Upper Big Branch Mine tragedy in April 2010. “It is clear the entire system failed these 29 miners, from Congress’s failure to maintain adequate and experienced staffing at MSHA over the years, to the agency’s fai… Continue Reading
Miller Statement on Sentence of Ex-Mine Security Head of the Upper Big Branch Mine
03.01.12 WASHINGTON - Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce, issued the following statement after the ex-mine security chief of Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch mine was sentenced to three years for lying to investigators about giving advanced notice for impending mine safety inspections and for ordering the destruction of evidence. “This conviction and sentence in West Virginia should send a strong message that those who break the law and put miners’… Continue Reading
Miller, Woolsey Statement on Upper Big Branch Report and Settlement
12.06.11 WASHINGTON - Reps. George Miller (D-CA) and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), leaders in mine safety in the U.S. House of Representatives, issued the following statements today after the release of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration’s accident investigation in the Upper Big Branch mine explosion that killed 29 miners in April 2010. In conjunction with the MSHA report, a $209 million non-prosecution agreement was reached by the United States Attorney with Alpha Natural Resources, which acqui… Continue Reading
Miller: The 99%'s Lives Were Put in Danger While Massey and the 1% Walked Away with $195 Million
11.02.11 Below are the remarks of Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce, in a speech today on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives regarding miner safety. Miller is coauthor of the Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety Protection Act (H.R. 1579) and, as chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, held the only congressional hearings into the tragedy that included the voices of the families and the miners of Upper Big Branch. *** Mr. Speaker, … Continue Reading
Miller Statement on UMWA Upper Big Branch Report
10.25.11 WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, issued the following statement after the release of the United Mine Workers of America’s report on the April 2010 Upper Big Branch Mine disaster. Miller is coauthor of the Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety Protection Act (H.R. 1579) and, as chairman, held the only congressional hearings into the tragedy that included the voices of the families and the miners of Upper Big Branch. “Tod… Continue Reading
GOP Proposal to Roll Back Protections will Put Workers in Unnecessary Danger
10.05.11 WASHINGTON - A Republican proposal to block some workplace safety protections drafted by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration would put workers in unnecessary danger, members of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee learned today. “Today, we heard about the human cost that occurs when OSHA isn’t able to do its job,” said Rep. Lynn Woolsey, the senior Democrat on the subcommittee. “The Republican riders added to the House appropriations draft bill will make this worse by… Continue Reading
Upper Big Branch Report Confirms Need for Immediate Action, Rep. Miller says
05.19.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, released the following statement after today’s issuance of West Virginia’s independent investigation into the Upper Big Branch mine disaster, America’s most deadly coal tragedy in four decades.The investigation, led by former head of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration J. Davitt McAteer, found that the mine was operated in a reckless manner that resulted in the… Continue Reading
Ed & Workforce Dems Demand GOP Witness Clarify ‘Questionable’ Testimony
05.13.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Reps. George Miller (D-CA) and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) demanded clarification today of ‘questionable’ testimony at odds with judicial findings given by a coal company representative called by the Education and the Workforce Committee Republicans.In a May 4 mine safety hearing, Anthony Bumbico, a representative from Arch Coal testifying on behalf of the National Mining Association, provided contradictory testimony to committee members on a case of Arch Coal unlawfully retaliat… Continue Reading
Woolsey: Congress Must Act on Mine Safety
05.04.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - Below are the prepared remarks of U.S. Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), the senior Democrat of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce for the hearing on “Modernizing Mine Safety”. *** Mr. Chairman, thank you for convening this important hearing. It has been 13 months since the Upper Big Branch disaster, yet Congress has failed … Continue Reading
Rep. George Miller Statement on 40th Anniversary of OSHA and Workers Memorial Day
04.28.11 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 today on the 40th anniversary of the creation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Workers Memorial Day. “On this Workers Memorial Day, we honor those workers who were injured, made ill, or killed on the job in the last year. We also recommit ourselves to protecting workers’ safety and health. Forty years ago today, the ope… Continue Reading
House Democrats Introduce Mine Safety Reforms
04.15.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - House Democrats reintroduced legislation today to bring our nation’s mine health and safety laws up to date, give mine safety officials the ability to effectively protect miners’ lives, and hold mine operators accountable for putting their workers in unnecessary danger. The Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety Protection Act of 2011 (H.R. 1579) introduced today is similar to legislation brought to the House floor last year.“The Upper Big Branch disaster laid bare the loopholes that rid… Continue Reading
Rep. Miller: One Year Later, a Promise Unfulfilled to Families of Upper Big Branch
04.05.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, spoke on the floor of the House of Representatives today commemorating the Upper Big Branch mine tragedy in Montcoal, West Virginia that occurred on April 5, 2010. As the chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, Rep. Miller called the only hearings last year that included families and miners of the mine disaster. He was also the lead sponsor of legislation to protect … Continue Reading
Mine Safety Legislation Needed to Help Protect Miners, Obama Administration Official Tells House Panel
03.03.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - Lessons learned since the worst coal mining disaster in four decades require legislative action to close loopholes in the law in order to hold dangerous mine operators accountable for putting workers at risk, the nation’s top mine health and safety regulator said today at a congressional hearing. “Almost one year has passed since we lost those 29 miners at Upper Big Branch. We have learned much in that time,” said Joseph A. Main, the Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Mi… Continue Reading
GOP Spending Bill Eliminates Worker Job Training and Workplace Safety Programs
02.16.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Republican spending bill on the House floor would end vital workforce services like job training for returning veterans, local business services to help match them with qualified workers and even shut down a website that helps employers keep their workers safe, a congressional committee learned today. “No one is in favor of wasteful spending or outdated government regulations that don’t work. Instead of indentifying real government waste - like subsidies for big oil or ta… Continue Reading
House Panel Learns that Republican Spending Bill Slashes Safety, Puts Workers at Risk and Threatens Jobs
02.15.11 WASHINGTON, D. C. - The Republican spending bill being debated on the House floor this week will slash health and safety inspections and even shut down a federal agency’s website, the Workforce Protections Subcommittee learned today. House Republican spending bill proposes to cut the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) by 18 percent, which would result in approximately 8,000 fewer workplace hazard inspections and 740 fewer whistleblower discrimination investigations. “I… Continue Reading
Bill to Prevent Industrial Dust Explosions Re-Introduced in the House
02.08.11 WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Rep. John Barrow (D-GA), and Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), the senior Democrat of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, reintroduced legislation today to prevent workplace explosions caused by combustible industrial dusts. Three years ago yesterday, a massive explosion the Imperial Sugar refinery in Port Wentworth, Ga. killed 14 workers, injured dozens and caused millions of… Continue Reading
Mine Safety Proposal Significant Step in Right Direction to Protect Miners’ Lives, Says Rep. Miller
01.31.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the senior Democrat on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and author of the Robert C. Byrd Miner Safety and Health Act, issued the following statement after the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) issued a proposal to revamp the ‘pattern of violation’ sanctions. While the ‘pattern of violation’ penalties have been in the law for 33 years, they have never been used against a dangerous mining operation because … Continue Reading
Upper Big Branch Tragedy Preventable, Legislative Action Needed to Close Dangerous Loopholes, says Rep. Miller
01.19.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - In light of information released today by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) called on Congress to move on legislation immediately that would close loopholes in federal mine safety law that contributed to the inability of MSHA to prevent the Upper Big Branch mine tragedy. House Republicans voted to block the passage of mine safety legislation on December 8. "The preliminary results of the Upper Big Branch investigation unde… Continue Reading
Chairman Miller Statement after Republicans Block Miner Safety Bill
12.08.10 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following statement after House Republicans voted to block the passage of mine safety legislation. While a majority of the House voted to approve the bill, final passage required at least a two-thirds majority under the suspension of the rules. “I am pleased that a majority of the House of Representatives voted in strong support of our nation’s miners and their families. Howev… Continue Reading
House Approves Critical Investments for Students and Mine Safety
12.08.10 WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. House of Representatives approved a spending measure today to ensure that Pell Grants are available to students, and to hold mine operators accountable for violating health and safety protections. “In light of Republicans voting to block mine safety reform today, these are important investments needed to improve mine safety. Among other efforts, this increased funding will help to make a meaningful dent in the crippling backlog of 19,000 mine owner appeals of heal… Continue Reading