Press Releases
Miller Statement on 2009 Default Rate for Student Loans
09.12.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. George Miller, senior Democrat on the Education and the Workforce Committee, today issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of Education released the national student loan cohort default rate for students who defaulted before September 30, 2010. The default rate rose to 8.8 percent, up from 7 percent in 2008. This group of students defaulted on loan payments first owed between October 1, 2008 and September 30, 2009. “Earning a college degree … Continue Reading
Miller Requests Immediate Hearings on Job Creation Proposals
09.09.11 WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, today requested that Chairman John Kline (R-MN) immediately schedule hearings into the job creation proposals outlined by President Obama yesterday. The Education and the Workforce Committee has legislative jurisdiction over a number of the proposals contained in the American Jobs Act. "The American people share the President's sense of urgency that Congress must act together … Continue Reading
Miller Floor Statement on the “Empowering Parents through Quality Charter Schools Act”
09.08.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. George Miller, the senior Democrat on the Education and the Workforce Committee, delivered the following remarks on the House floor in support of the Empowering Parents through Quality Charter Schools Act. *** Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Empowering Parents through Quality Charter Schools Act. This legislation is the first bipartisan piece of the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. It passed the Education committee with b… Continue Reading
Miller Applauds Obama’s Call for Putting Partisanship Aside and Getting Americans Back to Work
09.08.11 WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, issued the following statement after President Obama’s speech this evening on job creation before a Joint Session of Congress. “Tonight, President Obama laid down a foundation to help get Americans back to work - starting this year and continuing into the future. The President’s proposals have enjoyed wide bipartisan support in the past and I applaud many of the specific … Continue Reading
August Employment Report Shows America Needs Jobs First and Jobs Now
09.02.11 WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, issued the following statement on today’s jobs report issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. “The August jobs report is very disappointing but not surprising. It is disappointing because the absence of jobs is the number one problem facing our country and the lynchpin to nearly every other economic problem in our country right now. It is not surprising, however, because Co… Continue Reading
Miller Announces Jobs Plan
08.25.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - With families and local communities struggling especially hard in this economy, U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the Education and the Workforce Committee, introduced a jobs bill today. The bill, the Local Jobs for America Act, will save and create jobs quickly in both the public and private sectors and help restore vital services that families and local communities rely on. It is similar to legislation Miller introduced last year with the support of hund… Continue Reading
Ranking Members Call on Issa to Withdraw NLRB Subpoena
08.11.11 Washington, DC - Today, the Ranking Members of the Committees on Oversight and Government Reform, Education and the Workforce, and the Judiciary wrote to Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa urging him to withdraw his unilateral subpoena demanding documents from the National Labor Relations Board relating to its investigation of Boeing's alleged discrimination against workers in Washington State. Issa launched his investigation purportedly to determine whether Board officials "exceeded… Continue Reading
GOP House Gets Failing Grades on Working Family Issues, Report Card Reveals
08.08.11 WASHINGTON - On subjects of creating jobs and protecting families' paychecks, workers' rights and health care and retirement security, the new House Republican majority has failed working families, a report card issued today by the House Education and the Workforce Democrats concluded. "U.S. unemployment has remained stubbornly high since the financial crisis of 2008. With 14 million unemployed, putting Americans back to work should be Congress's top priority," the Working Families Report C… Continue Reading
Miller Statement on Waiver Announcement
08.07.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), senior Democrat on the Education and the Workforce Committee, issued the following statement regarding the Obama administration's announcement today that the Department of Education will use its authority to grant waivers to states to provide relief to schools struggling under the decade-old No Child Left Behind law. Since 2009, Congress has been working in a bipartisan way to rewrite No Child Left Behind to fix the law so it works in the best … Continue Reading
Miller: Issa Subpoena of NLRB Poses Threat to Private Parties’ Constitutional Rights, Integrity of Ongoing Trial
08.07.11 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 after Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, issued a broad subpoena to the National Labor Relation Board's Acting General Counsel demanding all documents referring or related to The Boeing Company or the International Association of Machinists, documents that could include the prosecution… Continue Reading
Miller Signals Alarm That American Jobs At Risk from Looming Political Threats
08.05.11 WASHINGTON - Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee, issued the following statement after today's jobs report showed that 156,00 private sector jobs were created in July and more private sector jobs were created in May than previously estimated. "The positive July jobs report is welcome news at a very difficult time in the lives of middle class Americans, even as we recognize that the economy needs to produce many more jobs than this a… Continue Reading
Miller: S&P Downgrade Result of GOP Legislative Hostage Taking
08.05.11 WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, issued the following statement after Standard and Poor's downgraded the United States' credit rating, citing the recent budget battle where some Republicans leaders pushed the country to the brink of default. "The downgrade reflects our view that the effectiveness, stability, and predictability of American policymaking and political institutions have weakened at a time of ongoing … Continue Reading
Rep. George Miller Statement on 200 Days of the House Republican Majority
07.21.11 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 to mark tomorrow's 200th day of the Republican House majority."Tomorrow marks 200 days of the Republican Congress. Despite their campaign promises last year, in 200 days Republicans have done nothing to create jobs. They've done nothing to increase America's manufacturing base, keep Americans in their homes, or improve workers' pay. In f… Continue Reading
GOP Rams through Major Rollback of Workers Rights that will Help Ship Jobs Overseas
07.20.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - Special interest legislation that will render workers' rights unenforceable and allow more jobs to be shipped overseas was pushed through the House Education and the Workforce Committee on a party line vote today."The legislation is nothing more than a rush to protect one special interest to the detriment of all American workers," said Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the committee. "This bill presents American workers with a choice: you can have your rights o… Continue Reading
Miller Calls on Kline to Cancel Thursday Markup of GOP’s ‘Eviscerate Workers’ Rights and Ship Jobs Overseas” Bill
07.18.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA) issued the following statement today after House Education and Workforce Republicans announced that the committee will vote on legislation in less than 48 hours that would strip the National Labor Relations Board's ability to enforce the law to protect workers against unfair labor practices. The bill was introduced late this afternoon."I am deeply disappointed that the Republicans have chosen to take such reckless action, ramming a far-reaching b… Continue Reading
Let Innovations in Health Reform Work, Rep. Miller Testifies
07.12.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - Below are the prepared remarks of U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce for the Energy and Commerce Committee hearing this morning on the Independent Payment Advisory Board. *** Thank you, Chairman Pitts and Ranking Member Pallone for the opportunity to testify today. I came to Congress in 1975. Since that time, I've been involved in the debate over national health reform proposals. Throughout these debate… Continue Reading
Republicans Pass Legislation to Raid Funding for Poor and Minority Students and Undermine Civil Rights
07.12.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - With a vote of 23-17, Republicans on the Education and the Workforce committee today approved legislation that raids federal funding for disadvantaged and minority students, undermines federal efforts at ensuring equal opportunity in schools, and fails to address stakeholders' actual concerns with the outdated No Child Left Behind law. The legislation would dismantle the civil rights role of the federal government in education by allowing money that is intended for certain pop… Continue Reading
Rep. George Miller Statement on June Jobs Report
07.07.11 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 on the June jobs report released today. "The June jobs report is sobering and of course very disappointing. Hopefully it will wake up those in Washington who still have not made job creation their priority. "Tragically, the Tea Party Republicans came into town saying that we can cut our way into new jobs. As the June report and reports over th… Continue Reading
Committee Leaders Introduce Bipartisan Reforms to Federal Workers' Compensation Program
07.07.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, leaders of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce introduced the Federal Workers' Compensation Modernization and Improvement Act (H.R. 2465), bipartisan legislation to reform the existing federal workers' compensation program. Since 1916, a federal program has provided compensation benefits to federal employees who become injured or ill through a work-related activity. However, the program has not been significantly reformed in almost 40 years, a… Continue Reading
New Republican Proposal Dismantles Civil Rights Efforts in Schools, Raids Funding for Poor Students
07.06.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - The State and Local Funding Flexibility Act, Republican legislation introduced today under the guise of flexibility, makes dangerous changes in federal education policy at the expense of poor and minority students. The results of this shortsighted proposal would allow chief state school officers and school district superintendents to siphon away money intended for poor and minority students and instead use that targeted funding for nearly any other activity allowed under the … Continue Reading