Press Releases
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federal efforts at ensuring equal opportunity in schools, and fails to address stakeholders' actual concerns with the outdated No Child Left Behind law.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
NLRB Proposal Modest and Will Help to Reduce Unnecessary Election Delays
07.06.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - A modest National Labor Relations Board proposal to update workplace election procedures would close some loopholes that have allowed parties to undermine the election process, members of a House labor committee learned today."Many union elections are uncontested. However, current rules provide multiple opportunities for bad actors to purposefully delay or stop an election," said Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the House Committee on Education and the Workfor… Continue Reading
Miller Statement on New Early Learning Competition
07.01.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- 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 jointly issued draft guidelines for the new Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge competition. Miller has been a longtime advocate and champion for early education. In 2009, he introduced legislation to create the Early Learning Challenge Fund to dramatically improve the qual… Continue Reading
Miller Statement on New ED Civil Rights Data
06.30.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), senior Democrat on the Education and the Workforce Committee, today issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of Education released new civil rights data. The data, released as part of the Civil Rights Data Collection, include information on access to math and science courses, bullying policies, the number of first and second year teachers in schools and prevalence of pre-K and kindergarten, among other information. The release to… Continue Reading
New College Costs Lists Give Families the Tools to Prepare for College
06.30.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - New information released today by the Department of Education will provide families for the first time with details about the cost of colleges and universities across the country. These lists, available at collegecost.ed.gov, were required in the reauthorization of the Higher Education Opportunity Act in 2008, legislation written and championed by U.S. Rep. George Miller. This is the first time the government has collected and provided to the public information on college cost… Continue Reading
Miller Announces Reforms to Student Loan Program to Make College More Affordable
06.30.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- On July 1st, reforms enacted under Democratic leadership in Congress in 2007 will go into effect to make college more affordable for students and student loans more manageable for recent graduates. The interest rate of need-based student loans will drop to a low 3.4 percent, fulfilling a Democratic promise of cutting the interest in half over four years. The average graduate of the class of 2012 will have saved $2,570 over the life of their loan. “Tomorrow’s interest rate c… Continue Reading
Reports that Colombia FTA Will Be Sent to Congress Without Labor Rights Action Plan Gravely Disappointing
06.27.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - Reps. George Miller (D-CA) and James McGovern (D-MA) issued the following joint statement today after reports that the Obama administration is intending to send the Colombian trade agreement to Congress without including language that would incorporate requirements from an action plan to improve Colombian workers' labor rights. The action plan was negotiated earlier this year with the Colombian government. "Reports that the Administration may issue draft implementing languag… Continue Reading
First Piece of ESEA Reauthorization Clears House Education Panel
06.22.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - The first component of the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) passed the Education and the Workforce Committee with a bipartisan vote of 31 to 5. The "Empowering Parents through Quality Charter Schools Act" reforms and strengthens the current charter school program, especially as it relates to access for underserved populations and accountability and transparency among charter schools and their authorizers."When charter schools are run and man… Continue Reading
No Jobs Bill, Kids Programs Under Assault, Ending Medicare Missing from GOP’s Activities Report
06.22.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - The House Committee on Education and the Workforce approved a partisan report today that ignored the majority’s lack of jobs legislation, omitted their efforts to reduce support for children, and failed to explore the impact the Republican plan to end Medicare would have on workers’ retirement security. “The report omits a great deal about what the committee has learned over the last six months, including the devastating impact the Republican agenda would have on the middl… Continue Reading
NLRB Proposal A Modest Step Forward to Ensure Fairer Workplace Elections
06.21.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, issued the following statement after the National Labor Relations Board proposed to improve workplace elections by ensuring a fairer, standardized process for all parties. “Workers deserve a fair process to choose whether to form a union. While I am continuing to study it, today’s proposal by the National Labor Relations Board to provide a clearer, more standardized work… Continue Reading
Supreme Court Ruling another Blow on Women’s Right to Fair Pay and Treatment on the Job
06.20.11 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 today's United States Supreme Court decision that invalidated a class-action lawsuit brought against Wal-Mart by women from across the country alleging years of discrimination in pay and promotions."Today's ruling from the right wing Roberts court is another blow to a woman's right to fair pay and fair treatment on the job. There is no place… Continue Reading
Key House Dems Ask McKinsey to Release Methodology of Potentially Biased Health Reform Study
06.16.11 Leading Democrats on Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and Education and the Workforce send letter to McKinseyKey House Democrats today requested that McKinsey & Company release methodology and other important information on their recent study on the Affordable Care Act and employer sponsored health care. Serious concerns have been raised about the accuracy of the study that conflicts with other nonpartisan studies on the issue. McKinsey has refused to make public basic information rega… Continue Reading
Woolsey: Worker Safety and Health Shouldn't be a Partisan Issue
06.16.11 Below are the prepared remarks of U.S. Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), the senior Democrat of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, for today's subcommittee hearing on state health and safety plans: Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the interest that this committee has in providing oversight of the agencies within its jurisdiction, including OSHA. However, I’m particularly disappointed that the majority failed to invite OSHA, or schedule this hearing with sufficient advance notice so that OSHA could be… Continue Reading
House Dems to Chairman Issa: Pressing NLRB to Testify Now Raises Serious Constitutional and Ethical Concerns
06.16.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - Citing constitutional and ethical concerns, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD), the senior Democrat of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat of the Education and the Workforce Committee, called on Chairman Darrell Issa today to delay his demand that National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) Acting General Counsel testify Friday on the agency’s ongoing case against Boeing. The case is currently being argued before an adm… Continue Reading
Miller Statement on Irresponsible Agriculture Appropriations Bill
06.16.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. George Miller, senior Democrat on the Education and the Workforce Committee, issued the following statement after the House of Representatives passed the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food & Drug Administration and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2012. The legislation makes harmful cuts to the Women, Infants and Children program (WIC) and threatens the quality and nutrition of the school meals program. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimate… Continue Reading
Republicans Disregard Accountability for Taxpayer Dollars, Miller Argues
06.15.11 June 15, 2011 3:16 PM WASHINGTON, D.C. - Accountability must be paramount when taxpayer dollars are at stake, U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), argued in opposition to H.R. 2117, a Republican measure that would repeal two Department of Education regulations that are intended to ensure that students and taxpayers receive a quality education for their investment; the state authorization rules and the rule defining the term, "credit hour." The bill passed the committee by a vote of 27 to 11. Below a… Continue Reading
GOP Agenda a Threat to Americans’ Retirement Security, House Panel on Pensions Learns
06.14.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - Seniors’ retirement security would be put in danger if the Republican plan to end Medicare were to be successful since Americans would need hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional retirement savings, a House pension subcommittee discussed today. “Obviously it makes a lot of sense to talk about ways we can work together to try to enhance and improve retirement income for our retirees. In that light, I would respectfully suggest that the majority withdraw their proposal t… Continue Reading