Press Releases
Miller Statement on the Department of Education’s Final Gainful Employment Rule
06.02.11 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 Department of Education released their final gainful employment rule."I applaud the Administrations rule, keeping students as the priority, forcing programs to improve for the benefit of students, and carefully targeting enforcement on the bad actors. The rule is rightfully focused on ensuring that taxpayers and students are protected. It… Continue Reading
Democrats Remain Concerned About Accountability in Charter Schools
06.02.11 Witnesses Urge Need for Better Oversight of Private Operators of Public SchoolsWASHINGTON, D.C. - While some charter schools have seen dramatic gains in student achievement, overall, the need for systemic school reform is a far greater concern to schools, teachers and students, witnesses told the Subcommittee On Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education. The much-needed reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act could help address the real education inequities that … Continue Reading
Miller Statement on Proposed WIC Cuts in Agriculture Appropriations Bill
05.31.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - In light of harmful cuts proposed by House Republicans, U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), senior Democrat on the Education and the Workforce Committee, issued the following statement regarding the proposed cuts to the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), and The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). These cuts further the attack on poor and working class Americans outlined in the FY12 Republican budget which proposes to… Continue Reading
House GOP – Not a Failure to Communicate, A Failure to do the Right Thing for the American People
05.27.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), issued the following statement after House Republicans reportedly delayed consideration of their own bill that would have eliminated this year’s federal guarantee for extended unemployment benefits after a revolt within their caucus. A House GOP leader called it an “education” problem, saying that their members didn’t understand the bill that would threaten unemployment insurance benefits for 4.1 million out-of-work Americans. "Jeopardizing the … Continue Reading
Even Republican Witness Agrees GOP is Making Inappropriate Demands for Internal NLRB Documents
05.26.11 GOP use subcommittee hearing to attack workers First Amendment and due process rights WASHINGTON, D.C. - A witness called by the majority of a House subcommittee agreed that the National Labor Relations Board should resist efforts to turn over internal documents regarding their pending case against Boeing demanded by Washington Republicans. The NLRB is an independent, quasi-judicial agency that enforces and administers the rights of employers and employees in disputes arising under the National… Continue Reading
Miller Applauds Race to the Top Announcement
05.25.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. George Miller, senior Democrat on the Education and the Workforce Committee, issued the following statement after the Obama administration announced their decision on how the $700 million allocated to the Department of Education in the final 2011 spending bill will be spent. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius announced this morning that $500 million will be invested in a competitive early learnin… 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
Colombian Labor Lawyer Gunned Down Friday Raises Questions of Timing of Trade Agreement, Senior House Dems Say
05.18.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - In light of Friday’s attempted assassination of a lawyer representing sugarcane workers, U.S. Reps. George Miller (D-CA) and Jim McGovern (D-MA) asked the Obama administration today to reassess their timetable for sending the Colombian trade agreement to Congress. This shooting comes only five weeks after the Colombian government agreed to implement the U.S.-Colombia Labor Action Plan.According to reports from local human rights groups, labor lawyer Hernán Darío was shot five … Continue Reading
Miller Statement on Anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education Landmark Decision
05.17.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. George Miller, senior Democrat on the Education and the Workforce Committee, issued the following statement honoring the 57th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Brown vs. Board of Education. “Fifty-seven years ago today, the Supreme Court declared that every child in this country deserved equal access to education - and that a separate education for black and white students was unjust and unconstitutional. Our federal education laws are rooted in t… Continue Reading
Kids’ Meals at School, Next GOP Target?
05.13.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - House Republicans used a subcommittee hearing Friday to challenge the goals of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, the historic and bipartisan law enacted last year to increase low-income children’s access to school meals and all children’s access to healthier meals in school. The law called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a science-based process to ensure that more nutritious food are sold in schools. “House Republicans voted to end Medicare, rep… Continue Reading
Miller Statement on New Republican Education Proposal
05.13.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the Education and the Workforce Committee issued the following statement today after the Republican majority on the committee introduced a bill to eliminate over 40 education programs. "The Republican education bill introduced today will not help move our education system to the 21st century and it won't mean better outcomes for our students. It does nothing to address the concerns with accountability, it does nothing to … 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
Miller to Chair Kline: Request of Internal NLRB Documents on Pending Case Improper, Raises Serious Concerns
05.13.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, today asked Chairman John Kline (R-MN) to suspend a request for internal documents and communications on a pending case currently being decided by judges at the National Labor Relations Board (Board).“The Board should be subjected to proper oversight. But the Committee must be careful not to misuse its oversight authority to influence, or risk the appearance of improperl… Continue Reading
Miller Statement on GOP Plan to Jeopardize Extended Unemployment Benefits
05.11.11 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 today after House Ways and Means Committee Republicans approved a bill to end this year's federal guarantee for extended unemployment benefits. The legislation would threaten unemployment insurance benefits for 4.1 million out-of-work Americans, more than 650,000 in California alone: "House Republicans' proposal to jeopardize federal unemplo… Continue Reading
Rep. Hinojosa Opening Statement on “Removing Inefficiencies in the Nation's Job Training Programs”
05.11.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - Below are the prepared remarks of U.S. Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX), the senior Democrat of the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce for the hearing on "Removing Inefficiencies in the Nation's Job Training Programs".***I am pleased that we are having a hearing on the critically important work of our nation's employment and workforce training programs. I would like to thank our distinguished panel of witnes… Continue Reading
Under 55 Year Olds: Find $182,000 Before You Retire to Pay for the GOP Plan to End Medicare
05.05.11 WASHINGTON, D.C. - A 54-year-old today will have to save an additional $182,000 in their IRA or 401(k) before he or she retires just to pay for the House Republican plan to eliminate Medicare, an analysis released today by U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA) found. The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) estimated that individuals born in 1957 would need $182,000 by the time they retire at 65 to pay the additional costs imposed by the Republican plan if they live to 84. The analysis was … 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. George Miller Against the Republican Budget That Ends Medicare
04.15.11 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 the House passed the Republican budget for the upcoming fiscal year that would, among other harmful cuts, end Medicare and reduce the Pell Grant to its lowest level since 1998.“Here’s why I voted against the Republican budget and for the Democratic budget alternative.“The Republican budget ends Medicare, raises the cost of prescription drugs fo… Continue Reading