Press Releases
House Grants Education and Labor Committee Deposition Authority Relating to Mine Health and Safety
05.20.10 WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. House of Representatives today granted the Education and Labor Committee the authority to compel witnesses to give depositions as part of the committee’s oversight into mine health and safety. “Last month, we watched as the tragic events unfolded at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia. The memory of the 29 miners who lost their lives in that disaster must stand as a reminder of the work that remains to keep our nation’s miners safe,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller… Continue Reading
School Leadership, Professional Development, Extended Learning Time and Other Key Elements Are Needed for Successful School Turnaround, Witnesses Tell House Panel
05.19.10 WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congress should encourage, incentivize and support the universal elements that research and best practices show are working to turn around the country’s lowest performing schools, witnesses told the House Education and Labor Committee today. Research outlined by witnesses shows that successful school turnaround must include flexibility, shared leadership, professional development, capacity building, extended school and learning time, community involvement and beyond. The hea… Continue Reading
Miller Jobs Bill Will Increase Revenues, Reduce Safety Net Spending, Independent Analysis Shows
05.18.10 WASHINGTON, D.C. - Legislation to create and save jobs in local communities would be partially offset by almost $39 billion in increased tax revenues and a reduction in social spending, according to an independent analysis released today by the Economic Policy Institute. EPI also calculated that the legislation would indirectly create an estimated 150,000 jobs - jobs supported by the spending of workers whose jobs were directly created or saved. “Our nation’s budding economic recovery can ill a… Continue Reading
Chairman Miller Statement on New Great City Schools Report
05.18.10 WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following statement today after the Council of Great City Schools released their report “Investing Wisely and Quickly -- Use of ARRA Funds in America's Great City Schools,” highlighting the effects of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) on urban school districts across the country. The report shows the law helped save jobs, build capacity and advance reforms in education.… Continue Reading
GAO Report Finds Allegations of Fraud in Enrollment at Selected Head Start Centers
05.18.10 WASHINGTON, D.C. - A government report released today found some Head Start employees were engaging in fraudulent behavior to allow ineligible children into programs in eight cases in six states and the District of Columbia. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), which conducted the undercover investigation, testified about its findings today before the House Education and Labor Committee, at the request of U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chair of the committee. “Head Start is a criti… Continue Reading
Chairman Miller Statement on White House Childhood Obesity Task Force Report
05.11.10 WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following statement today after the White House released its report “Solving the Problem of Childhood Obesity Within a Generation: A Report to the President from the Task Force on Childhood Obesity.” “I am encouraged by the Task Force’s meaningful recommended actions to end the childhood obesity crisis that is threatening the future of our country. As we work to rewrite our child nut… Continue Reading
Chair Miller Statement on Interim Rules for Insurance Coverage of Young Adults on Parent’s Policy
05.10.10 WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued a statement today after the Obama administration issued interim final regulations that will allow parents to keep eligible adult children on their health insurance policies up to age 26. This provision, part of the new health insurance reform law, goes into effect for all insurance plan years beginning in September. Many insurers have also announced that they will comply with this part of… Continue Reading
Miller on NYC Layoffs: Congress Must Act Now to Save Jobs
05.06.10 WASHINGTON, D.C. - In response to an announcement earlier today that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s budget will cut the jobs of 11,000 city workers, including teachers, firefighters and police officers, U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA) again called on Congress to act immediately on legislation that would save or create one million public and private sector jobs. Miller is the chair of the House Education and Labor Committee and the author of the legislation, the Local Jobs for America Act… Continue Reading
Congress Must Act to Rectify Supreme Court Age Discrimination Ruling, Witnesses tell House Panel
05.05.10 WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congress should pass legislation to overturn a U.S. Supreme Court decision that has made it more difficult for older Americans alleging employment discrimination to get their day in court, witnesses told the Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee today. The Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act, introduced in October 2009, would restore vital workplace protections under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967 to what they were before… Continue Reading
Chair Miller Statement on Announcement of Early Retiree Reinsurance Program Eligibility
05.04.10 WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued a statement today on the announcement by the Department of Health and Human Services that employers will be able to take advantage of a program to help them maintain early retiree health insurance coverage on June 1, weeks ahead of schedule. The $5 billion temporary program, created as part of the new health insurance reform law, will provide an important backstop for employers who ar… Continue Reading
Congress Needs to Support Teachers and Leaders to Help Bolster Student Growth and Achievement, Witnesses Tell House Education Panel
05.04.10 WASHINGTON, D.C. - As Congress works to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, lawmakers should focus on reforms that will support teachers and leaders, focus on training and development and use all available resources to help ensure every student has access to a highly effective teacher, witnesses told the House Education and Labor Committee today. “An investment in teachers is an investment in the future of our students and our country,” said. U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA),… Continue Reading
Chairman Miller Urges Secretary Sebelius to Review Claims of Fraudulent Actions by Head Start Grantees
05.03.10 WASHINGTON, D.C. - In light of an ongoing government investigation into reportedly unlawful actions by Head Start grantees, U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, today called on the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), Kathleen Sebelius, to conduct an immediate review of Head Start programs investigated by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). The findings of fraudulent actions are part of a recent GAO investigation looking … Continue Reading
Chairman Miller Praises Science Committee for Vote to Bolster U.S. Competitiveness
04.29.10 WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee released the following statement after the House Science and Technology Committee voted last night to update and reauthorize the America COMPETES Act. Among other things, the COMPETES Act seeks to boost America’s competitiveness by strengthening the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. “As we rebuild our nation’s economy by putting Americans back to work, we must also strengthen… Continue Reading
Chairs Miller and Woolsey Call on Mine Operators to Take Immediate Steps to Make Safety a Top Priority
04.29.10 WASHINGTON, D.C. - In light of a fourth fatal mine tragedy this month, U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, and Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), chair of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, today called on the nation’s coal mine operators to redouble efforts to ensure that miner safety is a top priority. In a letter to the nation’s two leading coal mine operator associations, Miller and Woolsey asked mine owners to partner with their workers in indentify… Continue Reading
Protecting America’s Workers Act Will Protect Whistleblowers, Ensure Victims Rights, Witnesses Tell House Panel
04.28.10 WASHINGTON, D.C. - Legislation is needed to modernize federal laws that protect workers who blow the whistle on unsafe working conditions and ensure victims of workplace accidents have a voice an investigation, witnesses told the Workforce Protections Subcommittee of the House Education and Labor Committee today. The hearing took place on the 21st anniversary of Workers Memorial Day, which honors workers who lose their lives, become injured or develop an illness on the job each year.“A safe wo… Continue Reading
House Committee Chairs Ask Insurers to Ban Rescissions Ahead of Health Reform Implementation
04.27.10 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Committee and Subcommittee Chairs from the House Committees on Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor today sent a letter to the CEOs of seven insurance companies, most of whom last week announced they were allowing individuals up to age 26 to get coverage through their parents' health insurance, ahead of health reform legislation taking effect. The letter urges the firms to end the practice of rescissions -- terminating an individual's coverage once he… Continue Reading
Chairman Miller Statement on Mine Death at International Coal Group’s Pocahontas Mine in West Virginia
04.23.10 WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued a statement today after a miner died at a coal mine listed by federal mine safety officials as facing potential higher sanctions if not for a backlog of thousands of owner appeals. A 28-year old miner at the Pocahontas Mine in Raleigh County, West Virginia was crushed between a continuous miner and the mine wall last night. The miner died this morning. “I am deeply saddened by yet anot… Continue Reading
Richard Simmons, American Heart Association and Others Team Up with Reps. Kind, Wamp, and Chairman Miller Calling for More P.E. in Schools
04.22.10 WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) today with U.S. Reps. Zach Wamp (R-TN), George Miller (D-CA), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, fitness guru Richard Simmons, and representatives from the American Heart Association, Sporting Goods Manufacturing Association (SGMA), and the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) celebrated the passage of the Fitness Integrated with Teaching (FIT) Kids Act, which combats childhood obesity by strengthening physical e… Continue Reading
Chairman Miller: Time to Restore Fairness for College Loan Borrowers in Bankruptcy
04.22.10 WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House education committee and the lead author of a historic new college affordability law, announced his support for legislation that would allow Americans to discharge their private student loans in bankruptcy, the same way they can discharge other types of private debt. The House Judiciary Committee today held a hearing to examine the bill, the Private Student Loan Bankruptcy Fairness Act of 2010 (H.R. 5043), which wa… Continue Reading
Incentives to Improve Work-Life Balance Are Needed, Witnesses Tell Subcommittee
04.22.10 WASHINGTON, D.C. - Employers should be incentivized to help employees achieve a healthy work-life balance amid Americans’ changing responsibilities at home and in the work place, witnesses told the House Workforce Protections Subcommittee today. In March, U.S. Reps. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) and George Miller (D-CA), introduced The Work-Life Balance Award Act of 2010 (H.R. 4855), legislation to recognize workplaces that provide employees the ability to achieve work-life balance.Balancing work and fam… Continue Reading