Higher Education Opportunity Act Signed Into Law

The Higher Education Opportunity Act (H.R. 4137) was signed into law on August 14, 2008. Passed by the House on July 31, 2008 by a vote of 380-49, this law overhauls our nation's higher education laws, advancing key reforms that address the soaring price of college and remove other obstacles that make it harder for qualified students to go to college. More »
 

House Passes Paycheck Fairness Act

The House passed the Paycheck Fairness Act on July 31, by a vote of 247-178. The measure would help end the discriminatory practice of paying men and women unequally for performing the same job. The bill, which was introduced by Rep. Rosa DeLauro, will strengthen the Equal Pay Act and close the loopholes that have allowed employers to avoid responsibility for discriminatory pay. More »
 

Bill Introduced to Stop DOL's 'Secret Rule'

Chairman George Miller and other House Democrats introduced the “Prohibiting the Department of Labor’s Secret Rule Act” on July 30 to prevent the Department of Labor from finalizing a last minute rule that could dramatically weaken future workplace health and safety regulations and slow their enactment. The measure specifically forbids the Department of Labor from issuing, administering or enforcing any rule, regulation, or requirement derived from the proposal submitted to the Office of Management and Budget on July 7. More »
 

MSHA Report Confirms Committee's Conclusion That Murray Energy Recklessly Endangered Miners' Lives

Chairman Miller: "Today, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) fined the operator of Utah's Crandall Canyon Mine $1.85 million for the disaster that was the site of the worst coal mining tragedy of 2007... MSHA's accident investigation report affirms the conclusions reached by our own investigation: Murray Energy should not have proposed the flawed retreat mining plan and MSHA should not have approved the plan." More »
 

Stronger Math and Science Education Key to Boosting U.S. Competitiveness

Improving the teaching and learning of mathematics and science in U.S. schools is vital to maintaining America’s global leadership, witnesses told the Committee in a July 22 hearing. The panel of experts, which included business leaders, a teacher, and the first American woman to travel in space, recommended expanding partnerships between the business and education communities that focus on bolstering STEM education, and increasing training and support programs for teachers. The witnesses also urged lawmakers to fully fund the America COMPETES Act. More »
 

Witnesses Tell Committee That High Standards and Outstanding Teachers Will Close the Achievement Gap

Setting high standards, ensuring that all children have access to outstanding teachers, holding educators accountable for their schools’ progress, and restructuring chronically struggling schools are vital to creating a world-class public education system, mayors and superintendents of major U.S. cities told the Committee. More »

 

Labor Department Not Effectively Fighting Wage Theft

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), testified at a hearing on July 15 that findings from two separate investigations indicate that the U.S. Department of Labor is failing to effectively enforce the nation’s wage and hour laws. The two investigations found that the Wage and Hour Division of the Labor Department -– the agency responsible for investigating complaints of wage, hour, and child labor violations -– is failing to fully investigate and properly address violations of the law. More »
 

Soaring Food Prices Make It Harder for Schools and Child Nutrition Programs to Provide Healthy Meals

According to preliminary results of a new survey unveiled by the School Nutrition Association at a July 9 Committee hearing, to help cope with higher food costs in the coming year, 75 percent of school nutrition directors plan to increase school meal prices for students and 62 percent plan to reduce staff. Several witnesses urged Congress to increase the federal reimbursement rate and boost federal support for the nation’s child nutrition programs during the upcoming reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act, which expires in 2009. More »
 

Chairman Miller Continues Fight for Mine Safety

Louisville Courier-Journal editorial: "Rep. Miller, who chairs the U.S. House committee that oversees federal efforts to keep mines safe, dismisses as inadequate the new regulations intended to strengthen seals that are supposed to close off dangerous inactive work areas. The U.S Mine Safety and Health Administration is ignoring a congressional directive to issue rules that will do something about 14,000 existing seals, Mr. Miller insists..." Read the rest of the Courier-Journal's editorial »
 

Committee Passes Measure to Improve Pre-School Programs

On June 26, the Committee passed the Providing Resources Early for Kids Act, by a vote of 31-11, to improve the quality of state pre-school programs, which collectively serve over 1 million young children. More »