• Increases the number of children enrolled in the school meals programs by using Medicaid data to directly certify eligible children. This provision will connect approximately new 115,000 students to the school meals program.
• Enhances universal meal access for eligible children in high poverty communities by using census data to determine school wide income eligibility. 
• Provides more meals for at-risk children nationwide by allowing Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) providers to be reimbursed for meals provided to low-income children after school. This provision will provide an additional 21 million meals annually. 
• Provides funding for innovative state and local projects to address childhood hunger and promote food security for low-income children.  
  

• Improves the nutritional quality of school meals by increasing the federal reimbursement rate for school lunches for districts who comply with federal nutrition standards. This additional 6 cents per meal will be the first real reimbursement rate increase in over 30 years.
• Removes junk food from schools by applying nutrition standards for all foods sold in schools.
• Promotes nutrition and wellness in child care settings by establishing nutrition requirements for CACFP.
• Connects more children to healthy produce from local farms by helping communities establish farm to school networks, create school gardens and use more local foods in cafeterias with $40 million in mandatory funding. 
• Strengthens local school wellness policies by updating existing requirements, increasing transparency, providing opportunities for community involvement, and compliance measurements.
• Supports breastfeeding for low-income women by supporting data collection in WIC and permanently authorizing performance bonuses for exemplary breastfeeding practices at WIC clinics and agencies.
  

• Supports schools' food service budgets by ensuring charges to school foodservice accounts are only for allowable expenses.
• Supports a skilled workforce by establishing professional standards and training opportunities for school food service providers. 
• Streamlines program administration by giving CACFP providers greater flexibility with their administrative funds and eliminating duplicative paperwork requirements and wasteful monitoring practices. 
• Increases efficiency and modernizes the WIC program by transitioning to an electronic benefit program.
• Improves food safety requirements for school meals by improving recall procedures and extending existing HACCP requirements to all places where school meals are prepared or served.
  

• Saves $1 billion over 10 years by extending a provision that allows the Secretary of Agriculture to count commodities purchased for market stabilization toward the required level of federal support (in the form of commodity foods) for the National School Lunch Program.
• Saves approximately $1.3 billion over 10 years by restructuring nutrition education in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) into a new grant program that distributes Federal funds by formula to the States. 
• Saves approximately $2.2 billion over 10 years by eliminating a temporary SNAP benefit increase provided by The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).     
  

• Alabama PTA
• Alabama School Nutrition Association
• Alabama WIC Program
• Bay Area Food Bank
• Food Bank of North Alabama
• Health Action Partnership
• Jefferson County Department of Health
• Jefferson County WIC Program
• Jones Valley Urban Farm
• Morris Health Center
• St. Clair County WIC Program
• Trussville WIC Program

• Alaska Dietetic Association
• Alaska PTA
• Alaska School Nurses Association
• Alaska School Nutrition Association
• Food Bank of Alaska
• Maniilaq WIC Program

• Arizona Dietetic Association
• Grand Canyon Synod - ELCA
• Hualapai WIC Department
• Inter Tribal Council of Arizona
• Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona
• Navajo Nation WIC Program
• Planned Parenthood Arizona
• School Nurses Organization of Arizona
• School Nutrition Association of Arizona
• United Food Bank
• White Mountain Apache WIC Program

• 5 A Day Coalition
• Arkansas Action For Healthy Kids
• Arkansas Advocates for Children & Families
• Arkansas Community Action Agencies Association, Inc.
• Arkansas Food Policy Council
• Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance
• Arkansas PTA
• Arkansas School Nurses Association
• Bull Shoals Food Pantry
• Carroll County Community Foundation
• Choctaw Food Bank
• Community Services Office, Inc.
• Economic Opportunity Agency of Washington County, Inc.
• Franklin County Learning Center
• Helping Hands of Winchester
• Hope in Action
• Hughes Christian Outreach Ministries
• Kids for Health
• Mountain Home Food Basket
• No Kid Hungry Arkansas
• Oak Forest United Methodist Church
• Ozark Opportunities, Inc.
• Seven Harvest, Inc.
• Sustainable Alternatives
• The Manna House
• Wildflowers Christian Ministry

• A Family Helping Agency Inc.
• A World Fit For Kids!
• Agriculture & Land-Based Training Association
• Alameda County WIC Program
• Alameda Point Collaborative
• Alliance Medical Center WIC Program
• Antelope Valley Hospital WIC Program
• Apricot Producers of California
• Baby Sips
• Bay Area Lactation Associates (BALA)
• Bay Area WIC Association
• Breastfeeding Coalition of Solano County
• Breastfeeding Task Force of Greater Los Angeles
• Breastfeeding Task Force of Santa Clara Valley
• California Association of Nutrition and Activity Programs (CAN-Act)
• California Center for Public Health Advocacy
• California Conference of Local Health Department Nutritionists (CCLHDN)
• California Department of Education
• California Dietetic Association
• California District Council Health Professional Auxiliary
• California Grape & Tree Fruit League
• California Public Health Association-North
• California School Health Centers Association
• California State PTA
• California State University, Fresno
• California WIC Association
• CANFIT
• Center for Health Leadership
• Center for Nutrition and Activity Promotion
• Central California Regional Obesity Prevention Program
• Central Valley Indian Health WIC Program
• Chico Eat Learn Grow
• City of Long Beach WIC Program
• Collaboratively Creating Health Access, Opportunities, & Services (cChaos)
• Community Action Partnership of Kern WIC Program
• Community Alliance with Family Farmers
• Community Bridges WIC Program
• Community Medical Center WIC Program
• Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley
• County of Napa WIC Program
• County of Sonoma DHS WIC Program
• Cover My Heart
• CWA
• Delta Health Care
• East Los Angeles Doctors Hospital
• E-Center
• Family YMCA of the Desert
• Farm to Table Food Services
• Feeding America San Diego
• First 5 Los Angeles
• First 5 Santa Clara County
• First 5 Solano Children and Families Commission
• Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano
• Food for People, Inc.
• FOOD Share
• FoodLink for Tulare County, Inc.
• Fresh Produce & Floral Council
• Fresno County WIC Program
• Fresno Metro Ministry
• Gardner Family Care Corporation WIC Program
• Glenn County Health Services
• Greater Los Angeles Breastfeeding Task Force
• Grower-Shipper Association of Central California
• Help Choose Your Life
• HER Consulting
• Hill Country Health and Wellness Center
• Humanist Association of Orange County
• Indian Health Center of Santa Clara Valley WIC Program
• Inland Congregations United for Change
• Inland Empire Veterans Stand Down
• Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles
• Kalusugan Community Services
• Kernville Union School District
• Kings County Breastfeeding Coalition
• Kings County Health Department WIC Program
• La Leche League of Ukiah
• La Luna Perinatal Services
• Lactation Advocates of Northern California
• Lake County Community Action Agency
• LEAPS Action Center
• Long Beach Grows
• Los Angeles Best Babies Network
• Los Angeles County Department of Public Health
• Los Angeles County Office of Education
• Los Angeles Unified School District
• Lotus Tribe
• Lutheran Office of Public Policy - California
• Marin County WIC Program
• Maternal and Child Health Access
• Mendocino County Breastfeeding Coalition
• Mendocino County WIC Program
• Mono County WIC Program
• Monterey County WIC Program
• Native American Health Center
• Native Breastfeeding Council
• Network for a Healthy California-ABC USD
• Newport Mesa Unified School District - Network for a Healthy California
• North Coast Opportunities, Community Action
• North County Health Services WIC Program
• Northeast Valley Health Corporation
• Northeastern Rural Health WIC Program
• Oakland Based Urban Gardens
• Oakland Leaf
• Oakland Unified School District
• Orange County Planned Parenthood WIC Program
• Outrider Ministries
• Palomar Pomerado Home Health
• Pasture Pictures
• People's Grocery
• Placer Food Bank
• Planting Justice
• Plumas Rural Services WIC Program
• Private Lactation Consulting, Contra Costa
• Psi Chi, San Jose State University
• Public Health Foundation WIC Program
• Riverside County Community Health Agency Lactation Services
• Sacramento ACHIEVE
• San Benito Health Foundation
• San Diego American Red Cross WIC Program
• San Diego County Breastfeeding Coalition
• San Diego State University Research Foundation WIC
• San Francisco Breastfeeding promotion Coalition
• San Francisco Department of Public Health
• San Francisco WIC Program
• San Mateo County WIC Program
• San Ysidro Health Center WIC Program Imperial Beach Office
• Santa Clara County Public Health Department WIC Program
• Santa Clara County WIC Program
• Santa Clara County WIC Program
• Save Mart Supermarkets
• Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Cruz County
• Shasta County Health and Human Services Agency
• Siskiyou County Public Health
• Siskiyou County WIC Program
• Slow Food Urban San Diego
• Solano County WIC Program
• South Los Angeles Health Projects
• Southern California Public Health Association (SCPHA)
• St. Joseph Health System
• Sustainable Economic Enterprises of Los Angeles (SEE-LA)
• Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento
• The Childbirth Connection, LLC
• The Peace and Justice Community of St. Cross Episcopal Church, Hermosa Beach
• The Resource Connection - Amador
• The Sisters of the Holy Family, Fremont
• Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center, Inc. WIC Program
• Tulare County WIC Program
• Ubuntu Green
• UCLA High Risk Infant Follow-up Program
• United Way Silicon Valley
• Urban and Environmental Policy Institute
• Valley Presbyterian Hospital
• Ventura County Public Health WIC Program
• WalkSanDiego
• Watts Healthcare Corporation WIC Program
• Well-Being Center of Novato
• Yolo County Health Department

• Care and Share Food Bank of Southern Colorado
• Colorado Children's Campaign
• Colorado PTA
• Colorado School Nutrition Association
• Food Bank for Larimer County
• LiveWell Colorado
• Lutheran Advocacy Ministry - Colorado
• Mesa County WIC Agency
• Moms for Kids
• Pueblo City-County Health Department
• Rocky Mountain Farmers Union
• Summit Prevention Alliance
• Weld Food Bank
• Women of Reform Judaism – Colorado

• Connecticut Association for Human Services
• Connecticut Dietetic Association
• Connecticut Food Association
• Connecticut Food Bank
• Connecticut Parent Teacher Student Association
• Fairfield County WIC Program
• Foodshare, Inc.
• Justice and Peace Committee of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Chambery/West Hartford
• The Collaborative Center for Justice, Hartford
• Uncas Health District

• Delaware Dietetic Association
• Delaware PTA
• Delaware School Nurse Association
• Delaware School Nutrition Association

• D.C. Farm to School Network
• D.C. WIC State Agency
• United Way National Capital Area

• All Faiths Food Bank
• Bay Area Food Bank
• Better School Food Sarasota
• Charity Express Inc.
• Christ Fellowship Church
• City of North Miami ACHIEVE
• CROS Ministries
• Damayan Garden Project
• Evangelical Christian Bible Ministries International, Inc.
• Feeding South Florida
• First Baptist Church of Lantana
• Florida Association of Food Banks
• Florida Association of School Nurses
• Florida Dietetic Association
• Florida PTA
• Florida Public Health Foundation
• Florida Tomato Exchange
• Harry Chapin Food Bank
• Miami Dietetic Association
• OSAY Child Development Center
• Palm Beach County Community Food Alliance
• Palm Beach Harvest Inc.
• Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida
• Second Harvest North Florida
• The Peace & Justice Committee of the Florida Benedictine Sisters
• Treasure Coast Food Bank

• America Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia
• Cobb & Douglas Public Health
• Cotillion of the South
• Feeding the Valley, Inc.
• Georgia Dietetic Association
• Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association
• Georgia Organics
• Georgia PTA
• Georgia Public Health Association
• Georgia School Nutrition Association
• Health Matters
• Jewish Community Relations Council of Atlanta
• Lithonia WIC Program
• Piedmont Park Conservancy
• Queen of Hearts Foundation
• Second Harvest of South Georgia, Inc.
• Southside Medical Center WIC/Nutrition Department
• The Holistic Chamber of Commerce Atlanta
• The Youth Becoming Healthy Project, Inc.
• Voices for Georgia's Children

• Department of Public Health & Social Services, Bureau of Nutrition Services, WIC Program

• Bay Clinic Inc.
• Bay Clinic WIC Program
• Blueprint for Change
• Good Beginnings Alliance
• Hawaii Dietetic Association
• Hawaii Farmers Union
• Hawaii Island Rural Health Association
• Kau Rural Health Community Association Inc.
• Lanai Community Health Center
• Malama I Ke Ola Health Center WIC Program
• Rural Maui
• Wahiawa WIC Program
• Waimanalo Health Center
• Waimanalo Market

"Unions, liberal advocacy groups and many congressional Democrats are expected to defend the new healthcare law and the new financial oversight system, created in the wake of the worst recession in more than half a century. They also are expected to defend efforts to expand worker safety rules.

"'The chamber's new campaign is disappointing and may threaten the health and safety of hardworking Americans if successful,' said Rep. George Miller (D-Martinez), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee."

“We passed dozens of jobs bills, dozens of tax credits for small business. The Republicans chose not to vote for any of them. They didn’t want us to succeed on jobs. It’s now on their watch. We sent over 400 bills to the Senate that went into the jaws of the filibuster that was controlled by Mitch McConnell. So they made a decision; they’d rather sacrifice the job creating potential of that legislation, for small businesses all across this country-- wildly successful programs that had run out of money, tax breaks that had worked in the past that they didn’t want to do. So they made a decision to sacrifice that in the name of pulling down this President of the United States. They wanted him to fail and that’s their mission today.”

...

"You have deficit hawks coming to town and they're about to come in and suggest that they're going to give away $4 trillion that they probably won't pay for.  That'll be the first challenge. That'll be the first challenge.

We can take care of the middle class. That money can go into Main Street. That can help create customers for small businesses. Or we can create a huge amount of deficit [to benefit] the wealthiest 2% of people in the country..."

"[The GOP has] to understand that when they repeal health care, that senior citizens will pay more for prescription drugs, young people will lose their health care coverage, and once again, we'll have pre-existing conditions that keep women and children and others from getting access to health care when they need it.  And they're also going to have the problem that this health care bill, signed by President Obama, saves $100 billion in the first ten years and a trillion dollars in the second ten years.  So they're going to have to pay for those changes when they go back to their so-called common sense ideas.  The fact of the matter is this health care bill works."

"No child should have to learn on an empty stomach.  Nearly 65 years ago, America made protecting the health of our children a national priority by developing the National School Lunch Program.  This groundbreaking program has prevented hunger and promoted education by enabling our young people to have access to safe, balanced, and affordable meals at school.  It has also supported their development, encouraged their learning capacity, and instilled life-long healthy habits.  This year, during National School Lunch Week, we recognize the vital importance of this historic program, and we recommit to serving meals that will contribute to the health and well-being of a new generation."

...

"NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the week of October 10 through October 16, 2010, as National School Lunch Week.  I call upon all Americans to join the dedicated individuals who administer the National School Lunch Program in appropriate activities that support the health and well-being of our Nation's children."

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

"These state-based exchanges, a key foundation of the new healthcare law, are to become the central Internet-based marketplace for consumers who do not get health benefits at work.

"By 2019, about 24 million Americans are expected to shop for coverage on the exchanges, choosing among health plans offering a variety of benefits that meet basic government standards."

"Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made California the first state to create an insurance exchange under new federal health care reform as he ended the bill signing period Thursday by also approving bills addressing topics ranging from kindergarten to foster care."
...

"The state's landmark health care legislation sets up an oversight board for an insurance exchange that will let consumers comparison-shop for coverage. Other bills in the package bar insurers from denying coverage to children because of a pre-existing condition and let young adults stay on their parents' health care plans until they turn 26."

“'California families and small businesses are being crushed by health costs and dwindling benefits,' said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee. 'The health exchange law signed by Gov. Schwarzenegger will ensure that insurance companies compete in an open and transparent marketplace, putting consumers in the driver’s seat, thereby driving down costs and making coverage more predictable.'"

• Provide student athletes with information about how to prevent and manage concussions by requiring school districts to develop and implement a standard, community-based plan for concussion safety and management, as well as conduct outreach to parents and students about concussion and the plan.

• Inform and empower student athletes, parents and school personnel about concussions by requiring schools to post information about concussions in a way that is publicly visible within the school and on the school website.
   
• Support students’ health and recovery by implementing “when in doubt, sit it out” policies that require a student suspected of sustaining a concussion during a school-sponsored athletic activity to be removed from participation, prohibited from returning to play that day and evaluated by a health care professional. Parents must also be notified. 
   
• Prevent prolonged recovery by making sure students recovering from concussions have the supports they need as they return to athletic and academic activities in school.
  

Up until now, insurance companies had been able to retroactively cancel your policy when you became sick, if you or your employer had made an unintentional mistake on your paperwork.

Under the new law, health plans are now prohibited from rescinding coverage except in cases involving fraud or an intentional misrepresentation of facts. Due to pressure from Democrats in Congress and the Obama Administration, insurers agreed to begin implementing this protection early, this spring; so rescissions are now a thing of the past. This protection applies to all health plans.

"Approximately 10,700 people’s coverage, whose coverage is dropped each year because they get sick or make a technical mistake on their application, will be protected under the new law." (White House) 

Each year, thousands of children who were either born with or develop a costly medical condition are denied coverage by insurers. Research has shown that, compared to those with insurance, children who are uninsured are less likely to get critical preventive care including immunizations and well-baby checkups. That leaves them twice as likely to miss school and at much greater risk of hospitalization for avoidable conditions.

The new law prohibits insurance plans both from denying coverage and limiting benefits for children based on a pre-existing condition. This protection applies to all health plans, except “grandfathered” plans in the individual market. These protections will be extended to Americans of all ages starting in 2014.

"Up to 72,000 uninsured children are expected to gain coverage by banning insurers from refusing them coverage due to a pre-existing condition. Coverage for up to 90,000 children will no longer exclude benefits because of a pre-existing condition."  (White House) 

Young people are the most likely to be uninsured – with currently one in three young people having no health coverage. One reason is that young people are less likely to be offered coverage through their jobs.

Under the new law, insurance companies are required to allow young people up to their 26th birthday to remain on their parents’ insurance plan, at the parent’s choice. This provision applies to all health plans. (For employer plans, only those young people not eligible for their own employer coverage receive the benefit, until 2014.) Learn more about the young adults insurance policy. 

"Up to 2.4 million young adults, up to 1.8 million who are uninsured and nearly 600,000 who purchase coverage in the individual market, could gain coverage through their parents." (White House)

Millions of Americans who suffer from costly medical conditions are in danger of having their health insurance coverage vanish when the costs of their treatment hit lifetime limits. These limits can cause the loss of coverage at the very moment when patients need it most. Over 100 million Americans have coverage that imposes such lifetime limits. The new law prohibits the use of lifetime limits in all health plans.

"Up to 20,400 people who typically hit their lifetime limits on the dollar amount that can be spent on coverage, along with the nearly 102 million enrollees who have policies with lifetime limits, will no longer have to worry about hitting their benefits caps." (White House)

Even more aggressive than lifetime limits are annual dollar limits on what an insurance company will pay for health care. Annual limits are less common than lifetime limits – but 19% of individual market plans and 14% of small employer plans currently use them.

The new law phases out the use of annual limits over the next three years. For plan years beginning on September 23, 2010, the minimum level for the annual limit will be set at $750,000. This minimum is raised to $1.25 million in a year and $2 million in two years. In 2014, all annual limits are prohibited. The protection applies to all plans, except “grandfathered” plans in the individual market.

"By 2013, up to 3,500 people will gain coverage as a result of the ban on annual limits that insurers impose on nearly 18 million people today." (White House)

Today, too many Americans do not get the high-quality preventive care they need to stay healthy, avoid or delay the onset of disease, and lead productive lives. Nationally, Americans use preventive services at about half the recommended rate.

Under the new law, insurance companies must cover recommended preventive services, including mammograms, colonoscopies, immunizations, and pre-natal and new baby care, without charging deductibles, co-payments or co-insurance. Learn more about preventive care benefits.

"Up to 88 million people will have access to preventive care with no out of pocket costs." (White House)

Today, if your health plan tells you it won’t cover a treatment your doctor recommends, or it refuses to pay the bill for your child’s last trip to the emergency room, you may not know where to turn. Most plans have a process that lets you appeal the decision within the plan through an “internal appeal” – but there’s no guarantee that the process will be swift and objective. Moreover, if you lose your internal appeal, you may not be able to ask for an “external appeal” to an independent reviewer.

The new law guarantees the right to an “internal appeal.” Also, insurance companies will be prohibited from denying coverage for needed care without a chance to appeal to an independent third party. Learn more about appealing health plan decisions.

"Up to 88 million people will benefit from the new appeals process provisions by 2013." (White House)

Being able to choose and keep your doctor is highly valued by Americans. Yet, insurance companies don’t always make it easy to see the provider you choose. One survey found that three-fourths of the OB-GYNs reported that patients needed to return to their primary care physicians for permission to get follow-up care.

The new law: 1) guarantees you get to choose your primary care doctor; 2) allows you to choose a pediatrician as your child’s primary care doctor; and 3) gives women the right to see an OB-GYN without having to obtain a referral first.

"Up to 88 million people will benefit from the provision that protects primary care provider choice by 2013." (White House)

Many insurers charge unreasonably high cost-sharing for emergency care by an out-of-network provider. This can mean financial hardship if you get sick or injured when you are away from home.

The new law makes emergency services more accessible to consumers. Health plans will not be able to charge higher cost-sharing for emergency services that are obtained out of a plan’s network.

"Up to 88 million people will benefit from this provision." (White House)

"Fifteen months ago, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority mowed past statutory language, Congressional intent and decades of precedent to make it much harder for older workers to prove age discrimination.

"... Fortunately, the court’s mangling of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 need not stand. Legislation introduced last fall by Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa and Representative George Miller of California, both Democrats, would reverse the ruling, once again making the standard for proving age discrimination equivalent to the standard for proving discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion and national origin.

"...So far, the measure has attracted no Republican co-sponsors. But standing in the way of fair treatment of older workers is bad policy and bad politics, especially at a moment of soaring unemployment and rising age discrimination claims." [emphasis added]

1. 4.25%
2. 4.5%
3. 5.5%
4. 6.25%

This morning Chairman Miller appeared on MSNBC to explain why the House is returning from its 6-week district work period to vote on this important piece of legislation.

1. Guatemala
2. Dominican Republic
3. Colombia
4. Nicaragua

• Prohibit an employer from discharging or otherwise discriminating against an employee who reports to the employer, or a federal or state government official that he or she reasonably believes the employer is violating the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA).
• Protect covered employees who report injuries or unsafe conditions related to the offshore work, refuse to work based on a good faith belief that the offshore work could cause injury or impairment or a spill, or refuse to perform work in a manner that they believe violates the OCSLA.
• Establish a process for an employee to appeal an employer’s retaliation by filing a complaint with the Secretary of Labor, and allowing a jury trial if the Secretary fails to act in a timely manner.  
• Make an aggrieved employee eligible for reinstatement, back pay and compensatory and consequential damages, and, where appropriate, exemplary damages.  
• Require employers to post a notice that explains employee rights and remedies under this Act and provide training to the employees of these rights. 
  

• Provides whistleblower and anti-retaliation protections to workers on the Outer Continental Shelf.
• Protects worker safety by improving federal agency coordination.
  

• 9 percent
• 16 percent
• 27 percent
• 65 percent
  

• American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)
  
• American Industrial Hygiene Association
• Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center
• BlueGreen Alliance
  
• Building and Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO
• Change to Win
  
• Interstate Mining Compact Commission (second letter)
• National Consumers League
• State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, AFL-CIO
• The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
  
• UAW
• United Mine Workers of America
  
• United Steelworkers
• United Support & Memorial For Workplace Fatalities
  

1. 57 times
   
2. 326 times
   
3. 515 times
   
4. 100,000 times
   

• Make Mines with Serious and Repeated Violations Safe – Criteria for ‘pattern of violations’ sanctions would be revamped for underground coal mines and other ‘gassy’ mines to ensure that operators which chronically and repeatedly violate mine safety standards or have high accident rates improve safety dramatically.
   
• Ensure Irresponsible Operators Are Held Accountable – Maximum criminal penalties would be increased for underground coal mines, and a sanction is established for mine operators who knowingly tamper with or disable safety equipment that could kill miners. Operators would be required to pay penalties in a timely manner.
   
• Give MSHA Better Enforcement Tools – MSHA would be given the authority to subpoena documents and testimony. The agency could seek a court order to close a mine when there is a continuing threat to the health and safety of miners. MSHA could require more training of miners in unsafe mines. MSHA will require contractors, in addition to operators, to report accidents and injuries and hours of work at each mine, and those filing reports would be held responsible for the accuracy of reports.
   
• Protect Miners Who Speak Out on Unsafe Conditions – Protections for workers who speak out about unsafe conditions in underground coal and other gassy mines would be strengthened and would guarantee that miners wouldn’t lose pay for safety-related closures. In addition, miners would receive protections allowing them to speak freely during investigations.
   
• Modernize Safety Requirements in Coal Mines – Increased rock dusting would be required to prevent coal dust explosions. Pre-shift reviews of hazards and violations in the mine must be communicated to incoming miners to ensure that they are not caught unaware.  Protocols for continuous atmospheric monitoring for methane and carbon monoxide will be developed by NIOSH and adopted by MSHA through regulations.
   
• Increase MSHA’s Accountability – The legislative outline provides for an independent investigation of the most serious accidents, which includes an assessment of whether there are gaps in MSHA’s oversight or regulation. It asks GAO to assess whether there are problems with timeliness of mine plan reviews.
   
• Guarantee Basic Protections in All Other Workplaces Under OSHA – To ensure that all workplaces have basic protections, whistleblower protections would be strengthened, criminal and civil penalties would be increased, and hazard abatement would be sped up. In addition, victims of accidents and their family members would be provided greater rights during investigations and enforcement actions. OSHA would be allowed to assert concurrent enforcement jurisdiction in states with OSHA state plans, if the state is failing  to maintain protections for workers that is at least as effective as federal OSHA.
  

Solution: The bill will put workplace health and safety whistleblower protections on a par with other more modern whistleblower laws found in the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, the Federal Railroad Safety Act and most recently in the Frank-Dodd financial services bill. It improves whistleblower protection by ensuring a claimant’s right to an adjudicative hearing and extends statutes of limitations from 30 to 180 days.

Solution: Increase civil penalties to keep up with inflation and establishes higher penalties when workers are killed due to the violation. It would also make criminal violations a felony instead of a misdemeanor.

Solution: Beginning January 1, 2015, OSHA must adjust civil penalties for inflation at least once every four years.

Solution: The bill would require employers to fix serious hazards during the contest period, instead of waiting until employer’s appeal is exhausted, which can take years. Employers would have the right to petition for a stay of an OSHA abatement order, if they can demonstrate likelihood of success on overturning the citation upon appeal and worker health and safety will not be adversely affected.

Solution: Corporate directors and officers would be liable for criminal violations that caused or significantly contributed to the cause death or serious injury.

Solution: Families of victims have the right to be heard in the investigative and enforcement process, and requires OSHA to establish family liaisons in every regional office.

Solution: The Secretary of Health and Human Services would appoint a five member independent investigative panel to investigate mine accidents with three or more deaths, chaired by a staff member from NIOSH’s Office of Mine Safety and Health Research. The investigation would identify all factors that caused or contributed to the accident, assess whether actions or inactions by MSHA, state regulators, operators or others contributed to accident; and review MSHA’s investigation report.

Solution: The legislation would allow MSHA to certify, recertify, and decertify mine foremen, superintendants and others if equivalent certifications were not established under state law. The bill would allow MSHA to charge a fee for certification. A grant program would be established to improve state mine certification programs.

Solution: The bill would require the use of greater amounts of rock dusting, which holds down the levels of combustible coal dust. The bill mandates new monitoring technology to provide real time rock dust measurements.

The bill would also require the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health to advise MSHA on the feasibility of using continuous atmospheric monitoring systems to detect explosive levels of methane in underground coal mines.

Solution: The bill would require pre-shift communications to incoming miners on hazards and other problems in the mine.

Solution: The bill would allow MSHA to prescribe additional training beyond current law where a history of non-compliance or accidents indicates a need for additional training. MSHA would also be allowed to include a one-hour refresher training on worker rights and obligations in addition to the eight hours already required by law.

Solution: Contractors would be responsible for reporting injuries, illnesses and hours worked at each mine site. Reports to MSHA have to be signed by a responsible individual who holds a certification, which can be revoked for knowingly submitting a false report.

Solution: The legislation would give miners the right to refuse to work in unsafe conditions.

Solution: The bill would grant miners the right to refuse to work in unsafe conditions and would extend the statute of limitations for filing a whistleblower complaint from 60 to 180 days. Miners would be able to seek punitive damages in addition to back pay and reinstatement.

The bill would establish civil penalties for whistleblower violations of $10,000 minimum and $100,000 maximum for first whistleblower violation, and $20,000 minimum and $200,000 maximum for repeated violations in a three-year window. 

Criminal sanctions would be establish for those who knowingly retaliate with the intent to adversely impact directly or indirectly the employment or livelihood of those who provide information on health and safety conditions to MSHA or law enforcement officers.

Solution: Miners would have the right to meet with MSHA confidentially. The bill would also prevent mine operator attorneys from also representing individual miners unless the miners knowingly and voluntarily waived the conflict of interest.

Solution: Workers will get full pay after the first two shifts when a mine is temporarily closed by MSHA because of safety problems, and full pay thereafter to a maximum of 60 days. Current law only provides 7 days pay after first two shifts.  MSHA can also issue a mine closure order if a mine operator does not pay miners by the next pay period after the mine reopens. Mine operators would be provided a hearing and judgment within 30 days on any order that closes a mine and triggers payments to miners..  

Solution: The bill would provide underground coal miners working at mines “on pattern status” with protections from dismissal for three years, unless the employer has just cause based on reasonable job-related grounds or for other legitimate business reasons.

Solution: The legislation clarifies MSHA has the ability to close a mine that is considered a serial violator through a court injunction.

Solution: The legislation grants MSHA the ability to subpoena in conjunction with the agency’s investigations and inspections.

Solution: The legislation would require that inspections occur on all shifts and days of the week. If inspection times are unpredictable, operators will be motivated to work more safely across all shifts. 

Solution: Any person who knowingly provide advance notice of an inspection with the intent to impede, interfere or adversely affect the results of an inspection, could face a felony count, with a maximum five years in prison and a maximum penalty to $250,000 per individual and $500,000 per organization.

Solution: Criminal violations for knowing violations of safety standards that expose a miner to a significant risk of serious bodily injury or death in the first instance would be a felony for operators of underground coal mines (and other gassy underground mines)– with punishment of up to five years in jail for a first offense and a maximum of $1 million fine, or both, and ten years for the second offense or $2 million or both.   Knowingly tampering with or disabling a safety device which exposes miners to a significant risk of serious bodily injury or death is also punishable by imprisonment for up to 10 years and or a $ 2 million fine, or both.

Solution: Mines that are more than 180 days in arrears on paying fines, or failing to live up to a payment plan, would face a mine-wide withdrawal order until payments are made.  

Solution: Criteria for ‘pattern of violations’ sanctions would be revamped to ensure that dangerous underground coal mine operations fix chronic problems.

MSHA would have authority to close down an underground coal mine or a “gassy” underground mine once a ‘pattern of violations’ status is triggered. In order to reopen, underground mine operators have to comply with a remediation plan that can include additional training, added staffing, and an effective safety management program, and be subject to double the number of mine inspections and additional reporting requirements.

Mines would pay a fee to cover the cost of these added inspections and face doubled civil penalties for any violations if underground mines do not significantly improve compliance in 180 days. Underground mine operators subject to a ‘pattern of violation’ status would have the right to an expedited hearing from the Mine Safety and Health Review Commission.

MSHA would also put mines’ compliance history and the criteria for pattern status on the agency’s website.

Solution: The legislation will impose prejudgment interest on penalties that are sustained. It would also require the Review Commission to use MSHA’s penalty formulas, instead of vague statutory criteria. By making the system more predictable, there is less incentive to try to game the system by clogging the system and appealing cases regardless of their merit.

"As I have often said, slowing the rate of health care cost growth is the single most important action we can take to reduce our long-term fiscal shortfall. The report confirms that the enactment and successful implementation of the Affordable Care Act is a key step toward a healthier fiscal future:

• First, CBO reiterates that the Affordable Care Act will reduce the deficit by more than $100 billion in the current decade and more than $1 trillion in the decade after that — which represents the most deficit reduction enacted since the 1990s.
• Second, the report demonstrates the importance of successfully implementing the Affordable Care Act.  The report includes a scenario in which a number of the Affordable Care Act’s cost-saving measures are curtailed by Congress at the end of this decade and, not surprisingly, not implementing the Act results in significantly higher deficits.  Historically, Congress has generally stood by its enacted health care savings — which is also what statutory Pay-As-You-Go requires and our fiscal trajectory demands.  Nonetheless, in showing the results of this backward step, the report highlights why the Affordable Care Act is such an important step forward."
  

• Sentinel Mine, International Coal Group Inc (ICG), Wolf Run Mining Company
• No. 1 Mine (Now Bronzite III), Wolford Jeffrey (CONSOL Energy Inc), Jacob Mining LLC (Consol of Kentucky Inc)
• Justice #1, Massey Energy Co., Independence Coal Co.
• Black Castle Mining Co., Massey Energy Co., Elk Run Coal Co.
• Coalburg No. 2 Mine, Richard H. Abraham, Rio Group, Inc.
• Copley Trace Surface Mine, James H. Booth, Argus Energy WV, LLC
• Pond Creek Mine No. 1, Robert Helton, KWV Operations LLC
• Deep Mine No. 8, James H. Booth, Argus Energy WV, LLC
• Mine No. 6 (Now Laurel Fork Mine), Dick J. Plaster (CONSOL Energy Inc), Harvest-Time Coal Inc (Consolidation Coal Company )
  

• Criteria for ‘pattern of violations’ sanctions would be revamped to ensure that the nation’s most dangerous mine operations improve safety dramatically.

• Maximum criminal and civil penalties would be increased and operators would be required to pay penalties in a timely manner.  

• MSHA would be given the authority to subpoena documents and testimony. The agency could seek a court order to close a mine when there is a continuing threat to the health and safety of miners. MSHA could require more training of miners in unsafe mines. Increased rock dusting would be required to prevent coal dust explosions.  

• Miners would be granted the right to refuse to work in unsafe conditions. Protections for workers who speak out about unsafe conditions would be strengthened, and miners would not lose pay for safety-related closures. In addition, miners would receive protections so they can speak freely during investigations.  

• The legislative outline provides for an independent investigation of the most serious accidents.  It would require that mine personnel are well-qualified, and ensure that inspections are comprehensive and well-targeted. Requires pre-shift reviews of mine conditions and communication to ensure that appropriate safety information is transmitted.  

• To ensure that all  workplaces have basic protections, whistleblower protections would be strengthened, criminal and civil penalties would be increased, and hazard abatement would be sped up. In addition, victims of accidents and their family members would be provided greater rights during investigations and enforcement actions.

• 4C Council of Santa Clara County
• 9to5, National Association of Working Women
• Action for Children North Carolina
• Action for Healthy Kids
  
• Advocates for Better Children’s Diets
• Advocates for Children and Youth, Maryland
  
• Afterschool Alliance
• Alberts Organics
• America SCORES
  
• American Academy of Pediatrics
• American Association for Health Education
  
• American Beverage Association
• American College of Preventive Medicine
• American Commodity Distribution Association
• American Dental Association
  
• American Diabetes Association
• American Dietetic Association
• American Farmland Trust
  
• American Federation of Labor – Congress of Industrial Organizations, AFL-CIO
  
• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
  
• American Heart Association
• American Humane Association
  
• American Public Health Association
• American Rivers
  
• American School Health Association
• American Society of Bariatic Physicians
• Association of Schools of Public Health
• Association of State & Territorial Public Health Nutrition Directors
• Association of State Nutrition Network Administrators
• Audubon California
• Audubon Dakotas
  
• BJ Enterprises
  
• B.J. Jordan Child Care Programs
  
• Bread for the World
• California Association of Food Banks
• Alameda County Community Food Bank
  
• Food Bank at Contra Costa and Solano Counties
• Redwood Empire Food Bank
• San Francisco Food Bank
• California Association of Nutrition & Activity Programs C-A-N –Act
  
• California Center for Public Health Advocacy
• California Climate and Agriculture Network
• California Farmers Union
  
• California Food Policy Advocates
• Camp Fire USA
  
• Campaign for Better Nutrition
  
• Campaign to End Obesity
• Catholic Charities USA
  
• CDI/CDC-Choices for Children
• Center for Rural Affairs
• Center for Environmental Health (CA)
  
• Center for Science in the Public Interest 
• Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
• Central Valley Children's Services Network, Child Care Food Program
• Chesapeake Wildlife Heritage
  
• Child & Family Resources, Inc.
• Child Care Council
  
• Child Care Development Services, Inc.
  
• Child Care Food Program Roundtable
  
• Child Nutrition Initiative
• Child Nutrition Program of Southern California
• Child Welfare League of America
  
• Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition
• Children First for Oregon
• Children Now
  
• Children’s Alliance
• Children’s Alliance of New Hampshire
  
• Children’s Campaign, Inc.
  
• Children’s Council of San Francisco
• Children’s Defense Fund
• Church Women United of New York
  
• Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York, Inc.
  
• Coalition on Human Needs
• Community Action Partnership
• Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CA)
  
• Community Bridges Child & Adult Care Food Program
• Community CROPS (NE)
  
• Community Food Security Coalition
• Community Health Partnership: Oregon’s Public Health Institute
  
• Concord Child Care Center
• Connecticut Farmland Trust
• Connecticut Forest and Parks Association
• Conservation Law Foundation
  
• Consumer Federation of America
• Contra Costa Child Care Council
• Defenders of Wildlife
  
• Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO
• Directors of Health Promotion and Education
  
• Early Care and Education Consortium
• Emergency Food Bank of Stockton/San Joaquin
• Environmental Defense Fund
• Environmental Working Group
  
• Escondido Community Child Development Center
  
• Family Resource & Referral Center
• Farm Aid
  
• Farm Fresh Rhode Island
  
• Feeding America
• First Focus Campaign for Children
• Fixing School Food Alliance Monterey Bay
• Food Bank for Monterey County
• Food for People
  
• Food Lifeline
  
• Food Marketing Institute
• Food Research & Action Center
• FoodLink for Tulare County, Inc.
• Foodways Alliance (AZ)
  
• FRAMAX, CACFP Sponsor
• Go For Health! Collaborative of Santa Cruz County
• Hunger Action Los Angeles
  
• ICNA Relief
• ICNA Council for Social Justice
  
• Inter-Faith Ministries
• Interfaith Council of Amador
  
• International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers, AFL-CIO, CLC
  
• International Institute of Los Angeles
• International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of America, (UAW)
• Islamic Circle of North America
• Izaak Walton League of America
  
• J.C. Family Home Association
  
• Jewish Council for Public Affairs
• Kansas Action for Children
• Land Stewardship Program
• Land Trust Alliance
  
• Lawyers Helping Hungry Children
  
• Lean & Green Kids
• Learning Care Group, Inc.
  
• Leopold Group, Iowa Sierra Club
  
• Louisiana Upgrading Nutrition for Children's Health (LUNCH Program)
  
• Love Little Children, Inc.
• Maine Children’s Alliance
  
• Mayor Bloomberg, New York
  
• MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger
• Meredith Matthews East Madison YMCA
  
• Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty
• Michael Fields Agricultural Institute (WI)
  
• Michigan Land Use Institute
• Michigan’s Children
• Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy
  
• Minute Menu Systems
• Mission: Readiness
  
• Montana Dietetic Association
• Montana Farmers Union
  
• Monterey County Office of Education Food & Nutrition Services
• Montgomery Countryside Alliance (MD)
• Montgomery County Community Action Development Commission (PA)
• Mount Adams Resource Stewards (WA)
  
• National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
• National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth
• National Association for the Education of Young Children
• National Association of Conservation Districts
  
• National Association of County and City Health Officials
  
• National Association of School Nurses
• National Association of Sport & Physical Education
• National Audubon Society
• National Catholic Rural Life Conference
• National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
  
• National Center for Appropriate Technology
  
• National Consumers League
• National Council of Jewish Women
• National Council of La Raza
  
• National Family Farm Coalition
  
• National Farm to School Network
  
• National Farmers Union
  
• National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty
  
• National Parent Teacher Association
• National Research Center for Women & Families
  
• National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
• National Wildlife Federation
  
• National WIC Association
  
• National Women’s Law Center
• Natural Resources Defense Council
  
• Nemours
• New England Farmers Union
• New England Small Farm Institute
  
• New Mexico Voices for Children
  
• New York Coalition for Healthy School Food
  
• New York State Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Alliance
• North Dakota Dietetic Association
• Northeast Organic Farming Association – Connecticut
• Northeast Organic Farming Association – Massachusetts
• Northeast Organic Farming Association – New Hampshire
• Northeast Organic Farming Association – New Jersey
• Northeast Organic Farming Association – New York
• Northeast Organic Farming Association – Vermont
  
• Northern New Mexico Stockman’s Association
  
• Northwest Harvest
• Occidental Arts and Ecology Center (CA)
  
• Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association
• Ohio Farmers Union
• Oklahoma Composting Council
  
• Oklahoma Fit Kids Coalition
  
• Oklahoma Institute For Child Advocacy
  
• Options Child Care Agency
  
• Oregon Hunger Task Force
• Organic Farming Research Foundation
  
• Partners for a Healthy Nevada
  
• Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon
  
• Partners for Sustainable Pollination
  
• PATCH, Hawaii
  
• Pennypack Farm and Education Center (PA)
• Pesticide Watch Education Fund (CA)
  
• PHFE/Angels Child Care Food Program
• Pollinator Partnership
• Prairie Rivers Network
  
• Prevention Institute
  
• Public Health Foundation Enterprises – WIC
  
• REAP Food Group (WI)
  
• RESULTS/RESULTS Educational Fund
• Revolution Foods
• River City Food Bank
  
• Roots of Change
  
• Sacramento Hunger Coalition
  
• St. Joseph’s Family Center
• St. Mary’s Center
  
• Salt Lake Community Action Program
  
• Save the Children
  
• School Nutrition Association
• School’s Out of Washington
  
• Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy
  
• Seacoast Eat Local (NH)
  
• Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties
  
• Second Harvest Food Bank, Santa Cruz County
• Service Employees International Union
• Shape Up America!
  
• Share our Strength
• Shasta County Office of Education
  
• Society for Nutrition Education
• Sodexo Foundation
• South Carolina Wildlife Federation
  
• South Dakota Voices for Children
  
• Soyfoods Association of North America
  
• Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture (NY)
  
• Sun-Maid Growers of California
• Sunnyvale Community Services
  
• Sustainable Northwest
  
• The Alliance to End Hunger
• The Cherokee Nation
• The Nature Conservancy
  
• The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
  
• The Ranchers Stewardship Alliance (MT)
  
• Trust for America’s Health
  
• U.S. Apple Association
• Union of Concerned Scientists
  
• Union Station Homeless Services
  
• United Fresh Produce Association
• United Way Silicon Valley
  
• Utah Farmers Union
  
• Utahns Against Hunger
• Virginia Association for Biological Farming
  
• Voice for Utah Children
  
• Voices For America’s Children
• Voices for Georgia’s Children
  
• Voices for Illinois Children
  
• Wallace Center at Winrock International
• Washington Child Nutrition Reauthorization Coalition
• Washington Sustainable Food & Farming Network
  
• Western Region Anti-Hunger Consortium
• WhyHunger
  
• Wild Friends Program (NM)
  
• Wisconsin Council on Children and Families 
• World Wildlife Fund
• Women, Food and Agriculture Network
• Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation
  
• Your Care Plan