On Wednesday, July 21, the Education and Labor Committee considered legislation to reform our nation’s mine health and safety laws. The Miner Safety and Health Act (H.R. 5663) would provide stronger tools to ensure that mine operators with troubling safety records improve safety and empower all workers to speak up about safety concerns.

Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch explosion in April killed 29 miners and highlighted serious flaws in existing laws including the difficulty of the Mine Safety and Health Administration to bring tougher sanctions against the country’s most dangerous mines.

On Wednesday, July 14, and Thursday July 15, the House Education and Labor Committee considered bipartisan legislation to expand access and improve the nutritional quality of meals in schools and child care. The committee examined H.R. 5504, the “Improving Nutrition for America’s Children Act” earlier this month.

The legislation would help set American children on a path of healthy eating and healthy living at a time when approximately 22 percent of the nation’s children lack access to quality food and one in three children are overweight or obese. Today, over 32 million children rely on federal child nutrition programs.

H.R. 5504 would dramatically expand access for millions of children to healthy meals year-round in schools, child care, and community based settings, and for the first time, establish nutrition standards for foods sold outside of the cafeteria.

On Thursday, February 4th, the House Education and Labor Committee considered legislation that will protect schoolchildren from harmful uses of restraint and seclusion in their classrooms.

A recent investigation by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found hundreds of allegations that children have been abused, and some even died, as a result of misuses of restraint and seclusion in public and private schools, often at the hands of untrained staff. Unlike in hospitals and other medical and community-based facilities that receive federal health funding, there are currently no federal laws addressing restraint and seclusion in schools.

The Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act (H.R. 4247) is the first national effort to address this troubling problem and ensure the safety of everyone involved – both students and school staff. It would establish minimum safety standards in schools and increase transparency, oversight and enforcement to prevent future abuse, among other things. Learn more about the Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in the Schools Act.

This markup has been postponed.

On Wednesday, November 18, the House Education and Labor Committee will vote on legislation to end the widespread practice of employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (H.R. 3017), introduced by Reps. Barney Frank (D-MA) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), would prohibit employment discrimination, preferential treatment, and retaliation on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity by employers with 15 or more employees. Currently, it is legal to discriminate in the workplace based on sexual orientation in 29 states and to discriminate based on gender identity in 38 states.

For more information on the bill, click here.

Bill is the single largest investment in higher education in history

On Tuesday, July 21st, the House Education and Labor Committee will consider legislation that will make college dramatically more affordable by investing billions of dollars in additional student aid, at no cost to taxpayers. The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009 will generate almost $100 billion in savings over the next ten years that will be used to boost Pell Grant scholarships, keep interest rates on federal loans affordable, safeguard federal student loan access for families, and enact President Obama’s key education priorities. The legislation, which was introduced earlier today, pays for itself by making the federal student loan programs more reliable, effective and cost-efficient for students, families and taxpayers.

For more information on the legislation, click here.

H.R. 3221 - The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009 was reported favorably to the House with an amendment in the nature of a substitute, and that the Committee authorize the Chairman to transmit the bill, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute, to the Committee on Budget in compliance with Section 310 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 as the first part of this committee’s recommendations, pursuant to the reconciliation instruction in S. Con. Res. 13 by a vote of 30 to 17.

The America’s Affordable Health Choices Act (H.R. 3200), developed jointly by the Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor Committees, is designed to achieve President Obama’s goals of strengthening employer-provided care, while fixing what is broken. The bill would ensure that 97 percent of Americans will be covered by a health care plan that is both affordable and offers quality, standard benefits by 2019.

The markup was expected to last two days.

Wednesday was only for opening statements only.

Thursday began at 10:00 a.m. in room 2175 Rayburn House Office Building will be for consideration of amendments.

After working through the night, the committee reconvened at 9:15 Friday morning for a series of roll call votes.

H.R. 3200 - America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 was reported favorably to the House with an amendment in the nature of a substitute, and that the Committee authorize the Chairman to transmit the bill, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute, to the Committee on Budget in compliance with Section 310 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 as the first part of this committee’s recommendations, pursuant to the reconciliation instruction in S. Con. Res. 13 by a vote of 26 to 22.