“Unfortunately, millions of Americans out of work through no fault of their own will face a deeper crisis unless Congress breaks through the partisanship to extend unemployment insurance benefits. While nothing can take the place of a good-paying job, ensuring that families have food on the table and a roof over their heads during the holiday season is the decent and right thing to do and strengthens our economy. Unemployment insurance is vital to help families pay for the basics while they look for a new job and for local businesses who count on customers to keep their doors open.

“The economy is slowly turning around and jobs are starting to come back. But, jobs are not returning fast enough for the millions of Americans dealing with this historic economic crisis. Republicans are once again turning their back on hard working Americans and their families.  Congress should extend these benefits before they expire. Our nation should not leave millions of Americans’ tables bare this Thanksgiving.”

The Paycheck Fairness Act, introduced by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and approved by the House in January 2009, would have strengthened the Equal Pay Act and closed loopholes that allow many employers to avoid responsibility for discriminatory pay. Today, it received only 58 of the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster with all Senate Republicans voting to block the bill from being considered.

“Senate Republicans dealt a blow to all working mothers, wives, and daughters today by blocking a bill to help women win equal pay for equal work. Because of loopholes in current law, women who are paid less than men doing the same work don’t have the same rights to bring employers to justice as with other forms of discrimination,” said Miller. “It is outrageous that Senate Republicans continue to allow women to be treated as second-class citizens.”

“Wage discrimination against women continues to be a persistent problem, and it is deeply frustrating that a partisan minority has prevented this important bill from coming to debate and vote,” said Woolsey.  

Specifically, the Paycheck Fairness Act would:

•    Require that employers seeking to justify unequal pay bear the burden of proving that its actions are job-related and consistent with a business necessity;
•    Prohibit employers from retaliating against employees who share salary information with their co-workers;
•    Put gender-based equal pay discrimination sanctions on the same footing as other forms of discrimination – such as race or disability – by allowing women to sue for compensatory and punitive damages;
•    Require the Department of Labor to enhance outreach and training efforts to work with employers in order to eliminate pay disparities;
•    Require the Department of Labor to continue to collect and disseminate wage information based on gender; and
•    Create a new grant program to help strengthen the negotiation skills of girls and women.

GAO found that government regulators lack sufficient and timely information on the financial health of multiemployer pension plans. For instance, plans are required to file annual financial reports with the IRS, Department of Labor, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). However, GAO discovered that all plans do not file with all agencies, agencies do not share information they do receive, and forms filed with Labor and PBGC use data that may be up to two years old.  

“As a result, federal officials told us that their agencies are limited in their ability to assess the current and recent health of multiemployer plans,” the GAO concluded.

Two out of three of multiemployer pension plans had funding liability issues in 2009, triple the percentage of plans a year before, the GAO also reported. While the GAO expects the financial health of some of the plans to recover when the economy improves, many plans will still face problems as the result of changing demographics in industries where these plans are common.  

The government watchdog group recommended that Congress consider the elimination of duplicative reporting requirements and establish a shared database among agencies. GAO also asked that PBGC, IRS and Department of Labor improve data collection and monitoring of multiemployer pension plans.

Multiemployer pension plans cover employees in industries with workers who change jobs frequently such as the construction, trucking, retail, food and mining. Rather than one company running a pension plan, in multiemployer plans, several companies band together in a particular industry to offer benefits to their workers. 

“Today’s jobs report shows just how much our economy has improved since the Republican Recession began. When President Obama took over, we were losing nearly 800,000 jobs a month. Thanks largely to tough decisions Congress and President Obama made over the last two years, September marks the ninth straight month of private sector job growth, with a total of 863,000 private sector jobs created in 2010.

“While the economy is clearly moving in right direction, we must finish the job to get all Americans back to work. Democrats have fought to help families weather this financial storm that the Republicans created and change the way Washington works. Republicans have instead tried every political maneuver to stop job creation.  

“There is a clear choice in priorities for our country and our economy. We must continue to fight for America’s middle class and resist the temptation to return to the irresponsible Bush and Washington Republican economic policies that brought the country to the brink.”

U.S. Reps. George Miller (D-CA), Nick Rahall (D-WV), Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), and Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) asked the inspector general in April to investigate MSHA’s procedures after MSHA disclosed that a computer error excluded the Upper Big Branch Mine from being notified that the mine may be under a so-called ‘pattern of violations’ (POV) sanction. Mines identified as having a ‘pattern of violations’ are considered serial violators of health and safety protections.

“The inspector general’s report confirms that the process to identify and impose sanctions against dangerous operators that repeatedly skirt mine laws is broken.  Without meaningful legislative reforms, miners will remain in the crosshairs of reckless mine owners operating outside of the margins of safety,” said Miller. “The Robert C. Byrd Miner Safety and Health Act passed by the committee will revamp this broken system. It will ensure that dangerous mines dramatically improve safety or be shut down until they improve.”

“By and large, most mine operators are looking out for the health and safety of their employees.  The reforms to the ‘pattern of violations’ process are necessary to get at the small group of operators who continue to flout the law,” said Rahall. “This legislation is a fitting tribute to the memory of Robert C. Byrd, and to his legacy of helping to ensure the health and safety of miners in the coal fields.” 

“The bottom line is that the administrative process for identifying serial violators of mine safety and health standards is totally ineffective and has been so since its creation,” said Woolsey. “If we are going to adequately protect miners from dangerous hazards, we need to turn this around, and can do so quickly by passing the Byrd bill.”

The report also found:
•    MSHA did not screen or monitor plans submitted by mine operators to improve safety once they were notified that they potentially faced pattern of violation sanctions
•    MSHA’s computer system contained errors that caused unreliable results when screening for mines that may be subject to pattern of violation sanctions
•    Delays in testing rock dust samples could cause delays in identifying safety hazards. In fact, rock dust samples from the Upper Big Branch mine were not performed until after the April 5 explosion. One of the samples exceeded the allowable amounts of coal dust. The Byrd bill would require new monitoring technology to provide real time rock dust measurements.

In June, the inspector general reported that MSHA allowed 10 serially non-compliant mines to avoid being placed on a potential pattern of violation due to the lack of resources to implement the agency’s administrative requirements to place mines of a pattern of violations – many of which were located in West Virginia.

“These are real protections against insurance companies’ worst abuses,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, one of the three committees that worked on health reform in the House.  “These protections mean that never again will your insurance run out or be taken away from you when you need it the most. And never again will a sick child be denied insurance because of a so-called pre-existing condition.”

These key protections will take effect for new plan years that start on or after September 23.  This means that many of these consumer benefits will be in effect during the next insurance ‘open season’ for consumers who receive coverage through an employer, or the next time a consumer re-enrolls in or purchases a policy from an insurer.

“Not only do consumers need to be aware that these new protections will take effect starting later this week – they need to know that these new protections are at risk being taken away,” said Miller. “Republican leaders have made it clear that repeal of the health insurance law is one of their top priorities. Repeal would only put insurance companies back in charge of health care decisions for average Americans. Once again, Republicans are standing on the side of the special interests and not on the side of hard-working Americans.”

Consumers can visit www.healthcare.gov to learn about the new law and find out which provisions may benefit them.

You may also visit www.WhiteHouse.gov/HealthReform that includes 50 stories about individuals and employers in each state and new state-by-state reports that detail how reform is already strengthening health care in your state.

Under the Affordable Care Act became law, the following changes will go into effect beginning today:

If you are privately-insured:

YOUR HEALTH COVERAGE CANNOT BE ARBITRARILY CANCELLED IF YOU BECOME SICK

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.

YOUR CHILD CANNOT BE DENIED COVERAGE DUE TO A PRE-EXISTING CONDITION

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.

YOUR CHILD UP TO AGE 26 CAN STAY ON YOUR HEALTH PLAN

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.)

YOUR HEALTH PLAN CANNOT PUT A LIFETIME LIMIT ON YOUR HEALTH COVERAGE

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.

YOUR HEALTH PLAN’S ANNUAL LIMITS ARE PHASED OUT OVER THREE YEARS

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.

If you are purchasing a new plan, you will have the following additional protections:

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO KEY PREVENTIVE SERVICES WITHOUT DEDUCTIBLE OR CO-PAYMENTS

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.

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO BOTH AN INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL APPEAL

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.

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE YOUR OWN DOCTOR

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.

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO ACCESS TO OUT-OF-NETWORK EMERGENCY ROOM CARE AT IN-NETWORK COST-SHARING RATES

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.

The GAO found that for the last two decades, the Labor Department has not provided adequate management attention to the whistleblower program. The independent watchdog agency said the program’s training for investigators and their supervisors is inconsistent from region to region, that internal controls are lacking to monitor compliance with policies and procedures, and that few of the GAO’s previous recommendations from 2009 have been implemented.

The GAO also noted that despite an increased workload over the years, the number of inspectors has remained relatively flat, and urged the program establish a separate budget for the whistleblower program. In fiscal year 2009 more than 2,100 whistleblower complaints were filed with OSHA.  Congress provided the Labor Department with funds for 25 additional whistleblower investigators in fiscal year 2010 to deal with a growing caseload.

In hearings in both the House and Senate on a number of recent workplace tragedies – such as the Upper Big Branch mine, the Tesoro refinery explosion and the BP Deepwater Horizon explosion – Congress heard  how workers’ voices were routinely silenced from speaking up on significant problems for fear of job loss. Witnesses said that increased whistleblower protections might have prevented some or all of these tragedies.

“As we have seen all too often, workers pay the tragic price when companies retaliate against workers who raise legitimate safety concerns. Strong and effective whistleblower protections are essential to ensuring a safe workplace since safety regulators can’t be on every jobsite,” said Rep. Miller, chair of the House Education and Labor Committee. “At the same time, I will continue to work with my colleagues and the Secretary of Labor to modernize anti-retaliation protections as part of the Robert C. Byrd Miner Safety and Health Act.”

“Workers are the first line of defense against dangerous working conditions,” said Sen. Harkin, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.  “We have an obligation to protect those who courageously risk their careers to protect the safety of others.  In light of the GAO’s findings, OSHA should take swift action to remedy the problems in this important program.  Even with these steps, however, many whistleblower laws remain inadequate. I’m committed to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to strengthen them so all of America’s workers are fully protected.”  

“No worker should ever be discouraged from reporting a potentially dangerous situation in the workplace to an employer or an oversight agency for fear of retaliation,” said Sen. Murray, chair of the Senate HELP Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety.  “We are working closely with our Republican colleagues to bring about some critically needed improvements to worker protection laws, including the need to update the OSHAct’s whistleblower programs. And it is our goal to work together on a bi-partisan bill to protect all of America’s workers.”

“We look forward to working with the Department of Labor to address the shortcomings in the Whistleblower Protection Program outlined in this report,” said Rep. Woolsey, chair of the House’s Workforce Protections Subcommittee. “We will, however, continue to exercise rigorous oversight and will act if the department fails to do so.”

Both the House and Senate are currently working on legislation to ensure that workers have a voice on the job by strengthening out-of-date whistleblower laws. Among other provisions, the Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety and Health Act would modernize 40-year-old anti-retaliation provisions in the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act, which is the oldest and least protective out of the 19-whistleblower laws administered by the Department of Labor.

More information on the Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety and Health Act

“Labor Day is a time to reflect on the achievements of the American worker and our nation’s commitment to helping all families pursue the American Dream.

“As today’s jobs numbers show, while there are hopeful signs on this Labor Day, it remains a difficult time for many families, especially for millions still looking for a job. The 111th Congress and Obama administration have made great progress in turning our economy around, but more must be done to create jobs. This is not the time to turn back.

“The economic policies of the past that led to stagnating wages, rising inequality and eroding rights at work were not just bad for workers, but these policies were disastrous for the entire economy.  The lesson of the Great Recession is that when you turn your back on working people and weaken America’s middle class, you undermine economic growth. We must not turn back to the reckless policies that brought us economic catastrophe. American workers deserve better.  

“On this Labor Day, we continue our commitment to all workers who contribute to the nation’s success by pushing for good jobs with fair pay, decent retirement, safe working conditions, and dignity and rights on the job. When American workers are allowed to share in the prosperity they help create, they rebuild the middle class and our country’s economy.”

***

BACKGROUND
Here are just some of the accomplishments made on behalf of American workers by the 111th Congress and Obama administration:

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (enacted January 29, 2009)
The first major piece of legislation signed by President Obama, ensured that women and other workers who receive discriminatory pay have access to a remedy. The new law reversed the May 2007 Supreme Court decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear and restored prior law which treated each discriminatory paycheck received by a worker as a violation of the Civil Rights Act. As long as workers file their charges within 180 days of a discriminatory paycheck, their claims for a remedy would be considered timely.

Affordable Care Act (reforms enacted March 23 and March 30, 2010)
The reforms signed into law will protect Americans from the worst insurance company practices, offer the uninsured and small businesses the opportunity to obtain affordable health care plans and cover 32 million uninsured Americans, all while reducing the deficit by $143 billion over the next decade and more than a trillion dollars over 20 years.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (enacted February 17, 2009)
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has begun to rebuild our economy by creating or saving 3 to 4 million jobs – including hundreds of thousands of jobs in the education sector – and provide workers with the training and skills they need to succeed in green and other emerging industries. In addition to creating jobs in other sectors of our economy, education investments in the legislation will save or boost job growth well into the future.

Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (enacted March 30, 2010)
The law, which saves taxpayers $61 billion over  10 years by switching to the more efficient Direct Loan program, will help America reach President Obama’s goal of producing the most college graduates by 2020 by making college more accessible and transforming the way our student loan programs operate. It will strengthen community colleges and training programs to help build a highly skilled, innovative, 21st century workforce ready for the global economy.

Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act (enacted August 10, 2010)
The law will help save 161,000 teacher jobs and will discourage American corporations from shipping jobs overseas. The measure includes $10 billion to save teacher jobs and $16.1 billion in health assistance to the states. The funding will also keep police officers and firefighters on the job, at no cost to taxpayers.

Increase the Minimum Wage (July 24, 2009)
The national minimum wage increased by 70 cents per hour – from $6.55 per hour to $7.25 per hour – the final of three increases to take effect under legislation enacted by the Democratic Congress.  This last increase gave 4.5 million workers a badly needed boost in their pay.

401(k) Fair Disclosure for Retirement Security Act (language approved by the House May 28, 2010)
Passed by the House as part of the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act, 401(k) fee disclosure will help workers secure their retirement by helping them to shop around for the best retirement options by requiring simple fee disclosure on the investment options contained in their employer’s 401(k) plan.

Robert C. Byrd Miner Safety and Health Act (approved by the Education and Labor Committee on July 21, 2010)
The bill would provide stronger tools to ensure that underground coal mine operations with troubling safety records improve conditions, empower workers to speak up about safety concerns and give the Department of Labor the tools it needs to ensure that all workers go home safely at the end of the day. The bill would also extend similar worker protections to all workplaces in order to hold employers accountable if they knowingly put their workers in danger.

Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2010 (enacted July 22, 2010)
The legislation restored unemployment benefits to an estimated 2.5 million to the long-term unemployed whose benefits ended.

Offshore Oil and Gas Worker Whistleblower Protection Act  (approved by the House on July 30, 2010)
On a strong bipartisan vote of 315 to 93, the legislation will extend modern whistleblower protections to workers whose employers are engaged in oil and gas exploration, drilling, production, or cleanup on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Currently, individuals working on the OCS have no protection against retaliation by an employer for speaking up on hazardous conditions.

Strengthening Employment Clusters to Organize Regional Success Act (approved by the House on July 19, 2010)
The bill will help address local skills shortages by bringing employers in key industries together with education, labor, workforce, and other groups to identify and provide training tailored to meet the sector needs of that region’s economy

Affordable Health Care Coverage for Laid-off Workers (enacted as part of the Recovery Act)
A provision in the Recovery Act has helped millions of laid off workers in this recession with the cost of their health insurance coverage.   

Protecting Workers’ Wages (announced March 25, 2009)
As a result of increased funding in the Recovery Act, the Department of Labor announced that the agency plans on hiring 250 investigators for its Wage and Hour Division. A Government Accountability Office investigation found many investigations of wage theft, in which workers are not paid minimum wages or not paid at all, were inadequately handled by the Bush administration’s Wage and Hour Division, which had been starved of staff and resources.

Withdrawing Last-Minute Bush Proposal to Weaken Worker Health & Safety Protections (Announced May 15, 2009)
The Department of Labor announced that they will withdraw a Bush era proposal that would have dramatically weakened future workplace health and safety regulations and slow their enactment. The Washington Post reported that a proposal being developed by Bush political appointees in secret with little consultation with career agency health and safety experts would have added additional red tape to an already slow regulatory process.

Restore Workers’ Rights in Federal Contracts (Jan. 30, 2009)
President Obama overturned three Bush administration executive orders and reaffirmed that the interests of hard working Americans will not take a back seat to corporations and CEOs. Overturning these three Bush-era orders is an important step to restore a rational balance regarding the rights of employees in the workplace.

“As soon as today, California will have access to more than $1.2 billion dollars in emergency aid to help save education jobs – keeping our teachers in their classrooms and our students learning. This is great news for California’s struggling economy, and it’s a critical win for California’s families, teachers and students. This investment ensures California’s students do not become victims of this economy.

“Congress took decisive action earlier this month by returning to Washington for this important vote; prioritizing our teachers and recognizing the urgent needs of our students. Our schools have made real progress under President Obama and Education Secretary Duncan’s leadership, progress that we cannot afford to lose in the wake of this economic crisis.

“This is a significant step forward for our economic recovery, one of many this Congress will take to continue our reform efforts for our children and the future of this country.”

Pelosi and Miller have fought for almost a year for additional emergency aid to keep teachers in the classroom.  Twice, the House passed funding to support teacher jobs, but Senate Republicans blocked the legislation from moving forward. Miller initially proposed a $23 billion dollar emergency “Education Jobs Fund” in late 2009.

Miller also authored the Local Jobs for America Act, introduced in March, which would help create and save public and private sector jobs and restore vital services in local communities. For more information about Miller’s work on jobs, click here.

“These resources are vital to addressing the funding crisis we’re seeing in California schools and in schools across the nation. This funding helps ensure that California teachers are in the classroom where they belong, not on the unemployment line. A child only has one chance at an education, and continued Recovery Act funding ensures that their educations aren’t jeopardized by overcrowded classrooms.”

This funding comes on the heels of recent action by Congress to save jobs through the Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act.  This bill, signed into law by President Obama last week, will provide $10 billion to save and create teacher jobs, which will translate into 16,500 California teacher jobs. California was the first state to submit its application to the Department of Education for this critical funding.

Chairman Miller has been a key advocate in the House for additional aid to keep teachers in the classroom. He proposed a $23 billion dollar emergency “Education Jobs Fund” in late 2009 and authored the Local Jobs for America Act, which would help save local communities from devastating public sector layoffs.

More information on the Recovery Act
More information on Chairman Miller’s efforts to save teacher jobs

“Today’s announcement demonstrates a clear commitment to worker safety by the leadership of this Department of Labor and OSHA. Penalties for corporations who consistently put workers’ lives in danger must be more than just the cost of doing business,” said Miller. “While OSHA’s fine against BP for violations that occurred after the horrific explosion at its Texas City refinery is historic, strong sanctions in the past clearly did little to spur the company to improve. BP’s commitment to make significant safety enhancements must be closely monitored to ensure they live up to the promise they made today.”

In March 2005, 15 workers were killed and 180 others were injured in an explosion at BP's Texas City, TX facility. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) released an investigative report in 2007 blaming BP for cost cutting that led to malfunctioning equipment and overworked and undertrained employees. CSB also blamed OSHA for failing in its investigative responsibilities. On Thursday, March 22, 2007, the Education and Labor Committee heard testimony examining what went wrong at BP and OSHA with the goal of preventing future disasters.

In July, the Education and Labor Committee approved legislation that would empower workers to speak up about safety concerns and give the Department of Labor the tools it needs to ensure that all workers go home safely at the end of the day.

More information on the Texas City explosion

“It was the right decision to come back to Washington to take this important vote,” Miller added. “It’s not the first time this Congress has voted to support jobs, teachers and the future of this country. And we are not done working to rescue this economy.  Sadly, it is also not the first time Republicans have voted against jobs and against assistance for families across the country.”

The legislation includes $10 billion to save teacher jobs and $16.1 billion in health assistance to the states. The funding will also keep police officers and firefighters on the job, at no cost to taxpayers.

According to estimates from the Department of Education, the $10 billion in education funding will save 161,000 teacher jobs. And the Economic Policy Institute estimates the Medicaid funds will save and create 158,000 jobs, including preventing the layoff of police officers and firefighters.  More than half of these jobs will be in the private sector, including workers who contract for or supply services to state and local governments.  

Under the bill, California will receive an estimated $1.8 billion in Medi-Cal assistance and $1.2 billion in emergency education funding.  It is estimated that 16,500 California teacher jobs would be saved by this funding, including an estimated 249 education jobs in Miller’s 7th Congressional District, which includes portions of Solano and Contra Costa counties.

Miller said that he has indicated to the Department of Education that the education funds should be sent out to the states and distributed to local communities as quickly as possible.

The bill reduces the deficit by $1.4 billion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.  The bill includes costs of $26.1 billion and offsets of $27.5 billion – including $17.7 billion in spending cuts and $9.8 billion by closing tax loopholes that encourage corporations to ship American jobs overseas.  

The legislation uses the same formula to distribute the education funds to states as was used in the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund under the Recovery Act .  The formula allocates funds based on each state’s relative population of individuals ages 5 to 24 and of each state’s share of the total population. Governors will distribute funds to districts using the state’s primary funding formulae for K-12 education or each district’s share of Title I.   Once the bill is enacted, Governors will be required to tell local school districts which formula they plan to use to allocate the funds to ensure districts can plan immediately to hire back staff.

Miller has been fighting for almost a year for additional emergency aid to keep teachers in the classroom.  He initially proposed a $23 billion dollar emergency “Education Jobs Fund” in late 2009. Twice, the House passed funding to support teacher jobs, but Senate Republicans blocked the legislation from moving forward. Miller also authored the Local Jobs for America Act, introduced in March, which would help create and save public and private sector jobs and restore vital services in local communities.

More information about the work Miller has done to save jobs

More information about the bill

“The Kleen Energy explosion is just another example of the tragic results of putting production, in this case completing construction, ahead of safety. OSHA’s significant proposed fine for safety violations resulting in the deaths of six workers should be a wakeup call for those who callously disregard accepted safety practices in order to meet deadlines.    

“While the $16.6 million proposed fine sends a strong message, additional safety regulations are needed to prevent similar explosions. OSHA needs to adopt safety protections consistent with the Chemical Safety Board’s recommendation that prohibits the use of natural gas or other flammable materials to clean out construction debris from pipes. Manufacturers are already modifying their recommendations on this practice given there are nonflammable alternatives for cleaning out piping. We recommend that OSHA make this prohibition mandatory.”

The $16.6 million fine is the third highest ever proposed by OSHA for a workplace safety and health violation. The Workforce Protections Subcommittee held a hearing in Middletown, Conn. on June 28 to examine the Kleen Energy explosion.

“I applaud the Senate for passing this emergency legislation that protects not only our teacher jobs but our economic competitiveness. Next week, my colleagues and I in the House will return to Washington to take this important vote -- a vote we’ve taken twice already in the House -- to keep thousands of teachers in their jobs. We need this bill to ensure our teachers remain in the classroom and our students continue to learn. It’s clear our students, our teachers and our country will reap the benefits of our decisive action. This investment will save jobs and help prevent districts from shortening the school year, increasing class sizes and closing libraries in the wake of horrific and damaging budget cuts. While this latest round of funding isn’t enough to avert all layoffs, it is a critical investment in our children and in our future.”

Miller has helped lead the charge in the House to protect teacher jobs. He introduced the Local Jobs for America Act in March to help create and save public and private sector jobs and restore vital services in local communities. The provision in the bill to support education jobs was initially included in the Jobs for Main Street Act of 2010, which passed the House in December 2009.

More information about Miller’s work to save and protect jobs

“I look forward to returning to Washington next week to ensure our teachers, principals, librarians, guidance counselors and countless other school professionals keep their jobs and our students are able to grow, thrive and succeed. While this won't avert all teacher layoffs, it is a critical lifeline for education professionals across the country.”
 
The legislation would provide $10 billion to help local school districts save or hire teachers and other education professionals. Funds would be distributed through the state’s primary elementary and secondary funding formulae or each school district’s relative share of Title I. In Contra Costa and Solano counties in Miller’s district in California, nearly 600 school professionals have been laid off.

The legislation would also provide $16 billion in additional funding to states through the FMAP program. 

Miller introduced the Local Jobs for America Act in March to help create and save public and private sector jobs and restore vital services in local communities. The provision in the bill to support education jobs was initially included in the Jobs for Main Street Act of 2010, which passed the House in December 2009. For more information about Miller’s work to save and protect jobs, click here.

###

“A whistleblower may be the only thing standing between a safe workplace and a catastrophe,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “No worker should ever have to choose between his or her life and livelihood. Imagine a worker going to work and saying ‘get my affairs in order and let’s check my will.’ That’s what people do when they go to war and they shouldn’t have to do it when they go to work.”

The Offshore Oil and Gas Worker Whistleblower Protection Act (H.R. 5851), authored by Miller and Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), recognizes that while many workers on the Deepwater Horizon rig had serious safety concerns prior to the explosion, workers were reluctant to come forward with those concerns because they feared that they would lose their jobs.

Congressional hearings and new reports have uncovered that workers on BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig had safety concerns prior to the tragedy, but feared that they would lose their jobs if they raised those concerns with management.

The provisions mirror other recently enacted whistleblower laws contained in the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act and the Federal Railroad Safety Act.

Watch Chairman Miller’s speech on the Republican motion to recommit

“Today’s announcement is a positive step forward and shows that the Obama administration is taking anti-labor union violence in Guatemala more seriously. I thank the AFL-CIO for initiating the complaint, and Secretary Solis and Trade Representative Kirk for taking this important action,” said Miller. “While Guatemala made significant strides to eliminate anti-labor killings leading up to CAFTA’s ratification, I have been concerned with the increased violence in the country since the treaty’s adoption. This action helps American workers by ensuring that our nation’s trading partners live up to their promises. It is unfortunate that we have to go back and correct fundamental problems that were supposed to have been resolved when this treaty was signed. That’s why future agreements must ensure that commitments on labor rights are visible, verifiable and enforceable.”

After Colombia, Guatemala is considered the second-most dangerous country in the world in terms of assassination of union leaders. Members of Congress raised serious concerns with the Bush administration and urged it to take action to address the rising violence against labor activists.

“Plan participants often face substantial hardship when employers fail to live up to their promises and terminate their pension plans.  It is critical that PBGC exercise due professional care in administering a terminated plan,” Miller said in a letter to Joshua Gotbaum, the new director of the pension agency. “I urge you to work with the OIG to determine the scope and severity of the problem and to properly hold accountable any contractor (including suspension of such contractor) or employee who failed to execute their duties in the manner consistent with the requirements of the law.”

The inspector general concluded that PBGC and a contractor performing the plan asset audits during the termination process did not exercise due professional care in the validation of plan assets, which may distort the plan’s health and how much pensioners receive.

In addition, the PBGC hired Integrated Management Resources Group, the contractor highlighted by the OIG for failing to exercise due diligence, to perform retiree plan audits despite allegations of contracting irregularities contained in a 2000 Government Accountability Office investigation.

PBGC Inspector General Letter to Rep. Miller

Rep. Miller 2009 Request to the Inspector General

Text of the letter to Director Gotbaum appears below.


July 23, 2010


VIA FACISIMILE (202) XXX-XXXX
Mr. Joshua Gotbaum
Director
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
1200 K Street, NW
Washington, DC  20005-4026

Dear Mr. Gotbaum:

As you begin your effort to lead the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) in these economically challenging times, I write to urge your swift action to address troubling findings described in a letter I recently received from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the PBGC.  

On December 14, 2009, I asked the OIG to review the design and implementation of PBGC’s protocols in relation to the United Airlines’ (UAL) pension plan terminations. As part of the review, the OIG looked at plan asset audits for four UAL plans.  As you know, the value of a plan’s assets at termination is crucial to accurately calculating the benefits to which plan participants are entitled.  

In the report, the OIG concluded that PBGC and the contractor performing the plan asset audits did not exercise due professional care and that “the issues surrounding the inadequate plan asset audits were so significant that additional, more detailed evaluation is warranted.”  Further, in discussions with my staff, the OIG indicated that the contractor PBGC hired to perform the UAL plan asset audits (Integrated Management Resources Group, Inc.) was the sole contractor to perform such audits for a number of years, despite past criticisms of its work.  

Plan participants often face substantial hardship when employers fail to live up to their promises and terminate their pension plans.  It is critical that PBGC exercise due professional care in administering a terminated plan.  I urge you to work with the OIG to determine the scope and severity of the problem and to properly hold accountable any contractor (including suspension of such contractor) or employee who failed to execute their duties in the manner consistent with the requirements of the law.

I respectfully request your prompt attention to this matter and that your staff keep me informed of your progress.  Please contact me or the Committee’s Senior Investigator, Ryan Holden, at (202) XXX-XXXX if you have any questions.

Sincerely,



GEORGE MILLER
Chairman

cc:        The Honorable John Kline
Senior Republican, Committee on Education and Labor

The Honorable Robert Andrews
Chairman, Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, Pensions

The Honorable Tom Price
Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, Pensions

The Honorable Hilda Solis
Secretary, U.S. Department of Labor


Enclosure

The legislation approved by the committee would gives miners working in underground coal mines additional protections against retaliation if they speak up about dangerous conditions.  In May, the House Education and Labor Committee heard testimony in Beckley, West Virginia from miners and families of those who died in the Upper Big Branch Mine about serious shortcomings in miner protections, including threats and intimidation of miners who brought up safety concerns to their bosses.

The Upper Big Branch explosion also highlighted serious flaws in existing laws that undermine MSHA’s ability to bring tougher sanctions against our nation’s most dangerous mines. The bill would revamp the criteria for ‘pattern of violations’ sanctions to ensure that dangerous underground coal mine operations fix chronic problems.

“The safety and health of our nation's miners is too important not to act,” said Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), chair of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections. “The Occupational Safety and Health Act, in particular, has not been significantly amended in 40 years and is badly outdated and needs to be brought into the 21st century. The bill that has been voted out of this committee will save lives and I am looking forward to its passage on the floor.”

In addition, responding to a number of recent deadly explosions at refineries, power plants and food processing facilities, the bill would also extend similar worker protections to all workplaces in order to hold employers accountable if they knowingly put their workers in danger.

“Every day, 14 workers don’t come home from work. While they don’t make headlines like trapped miners do, their lives and limbs are no less valuable,” said Miller.

The mine safety portion of the bill approved would apply to all underground coal mines and other so-called ‘gassy’ mines that emit potentially flammable or explosive amounts of methane.
Among other provisions, the reforms approved:

•    Making 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.
•    Ensuring 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.

•    Giving 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 their accuracy.

•    Protecting 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.  

•    Modernizing 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.

•    Increasing 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 the Government Accountability Office to assess whether there are problems with timeliness of mine plan reviews.

•    Guaranteeing 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.

More information on these reforms

“It is critical that we ensure that workers have the right skills for today’s labor market and that those skills help them move into jobs and careers,” said Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “One of the best ways to do this is to ensure that federally funded training is developed in partnership with local and regional employers.”

“This legislation will strengthen strategic partnerships among business, labor, education, and the workforce to address the needs of regional economies and prepare workers for jobs in growing sectors of our economy,” said Rep. Rubén Hinojosa (D-TX), chairman of the Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness.  “I applaud the passage of H.R. 1855 and look forward to working with my colleagues to reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act.”

Specifically, the SECTORS Act would establish a grant program administered by the Department of Labor to provide designated funding for eligible partnerships in order to coordinate workforce activities between specific industries and educational institutions.  Eligible partnerships could receive up to $2.5 million in grants for the first three years and up to an additional $1.5 million thereafter.

More than 200 local and state business, labor, workforce and education groups support H.R. 1855, including the National Skills Alliance, National Council for Advanced Manufacturing, National Council on Aging, Women Work!, the National Network for Women’s Employment, the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning, the Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute, the Center of Industry and Technology, California Manufacturers and Technology Association, Business Council of New York State, the Chicago Manufacturing Renaissance Council, and the Illinois Manufacturing Foundation.

More information on H.R. 1855

There is currently no requirement for Wall Street to disclose how much in fees it takes out of Americans’ 401(k)-style accounts. With more than 50 million Americans relying on these plans to finance their retirements, hidden fees can make a big difference in families’ retirement security. According to the Department of Labor, a one-percentage point difference in fees would reduce overall retirement income by 28 percent over a lifetime of saving.  

The 401(k) fee disclosure provisions were part of legislation approved by the House of Representatives in May.

“The Upper Big Branch mine tragedy is the perfect example of how current law is inadequate, especially for those operations that do everything to flout the law,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the committee. “Despite a pattern of serious violations, there was little MSHA could do to get Massey to turn this operation around. The millions of dollars in proposed fines over the years didn’t work. Dozens of temporary closure orders didn’t work. Reform of mine safety laws is essential.”

The bill would revamp the criteria for ‘pattern of violations’ sanctions to ensure that dangerous mine operations fix chronic problems. MSHA would have authority to close down the mine once a ‘pattern of violations’ status is triggered, and in order to reopen, mine operators have to comply with a remediation plan and be subject to more mine inspections and additional reporting requirements.

“The Mine Act’s ‘pattern of violations’ provision is intended to provide MSHA a powerful tool to deal with mine operators who demonstrated, through continued significant and substantial health or safety violations, a disregard for the health and safety of miners. Instead, the ‘pattern of volitions’ provision is an empty vessel,” said Joseph Main, the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health. “I believe this bill will save lives and prevent injuries by enabling MSHA to act quickly to enforce compliance with the Mine Act at operations with high levels of violations.”  

Stanley “Goose” Stewart, a miner who was working in the Upper Big Branch mine on the day of the explosion, testified that the widespread fear of losing their jobs prevented miners from speaking out on safety problems.

“In my years working for Massey, I feel they have taken coal mining back to the early 1900’s using three principles; fear, intimidation and propaganda,” said Stewart, who also testified at the committee’s May hearing in Beckley, West Virginia with family members of lost miners. “If this bill is passed, hopefully enough miners will feel they can stand up to the Massey empire or any other rogue company and protect themselves without retaliation.”

The legislation also responds to a number of recent deadly explosions at refineries, power plants and food processing facilities. It would extend similar worker protections to all workplaces in order to hold employers accountable if they knowingly put their workers in danger.

“Every day in this country we have a Sago mine disaster, every two days an Upper Big Branch, and every month the loss of a fully loaded Boeing 747.  These tragedies happen in every corner of the country, usually one at a time, far from the evening news and the morning headlines,” said David Michaels, the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health. “Clearly, whether a worker leaves home in the morning on his way to a mine or on her way to a refinery or construction site, every worker needs and deserves equally effective protections.”

For instance, whistleblower laws would be strengthened to the level of other federal whistleblower laws already on the books. In addition, penalties would be increased for the second time in 40 years and indexed to inflation.

“We believe this provision will go a long way toward restoring the OSH Act’s deterrent effect, and will make it harder for employers to treat OSHA penalties as simply a cost of doing business,” said M. Patricia Smith, the Solicitor for the U.S. Department of Labor. “The criminal penalties in this bill are based on similar provisions in the Clean Water Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, meaning that killing a person will be treated just as seriously as killing a lake.”

Also testifying in support of the legislation were, R. Larry Grayson, a professor of mining at Penn State University; Lynn Rhinehart, general counsel of the AFL-CIO; and Cecil Roberts, president of the United Mine Workers of America.

More information on these reforms

“With tonight’s vote, the House acted on behalf of American workers, teachers and students across the nation who have suffered in the recent economic downturn.

“The bill helps to close a multi-billion dollar shortfall in the Pell Grant program that could have deterred many low-income students from attending college, and allocates $10 billion in emergency spending to save hundreds of thousands of teachers from losing their jobs due to local budget shortfalls. This vote will ensure our teachers remain in the classrooms and our students don’t lose a year of learning.  We will not allow our children’s education to become a casualty of the state of the economy.

“Additionally, tonight’s vote represents a significant victory for America’s workers by providing additional funding for mine safety enforcement cases to help workers safe, and provides our communities’ first responders basic collective bargaining rights so they can keep our communities safe and strong.

“These are responsible, targeted investments that will create and secure jobs, and keep our promise to our nation’s children.

More information on provisions of H.R. 4899:

•    Education Jobs: The 2010 Supplemental Appropriations Act creates a $10 billion Education Jobs fund to provide emergency support to school districts to prevent layoffs and keep 140,000 school employees on the job next year. The Department of Education will administer the fund and distribute the money to states through a formula based on total population and school age population. States will distribute the funds to school districts through their primary funding formula or through the Title I formula. The bill includes strict provisions that requires states to use this funding only to preserve, rehire or hire new employees in elementary and secondary education. The money can’t be used to supplant state education spending.

•    Pell Grants: The 2010 Supplemental Appropriations Act invests $4.95 billion, fully offset, to address the current year shortfall in the Pell Grant Program. In the last academic year, more than 8 million students received Pell grants.

•    Miner Safety and Review Commission Backlog: The 2010 Supplemental Appropriations Act would provide a $22 million down payment to reduce the backlog of mine safety enforcement cases and to ensure that there are sufficient resources for the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration to meet all of its legally mandated mine inspection requirements. In February, the committee found that a flood of mine owner appeals is undermining efforts to protect miners by delaying tougher sanctions. A dangerous mine cannot face tougher penalties or increased scrutiny by MSHA unless citations are fully adjudicated. Because of this backlog of appeals, cases now take several months or years to be resolved.

•    Public Safety Personnel Collective Bargaining: It will guarantee collective bargaining rights for first responders employed by states and localities. States would administer and enforce their own labor laws, while the Federal Labor Relations Authority would only step in where such laws do not exist or do not meet minimum standards. The language prohibits public safety officers from engaging in a lockout, sickout, work slowdown, strike, or any other organized job action that will disrupt the delivery of emergency services.

 “We see the consequences of mine operators that game the system in order to push production. Safety is compromised and miners die,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “Too many families have suffered a great loss recently as the result of callous mine operators, ineffective protections and outdated laws. It is time to provide effective protections to ensure that every miner is be able to return home safely to their families at the end of their shift. Congress has an obligation to make sure that is the case.”

In May, the House Education and Labor Committee heard testimony in Beckley, West Virginia from miners and families of those who died in the Upper Big Branch Mine about serious shortcomings in miner protections, including threats and intimidation of miners who brought up safety concerns to their bosses.

“In this year when so many miners and others have lost their lives in workplace accidents, it is more important than ever to extend protections to those brave miners and workers who want to speak out about unsafe conditions,”  said Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), chair of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee. “This bill will save lives in a number of ways, but none more important than by strengthening whistleblower and other worker protection provisions.”

The Upper Big Branch explosion also highlighted serious flaws in existing laws that undermines MSHA’s ability to bring tougher sanctions against our nation’s most dangerous mines. The bill would revamp the criteria for ‘pattern of violations’ sanctions to ensure that dangerous mine operations fix chronic problems. The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) would have authority to close down the mine once a ‘pattern of violations’ status is triggered, and in order to reopen, mine operators have to comply with a remediation plan and be subject to more mine inspections and additional reporting requirements.

Responding to a number of recent deadly explosions at refineries, power plants and food processing facilities, the bill would also extend similar worker protections to all workplaces in order to hold employers accountable if they knowingly put their workers in danger.

Among other provisions, the reforms outlined include:
•    Making Mines with Serious and Repeated Violations Safe – Criteria for ‘pattern of violations’ sanctions would be revamped to ensure that the nation’s most dangerous mine operations improve safety dramatically.
•    Ensuring Irresponsible Operators are Held Accountable – Maximum criminal and civil penalties would be increased and operators would be required to pay penalties in a timely manner.
•    Giving 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.
•    Protecting Miners Who Speak out on Unsafe Conditions – Protections for workers who speak out about unsafe conditions would be strengthened and would guarantee that miners wouldn’t lose pay for safety-related closures. The bill would provide underground coal miners with protections from dismissal unless the employer has just cause. In addition, miners would receive protections allowing them to speak freely during investigations.  
•    Modernizing 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.
•    Increasing MSHA’s Accountability – 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.
•    Guaranteeing Basic Protections in All Other Workplaces – 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.

More information on these reforms

On February 7, a natural gas explosion ripped through the construction site of the Kleen
Energy Natural Gas Power Plant in Middletown, Conn., killing six workers, injuring dozens, and causing extensive property damage. Federal, state, and local investigators agree that the likely cause was the result of a natural ‘gas blow’ operation near an ignition source. Gas blows are used to clean out construction debris from pipes by forcing natural gas at high pressures. A similar explosion occurred at a Slim Jim factory in North Carolina in June 2009, which killed three workers and injured 71.

“Together with the other tragedies that occurred, as the world of heartache and loss that have resulted, the lessons here could not be any more apparent or urgent,” said Jodi Thomas, wife of Ron Crabb who was killed in the explosion on February 7. “Failing to make good come from this would be the biggest tragedy of all.”

The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB), an independent federal agency that investigates major industrial accidents including the Kleen Energy and Slim Jim explosions, agreed that there are no national protections and made recommendations to prevent such explosions from occurring.

“CSB investigators have determined that no specific federal workplace safety standards prohibit intentional, planned releases of natural gas into workplaces, as occurred here on February 7,” said John Bresland, member of the CSB. “We need to put an end to the unsafe and potentially deadly practice of venting huge volumes of natural gas in the vicinity of workers and ignition sources.”

While the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issues general industry and construction standards, the agency does not have a standard on the handling of natural gas or methane. In addition, national fire code standards adopted by some states developed by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) are voluntary and do not apply to power plants.

“Particularly with 125 more natural gas power plants commissioned to be built over the next five years, it behooves us to explore exactly what went wrong here in Middletown and take the necessary steps to see it does not happen again,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT).

CSB recommended today that OSHA promulgate regulations addressing this procedure and the handling of explosive gasses, the NFPA update fire-protection standards, manufacturers provide guidance on using alternative methods to clean fuel gas piping, and states enact legislation preventing the use of flammable gas to clean pipes.   

“While we can never undo the tragic events of February, we can honor the memory of the fallen by guaranteeing that we have the regulations and standards in place to ensure that every worker is protected,” said Rep. John Larson (D-CT).

“We are writing to urge the Department of the Interior to actively engage OSHA to seek that agency’s expertise and experience on process safety management prior to issuing any final ‘Safety and Environmental Management Systems’ regulation,” Miller and Rahall wrote. “The MMS proposed regulation and OSHA’s rule share a common feature: both are focused on management systems to ensure hydrocarbons stay inside pipes in complex industrial processes such as oil rigs and refineries. While the purpose of the proposed MMS rule is laudable – to improve environmental and worker health and safety on the Outer Continental Shelf – we have some concerns that the rule is not comprehensive enough.”

At an Education and Labor Committee hearing this week on oil rig worker health and safety protections, MMS testified that it is working on a process safety management regulation for offshore oil rigs, like the Deepwater Horizon, but has not coordinated their proposal with experts at OSHA. In addition, MMS stated that the agency is basing their new proposal on voluntary oil industry standards.

View the full text of Miller and Rahal's letter

“The Inspector General’s alert raises very serious concerns that go to the heart of health and safety of mine workers. Prior to Assistant Secretary Main’s confirmation, MSHA obstructed a key safety enforcement tool that could have endangered the lives of mine workers,” said Miller, chairman of the House Education and Labor. “We will continue our rigorous oversight of mine safety, including introduction of significant reforms to our nation’s health and safety laws in the coming days. This memorandum also raises questions about whether MSHA districts have sufficient resources to enforce the law.”

According to the key findings, the Inspector General is “very concerned about mines removed for reasons other than appropriate consideration of the health and safety conditions at those mines. MSHA is not subjecting these mines to the enhanced oversight that accompanies potential POV status, yet it does not have evidence that they had reduced their rate of significant and substantial violations. As a result, miners may be subjected to increased safety risks.”

Once a mine is notified that they may be under a pattern of violation, the mine must take immediate actions to come up with a plan that reduces future violations – approved by federal mine safety officials – or face tougher sanctions.

“In light of the current tragedy in Gulf, I hope we can answer whether there is a better way to oversee and protect the health and safety of oil rig workers,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller, chairman of the committee. “The Deepwater disaster clearly demonstrates that the status quo is not good enough. We must do better.”

For example, witnesses from the U.S. Coast Guard and the Bureau of Ocean Energy could not identify specific protections for workers who blow the whistle on unsafe working conditions or operations.

“These are inherently dangerous working conditions. Now there is a question whether a worker has the protection to say ‘stop’ in face of danger without fear of retaliation. That is a very serious problem if that right doesn’t exist in the law,” said Miller.

Miller also raised questions regarding BOE’s development of a process safety management regulation without the proper involvement of OSHA, which has years of experience in carrying out such a standard.

Process safety management standards are used to prevent or contain a catastrophic release of hazardous materials in high-risk operations present in the chemical and petroleum industries.

Witnesses also testified that despite some initial problems with coordination on worker protections for workers cleaning up the oil spill, efforts are better coordinated among OSHA, the Coast Guard and BP, which is responsible for providing personal protective equipment to workers.  

Dr. John Howard, director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), an agency part of the Centers for Disease Control, testified that cleanup workers face many risks such as exposure to heat stress and toxic substances that have both short and long-term health implications.

“It is important to protect response workers, volunteers and Gulf coast residents against potential health hazards now so that we can prevent future chronic health effects associated with this spill,” said Howard. Howard also said that NIOSH is currently collecting the names and job duties for the thousands of workers currently involved in the cleanup so they can track current and future health problems.

Read opening statements from the hearing or watch an archived webcast

“Americans should be outraged that there is no law that entitles them to know how much Wall Street takes out of their 401(k) account and what Wall Street does with that money,” said U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews (D-NJ), chairman of the Health, Employment Labor and Pensions Subcommittee.  “When an American puts a dollar in their retirement account, they don’t expect to get 72 cents back after a lifetime of saving. They expect that dollar to be invested and grow.”

Miller and Andrews were joined at a press conference by: Karen Friedman, policy director of the Pension Rights Center; Cristina Martin-Firvida, director of economic issues at AARP; and Christian E. Weller a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and associate professor of public policy at the University of Massachusetts Boston.  

To watch a recording of the press conference, click here.

Below is the letter accompanying each pie:

Dear Senator:

There is currently no requirement that Wall Street tell accountholders how much they take out of Americans’ 401(k)-style accounts. With more than 50 million Americans relying on these plans to finance their retirements, hidden fees make a big difference in families’ retirement security.

The attached pie chart (which is delicious!) represents Americans’ 401(k) retirement savings. Yet, nearly a third of the pie is missing. This missing slice represents what Wall Street takes from many 401(k) accountholders in hidden and excessive fees.

A one-percentage point difference in fees over a lifetime of saving reduces some accounts by 28 percent, according to a Department of Labor calculation.

This is why the House of Representatives acted decisively in May to pass 401(k) fee disclosure protections as part of the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act (H.R. 4213). However, last week, the Senate proposed to strike these vital protections from the bill at the expense of hard-working Americans.

These 401(k) fee disclosure provisions do not mandate the level of fees that 401(k) service providers may or may not charge. And, it does not add any cost to the bill. It simply requires disclosure of all fees plan participants and plan sponsors pay.

Americans 401(k) investments, which total approximately $3 trillion, belong to those who own the account, not Wall Street firms.  At a time when the middle class has already lost too much of their retirement savings because of the financial scandals, they shouldn’t also be losing out because of unconscionable hidden fees.

I urge you to stop Wall Street from hiding 401(k) fees by restoring the House disclosure provisions. The 50 million Americans with a 401(k)-style plan deserve a fighting chance to keep more of their retirement pie.

Sincerely,


GEORGE MILLER
Chairman

“It is unacceptable for the Senate to eliminate this key consumer protection for the 50 million Americans who have 401(k) plans. We are going to continue to fight to put back these key reforms in this bill,” said Miller. “Once again, this just shows how the heavy hand of Wall Street trumps the concerns of hardworking Americans. At a time when America’s middle class has already lost their retirement savings because of the financial scandals, they shouldn’t also be losing out because of excessive or hidden fees.”

The 401(k) fee disclosure provisions were part of the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act (H.R. 4213), important legislation that the House of Representatives approved and sent to the Senate on May 28. Today, Sen. Max Baucus introduced proposed changes to the legislation that included the elimination of the requirement that 401(k)-type plans disclose all fees that participants pay.  

Federal law does not require the disclosure of fees taken out of workers’ 401(k)-style accounts. With more than 50 million Americans relying on these plans to finance their retirements, hidden fees can make a big difference in families’ retirement security. The Government Accountability Office found that a one-percentage point difference in fees could cut retirement assets by nearly 20 percent.

Provisions regarding fee disclosure were based on the 401(k) Fair Disclosure and Pension Security Act, which was authored by Miller and approved by the Education and Labor Committee last year.

“It is good news that our nation's economy is improving and headed in the right direction. Unemployment is down and the economy is creating jobs. In the first five months of 2010, the economy created nearly half a million new jobs, not including temporary census jobs.  It is easy to forget that not too long ago this country was shedding more than 700,000 jobs a month. The turnaround is the result of tough choices that this Congress and the Obama administration had to make to save us from total disaster caused by the financial scandals.

“However, for the millions of Americans still looking for work, the economic recovery cannot come fast enough. And, we are seeing reports of layoffs of hundreds of thousands of workers beginning this summer in local communities. These layoffs have the potential to stall the economic recovery because these workers pay mortgages, shop at local stores and provide for their families. Our nation can ill afford the economic consequences of an additional hundreds of thousands of workers going without a paycheck.

“Our responsibility to keep the economic recovery moving forward has not ended. That’s why I introduced the Local Jobs for America Act (H.R. 4812) earlier this year. It will create up to a million jobs quickly in both the public and private sectors and help restore vital services that families rely on. I am pleased to see so many of my colleagues support this legislation and that Senator Sherrod Brown announced he will be introducing a companion bill in the Senate.”

Provisions included in H.R. 4213 regarding fee disclosure are based on the 401(k) Fair Disclosure and Pension Security Act, which was authored by Miller and approved by the Education and Labor Committee last year.

Federal law does not require the disclosure of fees taken out of workers’ 401(k)-style accounts. With more than 50 million Americans relying on these plans to finance their retirements, hidden fees can make a big difference in families’ retirement security. The Government Accountability Office found that a one-percentage point difference in fees could cut retirement assets by nearly 20 percent.

H.R. 4213 also includes provisions that would make modest adjustments to funding requirements of traditional pension plans so plan sponsors will not have to choose between freezing plans or cutting jobs.

“This bill will save jobs by providing pension plans the flexibility they need to continue their plans without freezing or defaulting,” said Miller. “All liabilities must still be paid, but plans will have more time to make up for the historic financial collapse.”

More information on the 401(k) and pension provisions in H.R. 4213

“This massive job loss will harm far more than the public servants who face unemployment.  For one, our communities will be deprived of the vital services they deliver.  Schools would see larger classes sizes, our homes would be less protected from fire, and our streets would become less safe,” the EPI analysis said.

Since the recession began, an estimated half-million Americans have lost their jobs in local communities because of tight budgets. EPI estimates that by 2012, more than 400,000 jobs would have to be restored just to return local government services to pre-recession levels.

“Our nation’s economic progress can ill afford another wave of steep layoffs, which have the potential to overwhelm the significant gains our economy has made,” said U.S Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chair of the House Education and Labor Committee. “In order to sustain our economic recovery, direct assistance to local communities is urgently needed to hold off these layoffs.”   

“Layoffs mean a reduction in critical services, and a reduction in tax revenue,” said U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), who is drafting legislation to help restore services and prevent lay-offs. “It’s critical that we prevent further economic downturn by ensuring that local communities have the resources they need to maintain services and prevent lay-offs.”

“With states and local governments around the country poised to lay-off thousands of workers in order to balance their budgets, it is imperative that Congress pass legislation to directly create jobs. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus worked closely with Chairman Miller to ensure that the Local Jobs for America Act includes money for on-the-job training and targets funds to communities with persistent levels of poverty and high unemployment rates,” said Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus. “Americans are hurting and communities are suffering and Congress has a duty to act quickly to deliver relief to those most in need of help.”

Cuts to public jobs also reduce employment significantly in the private sector. EPI estimated that for every 100 public-sector workers laid off, 30 private sector workers are let go because of the reduction in consumer spending in the local economy.

EPI says that it can take up to three years for local budgets to recover once a turnaround takes hold. This forces local governments to choose between cutting important services like public safety and raising taxes during an economic recovery.

House Democrats, led by Rep. Miller, introduced the Local Jobs for America Act (H.R. 4812), which will create up to a million jobs quickly in both the public and private sectors and help restore vital services that families rely on. The bill has 161 cosponsors to date.

The bill – developed with a bipartisan group of mayors, county officials and others – will provide $75 billion over two years to local communities to hold off planned cuts or to hire back workers for local services that have been eliminated because of tight budgets. Funding would go directly to local communities and nonprofit community organizations to decide how best to use the funds.

The legislation also provides $24 billion to states to help support 300,000 education jobs, put 5,500 law enforcement officers on the beat, and retain, rehire, and hire firefighters. The Local Jobs for America Act  also funds approximately 50,000 additional private-sector on-the-job training positions to enable workers to acquire core job skills and to help local businesses put people back to work.

Last week, EPI found that the cost of the legislation devoted to local communities would be offset by $39 billion because it would keep taxpayers on payrolls and reduce spending on unemployment and other social safety net benefits.

More information on the Local Jobs for America Act, including estimates on job creation by local communities and support for the bill

U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chair of the House Education and Labor Committee and a lead advocate in Congress for education jobs, released the following statement.

“The financial industry collapse has trickled down to local communities in the form of decreased revenues, lost property taxes and, ultimately, harmful budget cuts to school districts across the country. Without immediate action, our students and teachers stand to suffer the consequences of a system breakdown in which they played no part. If we balk now and let our students lose a year of learning in our schools because of the of financial scandals, it will be a scandal on the Congress.”

“These budget cuts would punish teachers, devastate communities and set back the significant progress students have made since the implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Keeping teachers in classrooms and educators in schools is part of a larger strategy of getting Americans back to work. By investing this emergency money to save jobs, we prevent further turmoil by keeping unemployment and COBRA costs from spiraling out of control and creating more burden on local communities.”

View the state by state estimates

View the White House fact sheet, “Keep Our Teachers Working”

“Before this Congress and President Obama took decisive action, our nation was losing more than 750,000 jobs a month. It is clear that without the Recovery Act, our nation would be still dealing with an economic catastrophe caused by the financial scandals,” said Miller, the chair of the House Education and Labor Committee. “While there is more work to continue the recovery, it is clear that the Recovery Act was the right decision. Now is not the time to return to the policies that created this mess.”

The CBO found that the Recovery Act raised the nation’s gross domestic product by as much as 4.2 percentage points, lowered the unemployment rate by 1.5 percentage points, and increased the number of people employed by as much as 2.8 million in the first quarter.  

Miller is the author of the Local Jobs for America Act, legislation to create and save a million jobs over the next two years by restoring vital services in local communities. The recession has forced states and municipalities to cut jobs that are critically important to American families – teachers, police, firefighters, childcare workers, and others. The bill currently has 161 cosponsors and is supported by more than 300 organizations.

“Providing all our children with a world-class education is critical to a sustainable economic recovery. Sadly, budget cuts across the country have threatened the jobs of hundreds of thousands of our teachers, guidance counselors, principals, cafeteria workers, librarians and more. These job losses are devastating for students and our communities. We can’t allow a child’s education to become a casualty of what is happening in our economy.

“I want to commend Chairman Obey for his vision and unwavering commitment to America’s students, teachers and families. Chairman Obey knows that with serious investments in education jobs, we can stave off a crisis in our nation’s schools by keeping teachers in the classrooms helping our children learn.

“This emergency spending will also build on our recent investments in the Pell Grant scholarship so every eligible student can continue to have access to an affordable college education. These investments place the scholarship on solid ground by paying for the accumulated shortfall, fulfilling our promise to students and families who rely on the scholarship by ensuring they will continue to receive benefits. We have a critical opportunity to make a real difference in the future of this country.”

Chairman Miller introduced the Local Jobs for America Act in March to help create and save public and private sector jobs and restore vital services in local communities.

***
Good morning. I would like to welcome everyone to today’s hearing on the Upper Big Branch Mine tragedy. The Education and Labor Committee has traveled to Beckley, West Virginia to hear from families who are grieving and looking for answers to our nation’s most devastating mine tragedy in forty years.

Just a few weeks ago, Americans were once again transfixed on an unfolding tragedy at a coal mine, while rescuers worked heroically to find miners who we all hoped were still alive. On April 5, a massive explosion on a scale that is nearly incomprehensible ripped through the Upper Big Branch Mine. 

Our nation hoped and prayed that early reports of four unaccounted miners indicated that there might be survivors. But, sadly, these hopes faded.  Twenty-nine coal miners died that day. More importantly, this community lost husbands, fathers, sons, and best friends.

On behalf of all of my colleagues, I want to express our deepest sympathies to each of you and your families. Our thoughts continue to be with you and your communities who have suffered such a big loss.

I know your testimony today will be painful for you to deliver. Nevertheless, your testimony is critical for us to hear. I thank you very much for agreeing to participate in today’s hearing.

I would also like to recognize all of the brave miners involved in the rescue effort. These men and women worked around the clock, day after day. You, too, have the appreciation of this nation for your selfless efforts.

I would also like to extend our gratitude to Governor Joe Manchin and Congressman Nick Rahall, who were on the ground helping families and miners during the rescue efforts. 

Secretary Hilda Solis also joins us today. She was also on the ground and met with miners and their families during this ordeal.

I am also grateful for the participation of other members of the West Virginia delegation today -- Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito, Congressman Alan Mollohan, and Senator Jay Rockefeller. The West Virginia delegation has provided invaluable support to make sure that lessons  from this tragedy are not forgotten.

I want you to know that we are all working together on legislation to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.

Today we will hear from a panel of family members about how this tragedy has affected them.

While the cause of this tragedy remains under investigation, the hazards miners face while underground are not a mystery.

We know how coal dust can explode like gunpowder when ignited by methane. We understand the disastrous results when a mine owner operates on the margins of safety in order to put more coal on the belt. We know what happens when workers’ voices are silenced by fear of retaliation for speaking out on safety problems they see. And, we know the consequences for safety when an operator games the system in order to escape much tougher safety oversight. 

Miners die. That’s what happens.

Despite these truths, I am sure that many are skeptical that elected officials have the willingness to do anything about it. There is frustration that as attention to this tragedy fades, mine operators will simply return to business as usual. That no one will be held accountable for the deaths of so many loved ones, and real safety reforms will fall by the wayside again.

I share this concern. I’ve seen it happen before.

But we cannot succumb to defeatism and cynicism when it comes to the lives of our fellow human beings. I will not.

This committee has heard from too many families over the years who have suffered a great loss, as you have. I made a promise to them and I cannot forget that promise.

I made a pledge to the families of Sago, Aracoma Alma, Darby and Crandall Canyon that we would do everything in our power to uncover the cause of those tragedies, to hold responsible parties accountable, and to prevent other miners from suffering a similar fate. 

I extend this same promise to all the families of Upper Big Branch. Your families paid the ultimate price for a job our nation depends on.

Losing a family member to a senseless tragedy could fill you with a sense of powerlessness. However, I have found that in the face of overwhelming tragedy, families display incredible strength and determination.

Coal miners’ families helped to provide the final push to give miners a fighting chance after an emergency. As a result, mines must have at least 96 hours of breathable air stockpiled, lifelines, tracking and communications systems installed, and that mine rescue teams be properly trained, equipped and ready to respond. While this was a significant step forward, I felt that we missed an opportunity to do more to protect the health and safety of our nation’s miners.

Every day, miners show up for their shift knowing that there is a chance they may not return to their families.  Miners for generations have lived with this fear.

But I firmly believe that there are things we can do to ensure that every miner who goes to work is be able to return home safely to their families at the end of their shift.  Congress has an obligation to make sure that is the case.

And we will.

I thank you all for coming today and look forward to your testimony.

“Guaranteeing the disclosure of hidden 401(k) fees will give Americans a fighting chance to strengthen their retirement and increase our nation’s future economic security,” said Miller. “We need to ensure that 401(k)s are run in the best interests of accountholders, not for the sake of boosting Wall Street’s bottom line. I would like to thank Chairman Levin and Congressmen Rangel and Neal for working with the Education and Labor Committee on these important provisions.”

Federal law does not require the disclosure of fees taken out of workers’ 401(k)-style accounts. With more than 50 million Americans relying on these plans to finance their retirements, hidden fees can make a big difference in families’ retirement security. The Government Accountably Office found that a one-percentage point difference in fees could cut retirement assets by nearly 20 percent.

Provisions included in H.R. 4213 regarding fee disclosure are based on the 401(k) Fair Disclosure and Pension Security Act, which was authored by Miller and approved by the Education and Labor Committee last year. H.R. 4213 also includes provisions to make modest adjustments to funding requirements so plan sponsors will not have to choose between making forced cash contributions, freezing plans or cutting jobs.

More information on the 401(k) and pension provisions in H.R. 4213

“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 (D-CA), chair of the committee. “In the wake of the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster and other tragedies, I am deeply concerned about how various coal mining conglomerates have encouraged or discouraged safe mining practices within their mines.”

The committee has standing authority to subpoena documentary evidence and to compel witnesses to appear at committee hearings. A deposition serves as an intermediate step between a full public hearing and an informal staff interview. It creates a formal record and allows the committee to explore issues in a more sustained manner than would be practical at a hearing.

While not unprecedented, the granting of deposition authority is rare. It has been granted to the committee once before, during the Crandall Canyon Mine investigation in the 110th Congress. That investigation led to a criminal referral to the Department of Justice, in large part because of evidence obtained in depositions.

To prevent cuts to vital local services, part of the legislation would provide $75 billion over two years directly to local communities to stop planned cuts or to hire back 675,000 workers for local services. EPI’s analysis of this part of the legislation found that almost $39 billion of the cost would be offset because it would keep taxpayers on payrolls and reduce spending on unemployment and other social safety net benefits.

“[The Local Jobs for America Act’s] net cost will be much lower than advertised as it puts people back to work and turns them into tax-payers rather than benefit-collectors,” the EPI analysis concluded.

The bill also would provide $24 billion to states to help support 250,000 education jobs, put 5,500 law enforcement officers on the beat, and retain, rehire, and hire firefighters. The Local Jobs for America Act would also fund approximately 50,000 additional private-sector on-the-job training positions to help local businesses put people back to work. Workers would be able to acquire core job skills and important work experience for private employers.

Job estimates released by the Education and Labor Committee.

More than 300 national and local organizations have announced their support of the Local Jobs for America Act to House leadership.

“It is clear from this report that when we invest in education jobs, we can make a difference in local communities and help restart local economies. This is what we need to keep our workforce competitive and regain our footing as a leader in the global marketplace.    

“Sadly, the jobs of hundreds of thousands of teachers and school staff are still at risk, which would be devastating for our students and our nation’s economic future. We have to demand the best for our students, our teachers and our schools. We won’t be able to maintain the success of the Recovery Act if our students can’t continue to build on the progress they’ve made. Congress needs to act swiftly to help keep teachers in the classroom and students learning.”

In March, Chairman Miller introduced the Local Jobs for America Act to invest $23 billion to help states support education jobs.

More information about the legislation to help save local jobs

“Today’s announcement is an important example of how the benefits of the new health reform law are starting to kick in for Americans. These rules will help bring financial and health security to millions of young adults who are just starting their careers in a difficult job market and don’t have access to employer-provided coverage. They will also bring peace of mind to millions of parents who won’t have to worry about their children’s lack of coverage. They will help drastically reduce the percentage of all young adults – currently about 30 percent – who do not have insurance by allowing them to stay on their parents’ plans until they turn 26 and will provide an important bridge of coverage until reforms come into full effect in 2014.”

View a fact sheet on coverage of young adults

“Today’s announcement is a devastating blow for workers and communities in New York City, but sadly they are not alone. All across the country, we are hearing from mayors and community leaders who are deeply worried about pending budget crises and their impacts on workers, their families and municipalities. A new study by the American Association of School Administrators predicts that over 80 percent of school districts will have to cut jobs for the coming year.

“Whether it’s the potential loss of teachers, school nurses, janitors, firefighters, law enforcement officers, or countless other critical services – it’s clear that these looming crises, if left unaddressed, stand to threaten the livelihoods of thousands of families, to cut off essential public services, and to undermine our broader economic recovery. In addition to laying off teachers, Mayor Bloomberg’s budget will close 16 daycare centers, 50 senior centers and 20 firehouses, and will shutter libraries, lay off child caseworkers, and close adult literacy programs.

“Instead of cutting services and adding to the unemployment crisis, we should be doing the opposite: Putting people to work providing services that are needed now more than ever. The Local Jobs for America Act has been steadily gaining momentum for months among local mayors and county officials – Democrats and Republicans. The bill will quickly create and save up to one million jobs in both the public and private sectors, and lets local communities decide where jobs are most needed.   These will be local jobs that we can count – and jobs that we can count on.

“The bill means that local governments won’t have to balance their budgets on the backs of students, working families, or homeowners. Local officials shouldn’t have to choose between raising taxes and eliminating key services.

“It will also help local businesses put people back to work by investing in private sector job training for workers – and by spurring hiring. Local businesses won’t be able to start hiring again until consumers start spending again. Investing in jobs for public sector workers who have been pink-slipped will put money back in their pockets – generating spending at their local grocery stores, pharmacies and other retail shops.

“Finally, it will protect our children from paying an unfair price. Teacher and education-related cuts ultimately hurt our students – and our future. This legislation includes a $23 billion education jobs fund that will support at least 250,000 jobs for teachers, principals, cafeteria workers and other key school personnel.

“For all of these reasons, Congress should act immediately. Americans shouldn’t have to wait for another announcement.”

The Local Jobs for America Act was introduced in March and currently has 158 co-sponsors. It has been endorsed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National League of Cities, the National Association of Counties, education groups, and over 300 organizations. Learn more about the Local Jobs for America Act.

Today, both the New York Times and the Washington Post ran opinion pieces calling for Congress to act on Miller’s bill.

Earlier this week, Miller joined the nation’s leading teachers unions and teachers who have been pink-slipped at a press conference. View footage from the event.

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 the Gross v. FBL Financial Supreme Court decision. The 5 to 4 ruling has resulted in victims of age discrimination facing a higher legal burden of proof than those alleging race, sex, national origin or religious discrimination.

“Today we heard testimony calling on Congress to reject the Supreme Court’s misguided decision in the Gross case and restore justice for American workers of all ages,” said U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews, chair of the subcommittee. “Older workers, who are already struggling enough to keep their jobs in this economy, deserve the same protections as those discriminated against on the basis of race, ethnicity or religion. The Supreme Court turned decades of well-established law on its head when it held that age discrimination is permissible if it is merely a motivating factor in an adverse employment decision. H.R. 3721 prevents claims like Mr. Gross’ from being dismissed based on sheer semantics  and guarantees that all legitimate victims of age discrimination will not be shut out of the courthouse.”

In 2003, Jack Gross was demoted by FBL Financial with lower pay and his duties were reassigned to a younger colleague. Gross claimed that the demotion was because of his age. A jury agreed that the company unlawfully demoted him and awarded him $46,945 in back pay. However, an appeals court overturned the verdict, which was reaffirmed in a June 2009 Supreme Court decision written by Justice Clarence Thomas.

 “The court essentially hijacked my case and used it as a vehicle to water down the ADEA, a law written by the branch of government closest to the people,” said Gross. “Editorials and bloggers dubbed me this year’s Lilly Ledbetter. I take that as a compliment.”

Last year, President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which overturned a 2007 Supreme Court decision that severely restricted the rights of employees to challenge unlawful pay discrimination based on gender.  

In Gross’s case, a narrow Supreme Court majority said that it was not enough to show that age was a motivating factor of the employer’s discriminatory action, but a plaintiff must show that age was the ‘but-for’ reason to win a case. The new standard made it more difficult for older workers to hold employers accountable than those alleging race, sex, national origin or religious discrimination. In his dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote that the majority of the court had “engaged in unnecessary lawmaking.”

“[The Supreme Court decision] undermined Congress’s legislative intent and immediately impacted older workers, relegating them to second-class status among victims of discrimination,” said Michael Foreman, director of the civil rights appellate clinic at Penn State’s Dickenson School of Law. “Congress should take positive steps to ensure that our civil rights and employment laws protect all American workers.”

Witnesses testified that these protections are especially important for older workers because they often face an uphill battle of holding onto jobs in a struggling economy and can have a harder time finding new employment opportunities – often at lower pay than their previous jobs.

“Once out of work, older job seekers face a prolonged and often discouraging job search,” said Gail Aldrich, member of the board of directors of the AARP. “Once out of work, older persons are more likely than the younger unemployed to stop looking for work and drop out of the labor force.  If they do find work, they are more likely than younger job finders to earn less than they did in their previous employment.”

More information on the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act

“The Early Retiree Reinsurance Program will provide an important backstop for our nation’s employers who are struggling to cover early retirees because of rising health care costs. Historically, this coverage has been an essential source of health insurance for retired workers and was a common benefit among larger institutions. Unfortunately, these increasing costs have pressured many employers to drop promised coverage, leaving retirees to fend for themselves.

“Over the past two decades, the share of large firms offering retiree health coverage has dropped by half, subjecting a growing number of early retirees to price-gouging by insurance companies in the individual market, if they can get coverage at all. This group often faces the highest costs for obtaining coverage because they are more likely to have a preexisting or chronic medical condition. This program, combined with the creation of the High Risk Pool Program, will give older Americans and those with a preexisting conditions greater access to quality, affordable coverage until additional reforms come into effect in 2014.

“This new benefit, along with the pledge by insurance companies to end rescissions and allow young people to stay on their parents plans through age 26, is another example of how health insurance reforms are already starting to improve the health security and quality of life of American families.”

“In the name of tens of thousands of miners and their families who put their lives on the line every day, we call on mine operators to make the safety and health of their workers their top priority,” the lawmakers wrote. “In the coming weeks Congress will be working on reforms to the Mine Act to close enforcement loopholes, strengthen MSHA’s oversight and provide more federal resources to close the growing backlog of citation appeals.  We urge the mining industry to drop its historic record of opposing critical mine safety improvements and instead work with Congress and the Obama Administration to pass overdue reforms.”

This afternoon two miners were reported dead after becoming trapped last night after a roof collapse at Alliance Coal’s Dotiki Mine in Kentucky.

The full text of their letter appears below:
 
***

April 29, 2010

Open Letter to the Nation’s Mine Owners:

During the past month our nation has witnessed four mine tragedies, including the Upper Big Branch mine explosion, which killed 29 miners, the death of one miner at the Beckley Pocahontas Mine, the death of a contract worker at M-Class Mining, and two deaths at the Dotiki Mine today.  Sadly, each of these tragedies was preventable.

In the name of tens of thousands of miners and their families who put their lives on the line every day, we call on mine operators to make the safety and health of their workers their top priority.

In addition to these recent tragedies, the number of mine citations for serious violations has skyrocketed, revealing a dangerous pattern of neglect and failure of commitment by too many operators to comply with the nation’s mine safety laws. Spot inspections just completed by the Mine Safety and Health Administration at 57 coal mines found 1,436 violations and resulted in a staggering 105 closure orders.

The government does not have sufficient resources to be at every mine every day.  Mine operators must take responsibility for ensuring the safety of their employees.    

Today, we call on all of the country’s mine operators to take actions and responsibility immediately to ensure their operations are actively in compliance with all mine safety laws; that adequate resources are being allocated to mine safety; and that managers and employees have full confidence that they may report dangers internally or to regulators without any fear of retaliation or penalty.  

We request that non-union mines give their employees and their families an opportunity to meet with management to suggest additional safety measures and to report dangerous or potentially dangerous conditions. We request that union mine owners do the same with their unions, and work with them to monitor and develop additional safety procedures as needed.  

We also request that each mine employee be given a card in the next three days with MSHA’s toll free number so they can confidentially report potential hazards in the event they fear retaliation.

In the coming weeks Congress will be working on reforms to the Mine Act to close enforcement loopholes, strengthen MSHA’s oversight and provide more federal resources to close the growing backlog of citation appeals.  

We urge the mining industry to drop its historic record of opposing critical mine safety improvements and instead work with Congress and the Obama Administration to pass overdue reforms.   

We look forward to hearing through the mine associations what specific actions each mine operator is taking in response to this letter.      

Sincerely,

GEORGE MILLER
Chair, House Education and Labor Committee

LYNN WOOLSEY
Chair, House Workforce Protections Subcommittee

“As we rebuild our nation’s economy by putting Americans back to work, we must also strengthen our competitiveness for generations to come. Science, technology, mathematics and engineering are all fields that have a long history of spurring American innovation, and are fields that will continue to play an enormous role in both our national and global economies. By voting to pass the renewal of the COMPETES Act, the Science and Technology Committee took an important step toward building a stronger workforce by improving science, technology engineering, and mathematics education in colleges and universities across the U.S.

“This legislation rightly recognizes that today’s students are tomorrow’s innovators, and that our focus on job creation must be coupled with a focus on preparing our students for high-growth, high-demand jobs. It will increase the number of college graduates with degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and help move us closer to achieving President Obama’s goal of having the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020. I congratulate Chairman Gordon and all members of the committee for their work on this bill and look forward to its consideration by the full House.”

More information on the COMPETES Act

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 workplace depends on workers reporting unsafe conditions to their employers or the government without fear of retaliation, and with the knowledge that the government will be there to back them up if the employer does retaliate,” said U.S. Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), chair of the subcommittee.

The Protecting America’s Workers Act (H.R. 2067) and proposed changes to legislation, would update workplace whistleblower protections by mirroring other modern whistleblower statutes, such as the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. The bill would also ensure that victims and their families are kept informed about investigations of fatalities and incidents involving serious injuries or illnesses.

“I believe stronger whistleblower protections and more substantial rights for victims and their families can lead to safer jobsites and ultimately, more men and women who go safely home to their families at the end of the day,” said Jordan Barab, the deputy assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health. “This administration strongly supports the whistleblower provisions of the Protecting America’s Workers Act.”

Under the bill, a seriously injured worker or family member would have the right to meet with OSHA prior to the issuance of a citation, receive copies of a citation at no cost, be informed of any notice of contest and receive pleadings regarding appeals, and make a statement on the record before an agreement to change a citation is finalized.

On January 29, 2009, Robert Fitch died after a fall from a faulty manlift at a Lincoln, Nebraska Archer Daniel Midland pant. Although OSHA cited ADM for operating a dangerous manlift, ADM was not fined for the faulty device that resulted in the death of Fitch. Family members were not included in the investigation and only learned of the final penalty through the media.

“This piece of equipment caused my uncle’s death, and we have since been informed it was inherently unsafe and very scary to use,” said Fitch’s niece, Tonya Ford. “Nine months after hearing about the zero penalty assessed to ADM, my family still did not have answers.”

Celeste Monforton, an assistant research professor at The George Washington University’s Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, said she learned during the Sago mine explosion investigation that family members can make a significant contribution to an accident investigation.

“There is no one more interested in finding the truth about the cause of an on-the-job death than a worker’s loved one,” Monforton testified.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act is also supposed to protect workers who raise concerns with their employers or to ‘blow the whistle’ by reporting unsafe practices to government agencies. However, the 1970 law lacks protections afforded to whistleblowers under modern whistleblower laws and it imposes numerous hurdles that result in many meritorious claims being dismissed.

“The reason I am here to tell my story today is that my employer got away with firing me without any consequences,” said Neal Jorgensen, a whistleblower formerly employed with Plastic Industries in Preston, Idaho. “Although OSHA investigated the facts of my case, found it was sound, and tried to collect the wages I would have earned if I had not been fired, the government lawyers decided not to go to court on my behalf to enforce the law. I found out that I could not have taken the company to court even if I could have afforded it.”

The Protecting America’s Workers Act would strengthen and modernize federal whistleblower statutes. The bill would provide subpoena powers to OSHA investigators, a critical tool in any investigative process, and establish administrative remedies for successful complainants, including preliminary, payment of back wages, and compensatory and punitive damages. It also allows workers to file a lawsuit if the Department of Labor fails to address the case in a timely manner.

“It is essential that Congress incorporate these sound and proven protections into the Occupational Safety and Health Act, so that workers who raise concerns about hazardous working conditions receive the same basic protections against retaliation as those who complain about corporate malfeasance, environmental or transportation hazards, or health care fraud,” said Lynn Rhinehart, general counsel of the AFL-CIO.

The letter urges the firms to end the practice of rescissions -- terminating an individual's coverage once he or she becomes sick -- except in cases of fraud or material misrepresentation.  The letter also asks that these insurers institute independent third-party review whenever a policy is to be rescinded or canceled.

The letter was signed by House Ways and Means Chair Sander M. Levin (D-MI), House Energy and Commerce Chair Henry A. Waxman (D-CA), House Education and Labor Chair George Miller (D-CA), House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chair Pete Stark (D-CA), House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ), House Energy and Commerce Oversight Subcommittee Chair Bart Stupak (D-MI), House Energy and Commerce Chairman Emeritus John D. Dingell (D-MI), and House Education and Labor Health Subcommittee Chair Robert Andrews (D-NJ).

The text of the letter appears below.  For a PDF of the letter, please visit: http://go.usa.gov/iPx

April 27, 2010

Angela F. Braly
Chair of the Board, President, Chief Executive Officer
WellPoint Inc.

George C. Halvorson
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Kaiser Permanente

Don Hamm
President and Chief Executive Officer
Assurant Health

Stephen J. Hemsley
President and Chief Executive Officer
UnitedHealth Group Inc.

Michael B. McCallister
President and Chief Executive Officer
Humana Inc.

Scott P. Serota
President and Chief Executive Officer
Blue Cross Blue Shield Association

Ronald A. Williams
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Aetna Inc.

Dear Madam and Sirs:

Last week, most of your companies announced plans to implement ahead of schedule the provision in the health reform law allowing individuals up to age 26 to obtain coverage through their parents' health insurance.  This step will help many bridge the gap between graduation and the effective date of this requirement.  This decision signals that you are willing to work to make health insurance more accessible and affordable.  We commend you for this step.

Also last week, Secretary Sebelius, reacting to recent media reports, wrote to Ms. Braly asking that WellPoint immediately end its efforts to rescind health insurance coverage except in cases of fraud or intentional misrepresentation of material fact.  These rescissions hurt patients who need coverage the most, such as women diagnosed with breast cancer.  We are writing to ask all of your companies to end any such abusive practices immediately.

In addition, to ensure that rescissions occur only in cases of fraud or intentional misrepresentation of material fact, we request that each of your companies immediately institute a policy of independent, external third party review.  Under such a procedure, no individual health insurance policy should be rescinded until the review confirms that fraud or material misrepresentation has in fact occurred.

Taking these actions now would be consistent with your earlier decision to implement consumer protections for individuals under 26 voluntarily and would further demonstrate a commitment to reliable coverage for your policyholders.

Sincerely,

Sander Levin
Chair, House Committee on Ways and Means

Henry A. Waxman
Chair, House Committee on Energy and Commerce

George Miller
Chair, House Committee on Education and Labor

Pete Stark
Chair, House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee

Frank Pallone, Jr.
Chair, House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee

Bart Stupak
Chair, House Energy and Commerce Oversight Subcommittee

John D. Dingell
Chairman Emeritus, House Committee on Energy and Commerce

Rob Andrews
Chair, House Education and Labor Health Subcommittee

cc: Karen Ignagni, America's Health Insurance Plans

“I am deeply saddened by yet another coal miner’s death. It is especially troubling that this death occurred at a mine that we knew posed a danger to miners. The 48 mines identified publicly last week by this committee continue to pose a danger to our nation’s miners.  The fact is that a mine that has a pattern of safety problems indicates a dangerous workplace. Tragically, we have had to learn that lesson again today.

“Indiscriminate mine owner appeals are letting some of the most dangerous mines to escape tougher penalties and heightened scrutiny. The Obama administration and Congress must correct this problem and correct it now. Mine operators must be held accountable to the highest standard for protecting the safety and health of America’s hard-working miners. We must start clearing this backlog up immediately.”

Last week, the committee released a list of 48 mines identified by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration in August 2009 for increased scrutiny, including ICG’s Pocahontas Mine, but were not targeted due to the more than 16,000 unresolved appeals filed by mine operators. The list includes the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia where 29 miners lost their lives in an explosion on April 5.

In February, the committee held a hearing on how these flood of mine owner appeals of violations were undermining efforts to protect miners by delaying tougher sanctions.

The International Coal Group also owned the Sago mine where an explosion in January 2006 trapped 13 miners. Only one miner survived.

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 family is a challenge for many, witnesses told the subcommittee.

“This legislation comes at a critical time. Women now make up half of America’s workforce, and their incomes are increasingly important to families’ economic survival, testified witness Portia Wu, vice president of the National Partnership for Women & Families. “Working men are also investing more time in child care. And many more Americans are assuming eldercare responsibilities—a trend that will intensify as our country’s population ages.”

Currently, 31 million American women struggle to balance work with the needs of their young families, explained Carol Evans, president of Working Mother Media. Evans continued, “The award proposed in the Woolsey-Miller Bill will add to the tremendous spotlight we shine on the needs of working families.”

“Workers should not have to choose between work and family,” said Woolsey, the chair of the subcommittee. “The Work-Life Balance Award will send a clear message to employers that the federal government recognizes companies that develop family-friendly policies for their workers. In fact, providing work-life benefits has been shown to increase retention, decrease absenteeism, and increase productivity.”

The Work-Life Balance Award Act would establish an annual Work-Life Balance Award at the Department of Labor to be given to employers with exemplary work-life workforce policies.  These policies would be defined as workplace practices “designed to enable employees to achieve a satisfactory work-life balance.” These practices include, but are not limited to: paid sick leave to care for oneself or a sick family member and for the birth or adoption of a child, time off to attend children’s extracurricular activities and school conferences, telecommuting, and job-sharing.  

Any public or private employer of any size is eligible for the award, as long as they comply with federal and state labor and employment laws.

“Deep job cuts at the local level over the next couple of years threaten to derail our nation’s economic recovery,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chair of the committee and lead sponsor of the legislation. “We cannot afford these layoffs just as our schoolchildren cannot afford a missed year of education or the cutting of vital services families and communities rely upon.”   

The bill – developed with a bipartisan group of mayors, county officials and others – will provide $75 billion over two years to local communities to hold off planned cuts or to hire back workers for local services who have been laid-off because of tight budgets. Funding would go directly to eligible local communities and nonprofit community organizations to decide how best to use the funds.

“The impact of the economic downturn has decreased property values and reduced the ability of county governments to provide essential services,” said Judge Glen Whitley (R), chief executive officer of Tarrant County, Texas and incoming president of the National Association of Counties.  “It will probably take longer for counties and other local governments to recover from this recession and this jobs bill is a bridge to get us to a healthy economy. It will help put people back to work and help local governments retain employees and avoid lay-offs.”

The bill also would provide $24 billion to states to help support 250,000 education jobs, put 5,500 law enforcement officers on the beat, and retain, rehire, and hire firefighters.

“In this tough economic climate, it’s important for us to keep local firefighters, police, and teachers at work in the community while easing the burden on local taxpayers and creating new jobs,” said U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME).

The Local Jobs for America Act would also fund approximately 50,000 additional private-sector on-the-job training positions to help local businesses put people back to work. Workers would be able to acquire core job skills and important work experience for private employers.

"Like those in the private sector, our teachers, cops and firefighters have been hard hit by this recession having lost their jobs through no fault of their own," said U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-MO).  "Now more than ever we need to work together to help get people back to work and rebuild our economy by helping local communities provide the services we depend on each day in addition to other measures like helping small businesses who serve as the engine of prosperity and jobs."

Job estimates released by the Education and Labor Committee

More than 300 national and local organizations have announced their support of the Local Jobs for America Act to House leadership.

Letter of support to House leadership

“As we continue working to rebuild our economy and get every American who has lost a job back to work, we must also work to restore the promise of equal pay for equal work. Equal pay for equal work isn’t just a matter of basic fairness, but a smart strategy for economic growth: Paying women the higher incomes they have rightfully earned will boost families’ purchasing power and consumer spending. In the year 2010 there simply is no moral or economic justification for paying women less than men for doing the same job.  

“There are two steps that can finally put an end to this injustice. The Democratic Congress and the Obama administration took the first step last year by enacting the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. It’s time for the Senate to join the House in taking the second step by passing the Paycheck Fairness Act. If we’re serious about restoring the American Dream, then we have to ensure that every American who works hard for a living can earn a fair and decent wage.”

Equal Pay Day commemorates how far into the year a woman must work in order for her wages to equal those of a man in the previous year.

During the first few weeks of the 111th Congress, the House passed both the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act, but the Senate passed only the Ledbetter legislation. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act became the first major bill signed by President Obama.

Learn more about the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

Learn more about the Paycheck Fairness Act

Once a mine is notified that they may be under a pattern of violation, the mine must take immediate actions to come up with a plan that reduces future violations – approved by federal mine safety officials – or face tougher sanctions.

“Given the tragedy that occurred last Monday, the department’s announcement today that a computing error last October prevented them from identifying the Upper Big Branch mine for increased scrutiny is deeply disturbing.

“In light of this disclosure, we will be asking the Labor Department’s Inspector General to examine issues surrounding this disclosure. Specifically, we will ask the Inspector General to examine MSHA’s policy, criteria, regulations and information systems regarding their ‘pattern of violation’ sanctions to determine whether they are reliable and effective in weeding out and sanctioning habitual violators.  The miners who died so tragically at the Upper Big Branch mine, their families, and all the men and women who go to work in our mines each day deserve nothing less.”

In February, the Education and Labor Committee held a hearing on how a flood of mine owner appeals of violations were undermining efforts to protect miners by delaying tougher ‘pattern of violation’ sanctions for 48 of the country’s most dangerous mines.

The law makes health care even more affordable for the middle class, lowers prescription drug costs for seniors by closing the “donut hole” over time, reduces the deficit and strips out special deals that favored one state over another. The bill also makes the most sweeping changes to our federal student loan program in a generation.

U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, and the co-author of both pieces of reform in the House, issued the following statement after attending the signing ceremony:

“Today marked the last leg of a long journey to bring historic health insurance and student loan reforms to the American people. With his signature today, President Obama has changed the way Washington works by ending the stranglehold banks and insurance companies have long held over policymaking. In doing so, he has handed America’s students, families and taxpayers two tremendous victories.

“Because of this law, the promise of quality, affordable health insurance is becoming real for every American. Strong accountability for insurance companies and vital protections for consumers will soon exist. The days of health insurance discrimination are nearly gone.

“Because of this law, college students will be able to graduate with less debt, less burdensome debt payments, and more opportunity. Students and families will finally have a federal college aid system that works in their best interests – not in the interest of banks or big corporations.

“This is a major step forward for America’s middle class. Thanks to the leadership and courage of President Obama, families and taxpayers have won two important victories that will help improve their lives, reduce our deficit, strengthen our middle class, and secure a stronger economic future.”

More information on the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010

“President Obama was right to put aside partisanship and delay to ensure the proper operations of important government functions. The National Labor Relations Board has not had a working majority since 2007 and has been unable to carry out the board’s duties. During this time, scores of cases have been awaiting adjudication. Craig Becker and Mark Pearce are extremely qualified, and both business and workers should welcome a fully functioning board.”

“Today the Senate listened to the American people by voting to improve our historic health reform law and stop sending wasteful subsidies to big banks, instead of students. These health reform improvements will start to benefit Americans immediately by making coverage more affordable, beginning to close the Medicare donut hole for seniors, and providing critical consumer protections for all Americans.

“These reforms will also end a sweetheart deal that banks have enjoyed for decades, at the expense of students and families. These savings will be used to help students and families pay for college and reduce our deficit. In fact, a new CNN poll shows a majority of Americans, on a bipartisan basis, support ending this handout for banks and reinvesting the savings directly in students. With one move, we will make college dramatically more affordable, prepare students for good jobs, help keep jobs in America, and reduce the deficit.

“I want to commend the Senate, and especially Senator Tom Harkin, for insisting on including reforms that will help families grappling with the crushing costs of both college and health care. In the coming hours the House will take the last leg of this historic journey by voting to send this measure to President Obama’s desk.”

More information on the health insurance reforms the House is voting on today

More information on the student loan reforms the House is voting on today

“Today marks a milestone in American history. This law takes a historic and dramatic first step to put families and small businesses back in control of their own health care, end insurance company abuses, and ensure all Americans have access to quality, affordable, secure health insurance.

“One last vital step remains in order to fully deliver on the changes for which Americans have waited nearly 100 years.  The Senate must now join the House in passing a companion measure that will significantly improve this new law by making coverage more affordable for families, strengthening immediate benefits and protections for consumers, and making the law fairer for all of the American people.

“The companion measure also includes a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to stop wasting $61 billion of taxpayers’ money subsidizing banks in our student loan programs, and instead use that money to directly help students pay for college and reduce the deficit. Insurance companies and banks are now waging a last-ditch effort to kill both reforms in the Senate. Senators cannot allow special interests and their lobbyists to drown out the voices of the students, workers and families who overwhelmingly support this last piece of reform. I urge them to pass and send this bill to President Obama as quickly as possible.”   

More information on these additional improvements to the health reform law.

More information on the student loan reform piece of this legislation.

“President Obama has nominated two exceptionally qualified individuals who will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Chemical Safety Board,” said Miller. “Since the Chemical Safety Board has a number of important cases they are currently investigating, Dr. Moure-Eraso and Mr. Griffon deserve to receive speedy consideration by the Senate.”

Similar to the National Transportation Safety Board that investigates airline incidents, the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) is a small independent agency that investigates industrial chemical accidents and makes recommendations to appropriate health and safety regulators in order to prevent future events. Among other tragedies, the CSB has investigated the Port Wentworth, Ga. Imperial Sugar refinery and the BP-Texas City refinery explosions. The CSB is currently investigating the Middletown, Connecticut power plant explosion that killed six.

Background:

Rafael Moure-Eraso, Nominee for Chair, U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board
Rafael Moure-Eraso is currently serving as Graduate Coordinator of the Department of Work Environment, School of Health and Environment at the University of Massachusetts Lowell where he had been a Professor and Chair of the department for the last five years. He has been a faculty member at the University of Massachusetts for twenty years as an Associate Professor (1988) and promoted to full Professor in 2000. He holds BS and MS degrees in Chemical Engineering (University of Pittsburg ‘67, Bucknell University ’70) and a MS and Ph.D. in Environment Health (Industrial Hygiene) (University of Cincinnati ’74, ’82). He is a currently Certified Industrial Hygienist for Comprehensive Practice (CIH) since 1983.

Mark Griffon, Nominee for Member of the US Chemical Safety and Hazard investigation Board
Mark Griffon's career has included work in academia, the public sector and the private sector.  In 1992, Mr. Griffon founded Creative Pollution Solutions, Inc. to provide environmental and occupational health consulting including management and technical oversight of large remediation projects, waste site characterization, radiation surveys, health and safety and health physics audits and investigations, and exposure assessment research.  Mr. Griffon holds a B.S. in Chemistry from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an M.S. in Radiological Sciences from University of Massachusetts Lowell.

By law, durable medical device suppliers who deliver them to Medicare patients must be reimbursed within 15 to 30 days of submitting a payment request. Often, companies that fraudulently bill Medicare for medical supplies get reimbursed and close shop within 60 to 90 days before Medicare detects fraud– what the FBI calls ‘pay and chase’.

Rep. Miller’s provision would require the secretary of health and human services hold the initial reimbursement to a new durable medical device supplier for 90 days when she determines there is a significant risk of fraud. This provision will give Medicare investigators the time they need to determine whether the business is legitimate.

The health insurance reform legislation contains critical provisions to improve Medicare and Medicaid’s fraud prevention by strengthening existing compliance and enforcement tools, raising penalties, and increasing resources to root out waste fraud and abuse.

Because of this legislation, for the first time in America’s history, never again will Americans have to worry about losing their health insurance if they change or lose their job.
 
Insurance companies will not be able to jack up premiums or deny coverage because of a pre-existing condition.
 
They will not be able to drop people’s coverage when they get sick – and need it most.
 
There is no other plan on the table today that offers Americans these vital assurances.

Our reforms will improve the lives of every single American – those with insurance today and those without it.
 
They will improve our economy by reducing the deficit, creating up to 4 million jobs over the next decade, and unshackling innovative business decisions from crippling health insurance costs. 
 
Our legislation offers families and employees of small businesses access to choices of affordable health plans; security and control over their health care; vital federal and state consumer protections; accountability for insurance companies; and coverage for 32 million Americans who don’t have insurance today.
 
Now, we’re pairing these truly historic health insurance reforms with another opportunity that cannot be missed: The chance to make the single largest investment in college affordability ever – and at no cost to taxpayers.

We are going to take tens of billions of dollars that for decades has gone to banks in the federal student loan program and instead give that money directly to students and to pay down the deficit.
 
For decades, these banks have had one of the sweetest deals in America: They receive taxpayer subsidies to make virtually risk-free loans to students.
 
As we speak, the federal government is now funding 88 percent of all federal student loan volume.
 
It has proven to be a more stable lender for students through shaky financial markets and a more cost-effective lender for taxpayers.
 
Ending these subsidies is not a radical idea.
 
President Clinton first identified these subsidies as wasteful in the 1990s.
 
President Bush eyed them in three of his budgets.
 
And President Obama has correctly proposed ending this boondoggle once and for all by originating all loans through the federal direct lending program – saving taxpayers $61 billion over 10 years. 
 
And that’s what our legislation accomplishes.
 
Our reforms are good for students, taxpayers and American jobs.
 
We will help low and middle-income students pay for college and invest in the support they need to graduate.
 
We will be more responsible with taxpayer dollars by using $10 billion of these savings for deficit reduction.
 
And we will end the practice of banks shipping lending jobs offshore.
 
Our reforms allow private lenders to service 100 percent of direct loans – preserving good jobs. But, unlike loans originated by banks, direct loans can only be serviced by workers in the United States.
 
That’s why last year, Sallie Mae brought 2,000 jobs they had shipped overseas back home.
 
It turns out they were competing for – and won – a direct loan servicing contract.
 
In fact, Sallie Mae has privately told workers at an Indiana servicing center that these reforms will not put their jobs at risk. 
 
They said a similar thing publicly to an Indiana newspaper.
 
Sallie Mae is now one of four companies that service 4.4 million direct loans.
 
With these savings, we invest $36 billion over 10 years to increase the Pell Grant to its highest level ever – including almost $14 billion to protect students from a Pell Grant shortfall.
 
If we don’t act immediately, eight million students could see their Pell Grants cut by 60 percent next year, and 600,000 students could lose their grants completely.
 
We will help new borrowers better manage their monthly payments.
 
We invest in community colleges, we invest in college access and completion programs, and we give vital support to Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Serving Schools that play a unique role helping minority students graduate and succeed.
 
HBCUs graduate 40 percent of African-American students earning math, science, technology and engineering degrees, and 50 percent of African-American teachers.
 
And, this bill is fully paid for.
 
With this one move, we can make college more affordable, keep jobs in America, prepare young people for our global economy, and reduce our deficit by billions.
 
I’d like to thank Ruben Hinojosa, our higher education subcommittee chair, Tim Bishop, and all of our committee members for their tireless work on student loan reform.
 
And along with all the members of our committee, I’d like to especially thank Rob Andrews, our health subcommittee chair, for his backbreaking work over the last year on health reform.
 
We almost didn’t get here today.  You know that.
 
Opponents of health care reform have said anything and done everything to distort the facts, delay the process, and try to put off what Americans have asked for and needed for generations. They have tried to sow fear into the American people.
 
They cannot win on the merits. And they will continue to distort the facts and use scare tactics as we move forward.
 
But here we are today. We have made it to the final step in this process – despite all that noise.
 
And now we face a simple choice.
 
We can side with America’s families and college students and make health insurance and college more affordable and accessible – while creating millions of jobs and reducing the deficit.
 
Or, we can side with insurance companies and banks.
 
That’s it.
 
That’s the choice.
 
I’m siding with the American people. I urge each of my colleagues to join me.

“In the coming days, the House will take an up or down vote to improve the lives of tens of millions of American families and small businesses owners. The important reforms in this bill will end the worst insurance industry practices of denying care because of preexisting conditions, cutting off treatments due to annual or lifetime limits, or increasing premiums to pad the insurance companies’ bottom lines.  Health reform will improve the fiscal health of our nation, reducing our deficit by $130 billion in the first ten years and more than $1 trillion over the second decade.

“Our legislation will make critical improvements to the Senate bill - protecting the working class from the tax on high-value (Cadillac) health insurance plans, increasing affordability for lower and middle income individuals and families, ending the Nebraska carve-out to ensure equitable treatment for all states under Medicaid, increasing payments to primary care services for Medicaid to ensure patients’ access to doctors,  and holding all insurance companies responsible for following these new rules. This reform effort will also save taxpayer money in premiums and cost-sharing, while also strengthening Medicare and extending its solvency.

“Congress now has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fix two broken systems – health insurance and student loans – that are bankrupting America’s families. This health reform vote has been more than 70 years in the making, spanning generations of families, political leaders, and advocates who have fought to make the dream of having and keeping quality, affordable health insurance a reality   This is a moment of truth for historic reform of the most compelling importance for all the American people. With this legislation, we rise to meet it and ensure quality affordable health insurance, at long last, for all American families.”

Additional Information:

Text of the Health Reform Legislation

“This legislation offers the most sweeping changes to the federal student loan program in a generation,” said Miller, who unveiled the details of the package this morning.  “This is really about making a simple choice. Congress can either continue the longstanding boondoggle that rewards banks with tens of billions of dollars in subsidies at the expense of families and taxpayers – or we can invest that money directly in students and America’s world economic leadership.

“Well, the Democratic leadership in Congress has made its decision -- we’re going to help students and their families,” Miller said.

“This is good for students, taxpayers, and American jobs,” Miller added. “With one move, Congress can make college more affordable, keep jobs in America, prepare young people for our global economy, and reduce our deficit by billions.”
 
Miller worked closely on this legislation with Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), who unveiled the provisions in the Senate today.  

“Education is the key to success in this country. It has the ability to transform a young person’s life and give them opportunities above and beyond the generations before them. But as millions of Americans struggle to afford the costs of higher education, multi-billion-dollar, taxpayer financed subsidies continue to flow to private banks,” said Harkin. “As Americans tighten their belts and make smart choices with their money, Congress should too.  Our bill redirects that funding to students and families, making college more affordable and ensuring that more Americans have access to higher education and the skills to succeed in the 21st Century economy.”

Consistent with what President Obama first proposed last year, this legislation would eliminate wasteful subsidies to banks in the federal student loan programs, and instead originate all federal student loans directly through the government.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, this change would generate $61 billion in savings over 10 years that will be used to boost Pell Grant scholarships, make student loans more manageable for borrowers to repay, and strengthen community colleges.

Private lenders and banks would still have a role in servicing all federal student loans, which would guarantee borrowers high-quality customer services, maintain jobs in the private sector, and even protect jobs from being shipped overseas. Direct government loans, unlike loans made by banks, must be serviced by U.S. workers.

The federal government already funds 88 percent of all federal student loan volume, between loans that are already lent to students directly through the government and an emergency aid program student lenders have relied on since the credit crisis in 2008.

The budget resolution passed by the House and Senate budget committees last year instructed Congress to use reconciliation to enact both health insurance and student loan reforms that reduced the deficit by $1 billion over five years. The reconciliation measure today meets those requirements – it is fully paid for and reduces the deficit by at least $10 billion over 10 years.

Specifically these provisions will:

•    Make college more affordable for millions of students by investing a total of $36 billion into the Pell Grant program over 10 years, including $22.6 billion to increase the maximum Pell Grant award to keep up with inflation.  The bill increases the maximum award from $5,550 next year to nearly $6,000 over the years ahead.  In the 2008-2009 year, 6.2 million Americans relied on Pell Grants to help pay for college and career training; eighty-nine percent of those students came from families making less than $40,000 per year.  

•    Protect students’ Pell Grant scholarships from the upcoming budget shortfall. The provisions will direct $13.5 billion of the $36 billion Pell Grant investment to address most of the gap needed to ensure there is not a dramatic cut in Pell grant funding in 2011. Because the Pell Grant program will be faced with increased costs due to higher demand, the maximum award could decrease to $2,150 from its current value of $5,350.  If this is not addressed, students could see a decrease in aid of almost 60 percent and nearly 600,000 students could lose the benefit entirely.  

•    Keeps jobs in America. Rather than force private industry out of the system, lenders will compete for contracts to service all federal student loans, which will guarantee borrowers high-quality customer service and preserve jobs. Unlike loans made by banks, Direct Loans can only be serviced by workers in the U.S. Last year, Sallie Mae brought 2,000 jobs back to U.S. soil to win a direct loan servicing contract. Sallie Mae is now one of four private banks servicing 4.4 million direct loans.

•    Invest $2.55 billion in Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions. This bill recognizes the important role that minority-serving institutions play in educating our country’s low-income and minority students by continuing the funding provided in the 2007 education reconciliation bill for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-serving Institutions, Tribal Colleges and Universities and other MSIs.

•    Make federal student loans more manageable to repay by strengthening an Income-Based Repayment program that currently allows borrowers to cap their monthly federal student loan payments at just 15 percent of their discretionary income. These new provisions would lower this monthly cap to just 10 percent for new borrowers after 2014.

•    Give students the support they need to stay in school and graduate.  The provisions invest $750 million in the College Access Challenge Grant (CACG) program. These formula grants to states help organizations provide services that increase the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in college and manage their student loans, such as financial literacy and debt management skills.

•    Prepare students and workers for competitive jobs by investing $2 billion in a competitive grant program for community colleges to develop and improve educational or career training programs.

Additional Information:

Myth/Fact document on student loan reform
Fact Sheet on student loan reform

“Achieving a work-life balance is essential for families today,” said Woolsey, the chair of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee. “The Work-Life Balance Award will send a clear message to employers that the federal government recognizes companies that develop family-friendly policies for their workers.”

The Work-Life Balance Award Act of 2010 (H.R. 4855) would establish an annual ‘Work-Life Balance Award’ within the Department of Labor that would recognize employers with exemplary work-life balance policies.

A bipartisan advisory board – selected by the Secretary of Labor based on recommendations by congressional leaders of both parties that represent both private and public employers, labor, and family advocates – will develop the award’s criteria. No more than four members of the advisory committee may belong to the same political party.

Any employer, public or private, of any size may apply for the award. The Department of Labor will publish the list of awardees on its website.

“Job cuts by local communities threaten to derail America’s economic recovery,” said Miller, chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “Local communities are having to choose between raising taxes to sustain essential services or firing more workers. We should not ask students to forgo a year of education or tell families that their safety will be compromised because local governments have to lay off teachers and police officers. This bill will quickly create local jobs that we can count – and jobs that we can count on.”

The bill – developed with mayors, county officials and others – will provide $75 billion over two years to local communities to hold off planned cuts or to hire back workers for local services who have been laid-off because of tight budgets. Funding would go directly to eligible local communities and nonprofit community organizations to decide how best to use the funds.

“Mayors are pleased to partner with Chairman Miller to push this important legislation. We deal face-to-face with unemployed citizens because we see them everywhere – in coffee shops, grocery stores, beauty salons and barber shops. And they all tell us the same thing – all they want is a good, dependable job so they can support their families,” said Mayor Elizabeth Kautz, of Burnsville, Minnesota, the president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. “Mayors know from experience that investment in metropolitan economies with direct funding to cities can create and save jobs and can do it quickly.”
The National League of Cities, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and the National Association of Counties, among others, have endorsed the legislation.

The Local Jobs for America Act will also fund approximately 50,000 additional private-sector on-the-job training positions to help businesses put people back to work. Workers will be able to acquire core job skills and important work experience for private employers.

“Our bill is about getting America back to work,” said Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) and vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. “When Americans faced massive unemployment in the 1930s, our policymakers responded with programs like the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps. This bill responds to the needs of this generation, demonstrating once again that we are one nation, indivisible.”

The bill also includes $24 billion, already approved by the House in December, to help states support 250,000 education jobs, put 5,500 law enforcement officers on the beat, and retain, rehire, and hire firefighters.

“Earlier today, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn gave his annual budget address in which he outlined a plan to borrow billions of dollars alongside $2 billion in cuts. States like mine desperately need federal assistance to directly retain and hire teachers, firefighters, police, and other critical employees,” said Rep. Phil Hare (D-IL), member of the Congressional Task Force on Job Creation and chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Task Force on Jobs. “The Local Jobs for America Act would provide that lifeline. I congratulate Chairman Miller for putting forward the most promising remedy to our unemployment crisis yet.”

“President Obama is absolutely right.  After a year of hearings, and countless hours of debates on ideas from both sides, it is time to finish the job of enacting health insurance reform. There is no question that real health reform is difficult and complicated.  But it is necessary.  

“Our solution will put families in control of their medical care, not insurance companies. Congress will put an end to egregious insurance company abuses that are hurting American families and businesses alike, such as denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions, dropping customers from coverage when they get sick, or arbitrarily hiking premiums.

“It’s time for Congress to cross the finish line. For too long, our nation’s vital business has been held hostage to the whim of a few Senators in a party that believes that Americans need fewer protections from insurance companies. It is time to get back to legislating on behalf of the American people.”

“Comprehensive reform is necessary and it is within our reach right now.”

 “Today’s announcement is welcome news for the millions of Americans concerned about their retirement security. All too often, the worst performing products with the highest fees and best commissions for financial service firms have been pushed by Wall Street on our nation’s workers. We hope that this proposal will help to ensure that investment advice is based on what is best for a family’s long-term retirement security, not the investment advisor’s commissions.”
 
The Bush administration approved a last-minute regulation that allowed financial services firms to offer potentially conflicted investment advice on workers’ retirement accounts.

The 401(k) Fair Disclosure and Pension Security Act (H.R. 2989), approved by the committee last year, would help workers shop around for the best retirement investment options by providing information on how much in fees is taken from their retirement accounts. It would also have banned conflicted investment advice in the workplace. Current law does not require disclosure of certain fees, and even for fee information that is available, it can be difficult for workers to find and evaluate.

“This was a remarkable meeting and I am honored to have been a part of it.  

“I believe it helped to clearly illustrate what the main issues are in health care reform, how complicated many of them are, and how many good ideas there are to address them. Most importantly, we heard that there is a lot of agreement between Democrats and Republicans on how to fix certain parts of our broken health insurance system – whether by cutting waste, fraud and abuse in our system, reducing the deficit, keeping young adults on their parent’s plans, or giving families the opportunity to purchase insurance across state lines.

“Agreement on these and other issues is not new, but today they were made plain for all to see.  The truth is that we have worked hard for the past year to find common ground on good ideas, regardless of who offered them. The compelling and balanced proposal President Obama has put forward, along with the House and Senate-passed bills, include many ideas that Republicans support.

“Today also highlighted clear areas where we fundamentally disagree. Democrats believe it is critical that we end insurance company discrimination based on pre-existing conditions, it is clear Republicans do not. Democrats also believe expanding coverage to everyone benefits everyone – it’s the only way to make meaningful health insurance reforms and make coverage more affordable. Republicans do not.  

“However, I am disappointed that based on what many of the Republican participants said today and said in advance of this meeting, it seems clear that Republicans are stuck on the same talking points and same playbook they started off this debate with last year – which is to oppose the President’s effort to reform health insurance in America, no matter what.

“While Democrats worked hard to include ideas we have consensus on, Republican rhetoric would seem to be stuck in park. They want to start over and delay these reforms further, doing nothing to help families’ health and financial security, small businesses’ competitiveness, and our nation’s fiscal future. Doing nothing is the last thing the American people want.

“After a year of hearings, debate, and amendments from both sides, it’s time to move forward. The American people wanted us to come together to solve their real health care problems and provide every family the security of knowing they will always have access to quality, affordable health insurance. They want us to end a backwards system that allows insurance companies to reap profits and raise premiums while abusing the very customers who pay them. That’s what health reform is about and that’s what we are going to do.  We will not let this historic moment pass us by.

“The President’s proposal would provide enormous relief to the American families and small businesses getting crushed by today’s health care costs.  We must make a serious effort – on all sides – to embrace the reforms on the table and take action now for our country.”

Among the areas that President Obama concluded Democrats and Republicans agree:

•    Allowing small businesses and individuals to be part of a large group to purchase insurance;
•    Preventing waste, fraud and abuse
•    Promoting prevention and wellness
•    Purchasing insurance across state lines;
•    Allowing young people to stay on their parents’ insurance through their 25th or 26th birthdays;
•    Banning annual caps and lifetime caps on insurance coverage;
•    Continuing the use of Health Savings Accounts;
•    Focusing on quality of care, not quantity of service;

Learn more about the president’s proposals on insurance reforms, expanding coverage, cost containment and reducing the deficit, here.

“MSHA’s stronger emphasis on safety is saving lives and reducing injuries,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of committee. “Some of the largest mining operations have responded by challenging tougher sanctions at a staggering rate. As a result, miners’ lives are in the crosshairs.”

When the Mine Safety and Health Administration cites a mine operator for a safety violation, the owners can challenge the violation to the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission that currently employs ten administrative law judges.

Mary Lu Jordan, the chair of the Review Commission, testified that the average time it takes to dispose of a case has increased over the last three years, from 178 days to 401 days this year.  There are currently approximately 16,000 cases at the Review Commission with at least $195 million in outstanding fines. In 2006, this backlog was only 2,100 cases.

According to data provided by the Review Commission, if current trends and funding for the agency remain the same, the backlog would dramatically increase to 47,000 cases by 2020.

Witnesses testified that the backlog of cases give incentives for mine operators to abuse this appeals process because it can delay steeper penalties for repeat violators.

“It is important that we remove the incentive for operators with significant and substantial safety violations at their mine to contest violations simply to delay enforcement,” said Joseph Main, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health. “Delay in addressing [significant and substantial] hazardous conditions puts miners at risk, is at odds with the purpose of the Mine Act and mission of MSHA, and is unacceptable.”

Mine operators can be subject to progressively steeper fines or even shut down if cited for multiple serious health and safety violations. Today, mine operators are contesting two-thirds of all fines. Some of the largest mine owners who are challenging nearly every citation.

“The existing system rewards mine operators that file contests,” said Cecil Roberts, president of the United Mine Workers of America. “Having delay in the resolution of alleged violations diminishes MSHA’s ability to use the full panoply of its enforcement tools. You must also recognize that many of these violations are quite serious - the kind of violations that have contributed to mine fires, explosions and the deaths of coal miners.”

MSHA said that 48 mines that employ more than 6,000 miners could face tougher sanctions if not for delays at the review commission.

MSHA also noted that when mine operators were notified that they could face potential closures for additional violations and be subject to higher sanctions, those mines reduced future serious citations by 72 percent.  

Last year, Congress approved funding for an additional four judges at the review commission. In this year’s budget proposal the Obama administration requested four more. According to data provided by the review commission, 22 to 26 judges would be needed to significantly reduce the backlog of cases.

To read more about the hearing, click here.

“One year ago, our nation was headed toward an economic collapse, shedding an average of 600,000 jobs a month. State and local budget cutbacks were putting teachers’ jobs – and our students’ education – in peril. Our economy was in need of emergency triage that would immediately begin to save and create jobs and lay the foundation for longer-term economic growth.

“One year after its enactment, it is clear that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is meeting these core goals. To date, the law has already created or saved two million jobs and helped our economy grow at its fastest rate in years. It has funded more than 300,000 education jobs, keeping teachers in classrooms and children and students of all ages learning. It has helped minimize harmful cuts at public colleges and universities and provided students with larger Pell Grants to pay for college.

“The Recovery Act has provided a much-needed lifeline for workers who lost their jobs – and their health insurance along with it. Millions of Americans have received extended or increased unemployment benefits and many got help paying for their COBRA premiums because of the Recovery Act. We can’t underestimate the difference this has made for laid-off workers struggling to put food on their tables, heat their homes, or pay for a visit to the doctor.

“The Recovery Act is also making strategic investments in our future. Recovery programs are training displaced workers for high-growth jobs in our health care, biotech, clean energy and manufacturing sectors. The Race to the Top program is leveraging key education reforms that will better prepare our children for college, competitive jobs and a global economy.

“As President Obama and Congress have repeatedly said, the Recovery Act marked the beginning of our efforts to rebuild our economy and our middle class. Too many workers continue to lose their jobs or have trouble finding new ones. Our work will not be over until every American in need of a job can find one.”

RECOVERY ACT: HELPING STUDENTS, WORKERS AND FAMILIES

• 2 million: the number of jobs created or saved by Recovery dollars thus far, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
• 300,000: the number of teaching and other education-related jobs saved or created.
• $500: the increase in the Pell Grant scholarship eligible students received for the 2009-2010 year due to this law alone. 
• $2.4 billion: the amount of Federal support that helped colleges and universities keep teaching, even as enrollments grew, according to the State Higher Education Executive Officers.

“Today’s news that the rate of job loss continues to improve shows that the Obama administration’s efforts are moving our economy in the right direction. In the last months of the Bush administration we were losing 650,000 jobs a month on average. Now, almost a year after the Recovery Act was enacted, we have slowed our monthly job losses to less than a tenth of that. Twenty thousand American jobs lost are still far too many, but no one can deny that we’re making out way out of the storm.

“But, much more needs to be done to help the eight million Americans who have lost their job find work. Job creation continues to the top priority for Congress and the Obama administration. The House already passed legislation to create urgently needed jobs for construction workers, teachers, police officers, firefighters and others, and we must continue to consider any proposals that would put people back to work quickly. I urge the U.S. Senate to follow suit without delay.”

The Jobs for Main Street Act, passed by the House of Representatives on December 16, would use existing available funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to pay for targeted investments in infrastructure and emergency aid to state and local governments to hire teachers, police officers and other vital personnel.

“In an especially difficult economy, a responsive Department of Labor is essential to assisting and standing up for workers,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “Thanks to Secretary Solis, the Department of Labor is playing a central role in our nation’s economic recovery and laying the groundwork for a stronger middle class.”

More than seven million jobs have been cut over the past two years as the result of the financial collapse. From day one of the new Obama administration, Congress worked with the administration on a recovery plan to save the economy from total devastation. Economist from left to right agree that the Recovery Act added real growth to the economy and predicted that without these investments, more than a million more Americans would be out of work.

 “While I came to lead the Department of Labor at a tumultuous and challenging time, I know that we have already made a real difference in the lives of America’s workers and their families,” said Solis. “We successfully implemented the Recovery Act and have seen how these investments have saved and created jobs in communities across the country.”

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act made historic investments in American workers and provided vital resources to families deal with the financial collapse. Among other things, the Department of Labor is responsible for administering increased unemployment benefits, health care premium support for laid off workers and significant investments made in workforce development programs including more than 300,000 summer youth jobs. 

While the Department of Labor has been working on an ambitious agenda to promote economic recovery and train workers for the careers of the future, Solis’ department has also revamped agencies suffering from years of neglect.

“In a labor market where jobs are difficult to find and workers are glad to have the jobs they hold, it is too easy for workers to be exploited,” Solis continued. “We are strengthening our efforts to be vigilant in protecting the rights and safety of workers by hiring additional enforcement personnel and reviewing and improving our regulatory efforts.”

The Recovery Act and the department’s new priorities have allowed agencies to increase their capacity to protect workers’ health and safety, pay, and benefits after nearly a decade of cuts. For example, additional resources have allowed the department to hire an additional 250 investigators to ensure compliance with our nation’s wage and child labor laws.

“Especially in this economy, every dollar an employer steals from a worker is a dollar a family loses to pay for basic necessities,” Miller said.

Solis outlined five key priorities for her department:

(1)        Significantly reduce fatalities resulting from the most common causes at workplaces covered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and mining sites.
(2)        Reduce the number of repeat violators of minimum wage, overtime, and workplace safety laws.
(3)        Raise labor standards low-wage trading partners in order to create a more balanced playing field for American manufacturing employees. Create a program to help workers injured on the job return to work so that they can continue to be productive members of America’s workforce.
(4)        Increase opportunities for America’s workers to acquire the skills and knowledge to succeed in a knowledge-based economy.

“The Department has outlined these high-priority goals to focus our agencies on the most critical needs affecting the safety, health, and economic security of workers,” Solis said.

“The Obama administration inherited not only the worst financial crisis in a generation, but a middle class severely weakened by eight years of failed trickle-down economic policies. Economists across the board agree the administration’s early efforts saved our economy from catastrophe. But, as the President pointed out tonight, middle class families are still reeling from a “lost decade” of declining wages, benefits and retirement savings.

“Tonight President Obama made clear he will continue to put the needs of middle class families and taxpayers first. He has put forth solid proposals to help borrowers struggling with high monthly student loan bills and families grappling with child care expenses. He is focused on helping rebuild Americans’ retirement security by expanding access to retirement accounts, providing tax credits, and improving transparency on all fees taken out of workers’ savings.

“He redoubled his commitment to continue saving and creating jobs by calling on Congress to invest in small businesses, in green jobs, and in our roads, bridges, and other infrastructure. The House has already passed a second jobs bill and we will continue to look for every possible way we can put Americans back to work quickly.

“The President was also right to renew his call for Congress to pass health insurance reform. Opinion polls don’t measure the workers who continue to lose their jobs and their health insurance, the small businesses getting crushed by health care costs, or the people getting denied the treatment they need because of a pre-existing condition. The economic case for fixing our broken health insurance system remains just as strong as the moral one: Studies show reforms will create up to four million jobs over the next decade. We will continue to fight for reforms that will create new jobs in health fields and make consumers the central focus of our health insurance system – not insurance companies.

 “As we focus on creating jobs, we also have to focus on preparing our current and future workers for those jobs. We won’t be able to sustain a long-term economic recovery if we don’t have a world-class education system to match it. From their first years of life through college, our students must learn the knowledge and skills needed to compete in our global economy. President Obama’s historic budget commitment to investing in our children at every age shows he’s serious about regaining the highest proportion of college graduates by 2020.

“I am especially pleased that President Obama called on Congress to rewrite our nation’s federal education laws. The key to getting this done will be bipartisanship. I plan to begin working on this immediately with this administration, Congressman Kline, our colleagues on the House Education and Labor Committee and all parties that have ideas about how to improve our schools.

“Throughout his speech, President Obama talked about changing the way Washington works. One way we can do just that is by enacting legislation already passed by the House that would invest billions of dollars to help families pay for college – at no cost to taxpayers – by eliminating taxpayer subsidies for student loan middle men. Ending these subsidies will save $87 billion that we can invest directly in our college students and in improving early education and community colleges. It’s a much better use of taxpayer dollars.

“For the last three years, House Democrats have been fighting on behalf of middle class families. I hope all lawmakers realize that this mission is more important than politics and join us in working to rebuild our economy and address the needs of our children, students, workers and taxpayers.”

BACKGROUND

STUDENT LOANS: The administration’s proposal to cap borrower’s monthly federal student loan payments at just 10 percent of their income builds directly on a new program, called Income Based Repayment (IBR), which took effect in July 2009 as part of the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, a law Miller co-authored. IBR currently allows students to cap their monthly loan payments at 15 percent of their discretionary monthly income and forgives their remaining loan debt after 25 years of repayment. Learn more about Income Based Repayment.

RETIREMENT SAVINGS: Miller has also been a lead champion of protecting workers from hidden fees that could be eating deeply into their retirement savings and from conflicts of interest from their investment advisors. He is the co-author of the 401(k) Fair Disclosure for Retirement Security Act, which will provide workers with clear and complete information about the fees they are paying to help them make the best investment decisions for their future retirement security. The bill was approved by the Education and Labor Committee in June. Learn more about the 401(k) Fair Disclosure for Retirement Security Act.

“This study confirms that the House and Senate health reform bills will control health care costs, strengthen our economy, and create millions of new jobs over the next decade.  As President Obama has repeatedly said, the economic argument for fixing our broken health insurance system is just as strong as the moral argument.  Today’s employment numbers remind us that too many Americans are still losing their jobs and looking for work.  This new data reinforces a key fact that too often has gone overlooked in this debate:  our health reform bill is also a job creation measure.  We are committed to working with the Senate and the White House on a health care reform bill that will uphold our commitment to affordability, accountability, and accessibility and also will create millions of new jobs.”

The report estimates that “health reform that reduces premium growth will add between 250,000 and 400,000 jobs annually over the next decade.”  To view the report, click here.

 

“We commend our colleagues in the Senate for this crucial vote, which brings health reform closer to reality than at any time in the past 70 years.  While there are clear differences between the bills passed by the Senate and the House, both bills will bring peace of mind and fundamental health care coverage to millions of Americans who are currently uninsured.

“Both bills will slow the growth of out-of-control health care costs and reduce the deficit by over $100 billion in the first ten years – and by much more in the second decade. Both bills will make unprecedented reforms to the insurance industry to hold insurers accountable and protect consumers from delays or denials of care based on pre-existing conditions, from rescissions, and from exorbitant out-of-pocket expenses that bankrupt far too many Americans. Both bills will protect and expand peoples’ choices of doctors and health plans. And both bills will offer relief to small businesses getting crushed by spiraling health costs.

“Now that the Senate has cleared this critical legislation, we look forward to working with them and the White House to reconcile and further improve our bills. We are committed to producing a final bill that incorporates the best reforms for middle-class families, small businesses, seniors and our fiscal health, stays true to the values of our members and delivers on the changes the American people desperately need.”

###

“Our nation’s economy has made significant progress since earlier this year when more than 600,000 Americans were losing their jobs every month. While we may have stemmed the tide of steep job losses and the Recovery Act is making an undeniable impact, millions of Americans are still looking for a job,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee and one of the lead authors of the bill. “The Jobs for Main Street Act is the right thing to do to continue rebuilding our economy and the just thing to do for the millions of families who urgently need work.”

The legislation uses existing available funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to pay for targeted investments in infrastructure and emergency aid to state and local governments to hire teachers, police officers and other vital personnel.

Among other provisions, the Jobs for Main Street Act provides:

• $23 billion to save an estimated 250,000 education jobs over the next two years;
• $41 billion to extend for six months expanded unemployment benefits, including increased payouts and longer duration of benefits;
• $12.3 billion to extend from nine to 15 months the 65 percent COBRA premium support for individuals who have lost their jobs. In addition, the bill extends eligibility through June 30, 2010;
• $200 million for AmeriCorps programs and the National Service Trust, to support an additional 25,000 AmeriCorps Members;
• $500 million for summer youth employment programs;
• $300 million to support the College Work Study program, which supports low- and moderate-income undergraduate and graduate students who work while attending college; and
• $750 million for competitive grants to support job training for approximately 150,000 individuals in high growth and emerging industry sectors, particularly in the health care and green industries that are adding jobs despite difficult economic conditions.

For more information on the Jobs for Main Street Act, click here.

Earlier in the day, the House also approved the 2010 Defense Appropriations bill, which included a separate two-month extension of COBRA premium benefits and unemployment insurance.

“Nothing is more important than the need to put Americans back to work. This legislation will do just that by redirecting funds initially used to help Wall Street to help Main Street, while strengthening the health and safety of our communities and continuing to educate our children for the future,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), a lead author of the new bill. “I hope the Senate joins us in acting quickly to create jobs for Main Street and help rebuild a strong U.S. economy.”

Miller, who chairs the Education and Labor Committee and the Democratic Policy Committee, joined Speaker Pelosi and other House Democratic leaders to unveil the new bill, the Jobs for Main Street Act. The legislation uses existing available funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to pay for targeted investments in infrastructure and emergency aid to state and local governments to hire teachers, police officers and other vital personnel.

In addition, the legislation also provides critical safety net funds to extend COBRA premium assistance for people who have lost their health insurance as a result of job loss, as well as unemployment benefits and provide other aid for Americans looking for work.  It also gives assistance to states to pay for Medicaid and for extending the child tax credit.  The House will vote on the initiative Wednesday.

“These measures speak to the urgent needs of Americans across the country – the millions of families directly coping with a lost job, lost health care, or struggling to put food on the table,” Miller continued. “While we have a few positive indicators that our economy is making progress and we are stemming the tide of job losses, we are far from out of the woods. Job creation is the lynchpin in restoring our nation’s economy and fiscal health. To keep our economy on the path to recovery, we must take decisive action, right now, to continue saving and creating jobs and provide emergency relief to millions of families.”
 
Tomorrow the House also expects to vote on the 2010 Defense Appropriations bill, which will include a separate two-month extension of COBRA premium benefits and unemployment insurance.

For more information on the Jobs for Main Street Act, click here.

“This legislation wisely targets our resources in the workers and families who need the most help weathering this economy.

“It makes key investments to help dislocated workers get the training and skills they need for good jobs in high growth industries and increases worker protections against wage theft and exploitation so that employees who work hard and play by the rules get their fair shake.

“It takes important steps to strengthen our health care workforce and meet the health care needs of families as Congress continues working to fulfill our promises to reform our broken health insurance system.

“It enhances our future competitiveness by boosting teacher effectiveness and addressing our high school dropout crisis -- two approaches that will help more students graduate from high school with a quality education. It continues our commitment to the Pell Grant scholarship so Americans have access to an affordable college education and further invests in Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority-Serving Institutions. And it supports early education opportunities to put our youngest learners on the path to success.

“Altogether, these investments will help us build on the progress our economy is beginning to make and lay the groundwork for a sustainable recovery. I want to commend Chairman Obey and the Appropriations Committee for crafting a package that does right by students, workers and families and upholds our commitment to fiscal responsibility. I look forward to continuing to work with them to make further progress in rebuilding and strengthening our nation’s middle class.”

For more information on the Labor, Health and Education provisions in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, click here.

###

“The report documents questionable labor practices plaguing T-Mobile and highlights the clear need to better protect workers’ fundamental rights in the United States. While the parent company, Deutsche Telekom, promotes positive labor relationships with its workers in Germany, and while many expected a similar approach to its workers in the United States, today’s report indicates that T-Mobile is not a chip off the old block. American workers deserve better.”

To read the report, click here. (pdf)

“The Senate’s confirmation of David Michaels should be a signal to our nation’s workers that they will have a strong ally to ensure their workplace health and safety,” said Miller. “His leadership and expertise will be a welcome addition to OSHA as the agency works to restore its mission. I look forward to working with Dr. Michaels and Secretary Solis to ensure the agency has the tools it needs to accomplish its vital mission.”

“Dr. Michaels is an excellent choice to head OSHA, and I am so pleased that he has finally been confirmed by the Senate,” said Woolsey. “As chair of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, I am looking forward to working with him to fulfill the promise of the OSH Act passed about 40 years ago:  to provide a safe and healthful environment for America’s workers.” 

 

“Today’s news that our nation’s unemployment rate fell in November is a sign that the Obama administration and Democratic Congress’ efforts are helping to move our economy in the right direction. When President Obama first inherited this crisis, our economy was losing hundreds of thousands of jobs each month. Today’s figures reflect what the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office and a growing number of economists have told us: that the Recovery Act is helping blunt layoffs and reduce the unemployment rate. 

“This hopeful report is also a reminder that our work is far from over. Each job lost is one too many. We must not let up on our efforts to stem further job losses and get our economy working for every American. While the nation’s employment situation may be stabilizing, millions of Americans are still without a job. In the coming weeks, Congress will move to provide additional relief to those who are struggling to pay their bills while they look for a job."

“President Obama’s ‘Jobs and Economic Growth Summit’ was an important step in advancing additional strategies to help Americans get back to work. I agree with the president that while the Recovery Act is helping to dig our country out of an unprecedented financial and economic crisis – as the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office highlighted – this recession is severe and more needs to be done.

“Congress will continue to work with President Obama to provide relief to those who have lost their jobs and are struggling to get by, to help prevent additional layoffs, and to get our nation’s economic engine working for every American.”

The Congressional Budget Office released a report earlier this week on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s impact on the economy and employment. The GAO found that in the third quarter of 2009, because of recovery dollars, 600,000 to 1.6 million more U.S. workers had jobs; Gross Domestic Product was 1.2 percent to 3.2 percent higher; and the unemployment rate was 0.3 to 0.9 percentage points lower than it would have been if no action had been taken.

To view the report, click here.

Airline pilots and flight attendants currently face unexpected hurdles to qualify for FMLA. These hurdles are unique to airline employees since their non-flying hours are not counted toward their total hours of service. To remedy this situation, Bishop introduced the Airline Flight Crew Family and Medical Leave Act to clarify the original FMLA 1993 law. Senator Patty Murray introduced a companion bill, which was passed by the Senate last month and came before the House for a final vote today. 

“Because of the unique way that airline personnel’s hours of work are counted, many workers have been unable to take advantage of the leave under the Family Medical Leave Act,” said Rep. Lynn Woolsey, Chairwoman of the Committee on Education and Labor’s Workforce Protections Subcommittee.  “This legislation which the House has passed today, changes that, and airline workers will now be able to take much needed time to care for a sick child, parent or spouse.”

“When airline crewmembers need to take time away from serving passengers in order to care for themselves or family members, they face unexpected hurdles. This bill would prevent crewmembers from being losing out on their FMLA benefits, which have helped so many working families in this country,” said Bishop, a member of the House Education and Labor Committee.

"We are very pleased at the passage of Congressman Bishop's FMLA bill, which finally addresses loopholes in the current language that have denied many flight attendants from qualifying for coverage," said Patricia Friend, President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. "Every flight attendant in this country is so grateful to Tim Bishop for passing this legislation on such a strong bipartisan basis."

The FMLA requires most employers to provide job-protected unpaid leave to employees who have worked 60 percent of a full-time schedule over the course of a year. However for flight crews, non-flight hours on the job, between flights or on mandatory stand-by do not count toward their FMLA credit. The Airline Flight Crew FMLA would correct this unintended oversight of the original legislation.

The companies surveyed by the GAO – which the Congressional watchdog agency did not identify – included major airlines, electronics, insurance and steel companies that filed for bankruptcy in the last decade and dumped their pension liabilities onto the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. PBGC provides pension protection for 44 million workers and is responsible for administering benefits for more than a million Americans.

“It is fundamentally wrong that executives were able to line their pockets with millions of dollars from bonuses, stock options and free joyrides on corporate jets, while watching their workers’ retirement security slip into peril,” said Miller. “Executive compensation and golden parachutes should be aligned to the fate of workers’ retirement plan. This will create an incentive for executives to fix workers’ pension plans before they go broke.”

Miller said the he is considering legislation that will freeze executive compensation if the company’s rank-and-file pension plan becomes significantly underfunded.

While rank-and-file employees face freezes or cuts in benefits if their pension plan’s liabilities significantly outstrip assets, there are no laws that link the underfunding of workers’ pension plans to an executive’s benefits.  GAO found that millions of dollars in executives’ retirement and other fringe benefits were protected from bankruptcy while some workers saw a drastic reduction in benefits.

The GAO also found:

• At four companies, executives received $49.5 million in retirement, deferred compensation or severance pay. Four executives at one airline alone received $32.6 million in retirement and deferred compensation.
• Executives at some companies received salaries in excess of $10 million dollars in the years leading up to bankruptcy.
• Some executives received millions of dollars in stock awards, income tax reimbursements, retention bonuses, severance packages, and supplemental executive-only retirement.
• Some were provided other benefits such as apartments, personal trips on company airplanes and helicopters, club memberships, legal fee reimbursement, and automobiles.
• The families and executives at one insurance firm used the company’s Boeing 727 and Sikorsky helicopter for personal trips to, among other exotic locations, China, Spain, Greece and Hawaii. 

To read the full GAO report, click here.

“When you’re struggling to make ends meet you’re going to do everything possible to not miss a day’s pay,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the committee. “The lack of paid sick leave encourages workers who may have H1N1 to hide their symptoms and come to work sick – risking the health of their co-workers, customers and the public.”

On November 3, Rep. Miller and Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), chair of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, introduced the Emergency Influenza Containment Act (H.R. 3991). The temporary legislation will guarantee up to five paid sick days for a worker sent home or directed to stay home by an employer for a contagious illness, such as the H1N1 flu virus.

The Centers for Disease Control reports that the flu’s spread is very unusual this early in the season. They estimate that 22 million Americans have already become ill in the last six months with H1N1 and 3,900 have died. The CDC issued guidance in August that said, in part, that workers feeling symptoms of the flu should stay home and employers should not penalize them for staying home.

“Visits to doctors for influenza-like illness as well as flu-related hospitalizations and deaths among children and young adults…are higher than expected for this time of the year,” said Assistant Surgeon General Anne Schuchat, who is also the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC. “Some ways to combat the spread of respiratory infections include staying home when you are sick and keeping sick children at home.”

Public health officials say that isolating the virus is important to slow the infection rate of the H1N1 flu virus. They recommend strong measures to ensure that those with the infection stay away from others and that mandatory sick leave policies can be helpful to not only slow the spread, but also to improve businesses’ productivity.

“This is particularly a plus for small employers where preventable losses of even a small number of workers can have a devastating effect on the business,” said Dr. Georges Benjamin, the executive director of the American Public Health Association. “Mandatory sick leave encourages employees to stay out of the workplace when appropriate, protecting the business and I believe hastens the employees return to productive work.”    

While public health officials have advised employers to show flexibility in allowing workers to stay home without taking punitive actions, some workers have reported that employers are not providing needed time off. 

At least 50 million American workers currently do not have access to paid sick leave, many in lower-wage industries that have direct contact with the public such as food-service, hospitality industry, schools and health care fields.

“Our nation’s failure to provide a minimum standard of paid sick leave is putting our public health at risk. More than two-thirds of flu cases are transmitted in schools and workplaces,” said Debra Ness, president of the National Partnership for Women and Families. “Workers in child care centers and nursing homes, and retail clerks disproportionately lack paid sick days. Because the lack of paid sick days forces employees to work when they are ill, their coworkers and the general public are at risk of contagion.” 

Studies also show that businesses stand to lose billions in productivity when workers come in sick. Ness said when sick employees come into work and infect co-workers, they lower productivity by as much as $180 billion a year and have the potential to cripple vital business operations.

For more information on the Emergency Influenza Containment Act, click here.

To read the testimony of the hearing, click here.

The report was requested by U.S. Sens. Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Patty Murray (D-WA), and U.S. Reps. George Miller (D-CA) and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA).

A third of occupational health professionals surveyed by the GAO said that they were pressured by employers to provide insufficient treatments to workers in order to hide or downplay work-related injuries or illness. More than two-thirds of health professionals observed worker fear for reporting an injury or illness, and 53 percent of practitioners said they were pressured by an employer to downplay an injury or illness so it is doesn’t have to be reported on an official log.

"The widespread underreporting so clearly documented in this report is undermining the health and safety of American workers,” said Sen. Harkin, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.  “If we don't know the full extent of the workplace hazards workers face, we cannot fully address these risks. We need to take steps to require employers to provide a full account of on-the-job injuries and to protect workers so they can report workplace incidents without fear of retaliation."

“We cannot allow the lack of accurate information to permit hazardous working conditions to go unaddressed, putting workers’ health and lives at risk,” said Rep. Miller, chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “The GAO report underscores the need for OSHA to have all the tools they need to eliminate incentives that result in underreporting injuries.”

Injury and illness records assist OSHA to better allocate its resources, accurately target its inspections and evaluate the success of efforts to improve the health and safety of American workers. Employers may underreport injury and illness rates because lower rates likely lead to fewer inspections, improves their competitiveness when bidding for new contracts, and lowers the employer’s workers’ compensation costs.  Workers may also be discouraged from reporting injuries or illnesses because of prizes given by employers to groups of workers that report fewer injuries or illnesses. 

"This report confirms that when it comes to the documenting of workplace injuries, we can't just take employers at their word.  The system, to this point has been all too easy to game,” said Sen. Murray, chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety.  “Government has the responsibility to be a stronger partner in ensuring that every worker who punches in for their next shift returns home safe and healthy at the end of the day.  But to do that, we must have accurate information and that means more input from those on the factory floor and in the workplace. We need to ensure the inclusion and protection of victims and family members throughout the reporting process.”

“GAO’s survey results make clear that there is pressure on workers and health care providers to underreport and under-treat job-related injuries and illnesses,” said Rep. Woolsey. “GAO’s report underscores the need for Congress to enact provisions in the Protecting Americas Workers Act, which would prevent employers from implementing safety incentive programs that discourage accurate recordkeeping and reporting of occupational injuries and illnesses.” 

The GAO recommended that OSHA inspectors to interview workers during records audits, update the list of hazardous industries that are scrutinized, and provide employers with better education and training on recordkeeping requirements.

The Protecting Americas Workers Act, introduced by Harkin, Miller, Murray and Woolsey, would give OSHA additional tools to combat underreporting of injuries and illnesses by employers.

For more information on the bill, click here.

To read the GAO report issued today, click here.

“Sick workers advised to stay home by their employers shouldn’t have to choose between their livelihood, and their coworkers’ or customer’s health,” said Miller. “This will not only protect employees, but it will save employers money by ensuring that sick employees don’t spread infection to co-workers and customers, and will relieve the financial burden on our health system swamped by those suffering from H1N1.”

“To help control the spread of the H1N1 flu virus, workers who are sick should stay at home,” said Woolsey. “This bill will ensure that workers who are directed to stay home by their employers can do so without paying a financial penalty.”

The Centers for Disease Control estimates that a sick worker will infect one in ten co-workers. As a result, the CDC and other public health officials have advised employers to be flexible when dealing with sick employees and to develop leave policies that will not punish workers for being ill.

At least 50 million American workers do not have access to paid sick leave, many in lower-wage jobs that have direct contact with the public such as the food-service and hospitality industry, schools and health care fields. The National Partnership for Women and Families estimates that the economy loses $180 billion in productivity a year when sick employees show up to work, also known as “presenteeism.”

Among other provisions, the Emergency Influenza Containment Act:

• Guarantees a sick worker up to five paid sick leave days a year if an employer ‘directs’ or ‘advises’ a sick employee to stay home or go home.
• Covers both full-time and part-time workers (on a pro-rated basis) in businesses with 15 or more workers. Employers that already provide at least 5 days’ paid sick leave are exempt.
• An employer can end paid sick leave at any time by informing the employee that the employer believes they’re well enough to return to work. Employees may continue on unpaid leave under the Family Medical Leave Act or other existing sick leave policies.
• Employees who follow their employer’s direction to stay home because of contagious illness cannot be fired, disciplined or made subject to retaliation for following directions. 
• Takes effect 15 days after being signed into law and sunsets after two years.

“The announcement by federal OSHA today is evidence that OSHA is taking the agency’s enforcement responsibilities seriously. These citations are deeply disturbing given earlier commitments to improve conditions after the 2005 tragedy that caused massive death and  injury at the Texas City, Texas refinery. I commend OSHA for taking actions to prevent another devastating explosion.”

“I applaud OSHA for taking strong action before other workers could be injured or killed,” said Woolsey. “This sends a clear message to other employers that they cannot ignore the health and safety of their workers.”

In March 2005, 15 workers were killed and 180 others were injured in an explosion at BP's Texas City, TX facility. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board released an investigative report in 2007 blaming BP for cost-cutting that led to malfunctioning equipment and overworked and undertrained employees, and OSHA for failing in its investigative responsibilities. On Thursday, March 22, 2007, the Education and Labor Committee heard testimony examining what went wrong at BP and OSHA with the goal of preventing future disasters.

For more information, click here.