[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 15686-15687]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   FINDINGS OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR 
       RELATING TO EFFICIENCY AND REFORM PURSUANT TO H. RES. 1493

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. GEORGE MILLER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 14, 2010

  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Madam Speaker, in fulfillment of 
House Committee chair responsibilities per H. Res. 1493 (111th 
Congress), below are ``findings that identify changes in law that help 
achieve deficit reduction by reducing waste, fraud, abuse, and 
mismanagement, promoting efficiency and reform of government, and 
controlling spending within Government programs'' the Committee on 
Education and Labor authorizes. The measures discussed below are 
pending before Congress. If enacted, the legislation would promote 
efficient government and allow the agencies and departments within the 
jurisdiction of the Committee to more effectively serve the public.
  In addition to the pending measures discussed below, this Congress 
has already enacted changes in the law in the Committee's jurisdiction 
that will significantly reduce the deficit. Specifically, the Student 
Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, included with health insurance 
reform in last year's Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 
2010 (H.R. 4872), will save billions of taxpayer dollars in needless 
subsidies to banks lending to students. The Committee shares 
jurisdiction over the health care reform law enacted earlier this year 
through H.R. 4872 and H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable 
Care Act. Among other things, these reforms reduce the rate of increase 
in government health care expenditures, encourage prevention and 
wellness, and shift to new effective health care payment mechanisms. 
The Congressional Budget Office reports that they will reduce the 
deficit by $143 billion over the next 10 years and by $1.2 trillion in 
the following 10 years.


  A. Mine Safety--Robert C. Byrd Miner Safety and Health Act of 2010 
                              (H.R. 5663)

  Recent mine disasters and subsequent investigations and reviews have 
highlighted that the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) does 
not have the authority it needs to efficiently enforce the Nation's 
mine safety laws.
  Under current law, MSHA may only subpoena documents and witnesses as 
part of an investigation of a mine disaster if the material is to be 
used in a public hearing. This has hamstrung MSHA's efforts to 
efficiently receive relevant documents in a timely manner. The Byrd Act 
would grant MSHA authority to subpoena documents and testimony without 
regard to whether the material is for a public hearing. This would 
allow MSHA to avoid needless litigation and more quickly receive 
pertinent information thereby allowing MSHA to investigate more 
efficiently. The gains in efficiency will not only be financial, but 
could ultimately lead to changes that would save lives.
  Almost without exception, stakeholders agree that the Mine Act's 
pattern of violation tool is entirely ineffective as it now stands. 
This tool was intended to allow MSHA to compel mines to improve poor 
safety records and to incentivize mines to operate safely. 
Unfortunately, the tool has never been invoked in the more than 30 
years since it was created. The Byrd Act would fundamentally alter the 
pattern-of-violation system, allowing MSHA to more efficiently compel 
and enforce reform on recalcitrant mines. At the same time, the new 
system would allow for a clear path for mines that have fallen into a 
pattern of poor safety to improve and be removed from this status. The 
Act would make clear to mines what they need to do to stay on the right 
side of the law. This will allow MSHA to more efficiently focus on the 
mines that need the most attention.
  Over $20 million in unpaid fines sits uncollected from mine 
operators. To enable MSHA to require compliance with final judgments, 
the Byrd Act would authorize MSHA to shut down mines that refuse to pay 
fines. To spur compliance, the Act would also allow MSHA to enter into 
payment plans with mines that are trying to meet their obligations.
  Another major inefficiency in the enforcement of our Nation's mine 
safety laws is highlighted by, and caused by, a significant backlog in 
cases pending before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review 
Commission (FMSHRC). The backlog has both been caused by an exacerbated 
several issues. The backlog has impeded settlements and led mine 
operators to challenge citations that might otherwise be settled or 
addressed outside of the administrative law system. This has caused 
MSHA, and mine operators, to expend unnecessary resources, while at the 
same time hampering some of MSHA's enforcement activities. The Byrd Act 
would eliminate certain incentives for mine operators to file contests 
of MSHA penalty assessments, regardless of the contests' merit, before 
FMSHRC. Among the incentives, the Act would impose prejudgment interest 
on contested mine safety penalties for which the government prevails. 
This would eliminate the ability for mine operators to secure the time 
value of money simply by filing an appeal and enjoying the benefits 
during the lengthy period of delay. The Act further requires FMSHRC to 
use the same penalty calculation method as does MSHA. Today mine 
operators can exploit the difference in penalty calculation methods, by 
filing appeals in an attempt to secure a lower penalty amount under the 
same set of facts. These measures would allow the Department of Labor 
Office of the Solicitor to more efficiently deploy its attorneys and 
allow MSHA inspectors to spend more time in mines and less preparing 
for and supporting adjudications. By allowing the Department and MSHA 
to more efficiently deploy its resources, mines and others who depend 
on the Department will be far better served.


 B. H-2B Guest Workers--The H-2B Program Reform Act of 2009 (H.R. 4831)

  Tens of thousands of guest workers come to the United States each 
year under the H-2B guest worker program. At a time when our Nation is 
facing record unemployment, it is critical that we strengthen the 
requirement that employers recruit U.S. workers before turning to guest 
workers. Employers should only be permitted to use H-2B workers when 
they have established that qualified U.S. workers are truly 
unavailable. The H-2B Program Reform Act of 2009 (H.R. 4831) tackles 
this problem by requiring employers to take sufficient steps to recruit 
U.S. workers. The bill would mandate that employers provide state 
workforce agencies information about the job opportunity and advertise 
the job opportunity in one or more publications in the local labor 
market. This would help to ensure that every effort possible is made to 
match able and willing American workers with available jobs before 
turning elsewhere. Therefore, the Act would help to reduce the number 
of unemployed U.S. workers, in turn leading to reduced unemployment 
insurance benefit payments and an increase in tax revenue.


C. Worker Misclassification--Employee Misclassification Prevention Act 
                              (H.R. 5107)

  The misclassification of employees as independent contractors is 
widespread and growing. In 2005, a BLS survey found that 10.3 million 
U.S. workers (7.4 percent of the workforce) had been classified, 
rightly or wrongly,

[[Page 15687]]

as independent contractors. In 2000, a DOL study found that 10 to 30 
percent of firms had misclassified employees as independent 
contractors. Misclassified workers lose all rights linked to employee 
status, such as workers' compensation, minimum wage and overtime 
protections, family and medical leave, and the right to organize and 
collectively bargain. Misclassification also cheats the taxpayers out 
of needed revenues because employers fail to pay billions of dollars in 
taxes to Federal and state governments each year. (For the tax year 
1984, the IRS estimated a loss in revenues of $1.6 billion (1984 
dollars).) This practice also puts employers who comply with the law at 
a competitive disadvantage. The Employee Misclassification Prevention 
Act (H.R. 5107), tackles the issue of misclassification, requiring 
employers to maintain records that reflect the accurate status of each 
worker and increasing penalties on employers who misclassify their 
employees. These reforms would result in billions of dollars in unpaid 
taxes being recovered each year.


D. Retirement Savings--The American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act 
                              (H.R. 4213)

  The tax-preferred retirement accounts of American workers have all 
too often been subject to complex fee arrangements and conflicts of 
interest. The American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act (H.R. 4213) 
passed by the House would greatly improve the disclosure of such fees 
and conflicts. This will go a long way toward ensuring that the Federal 
Government gets the most out of this tax expenditure and that plan 
sponsors and workers are empowered to make efficient investment 
decisions. This will prevent unscrupulous actors in the financial 
industry from draining workers' retirement savings accounts improperly 
exploiting tax-preferred investments.


         E. Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance

  The Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance (ACSFA) was 
established in 1986 with the goal of providing the Department of 
Education the benefit of members' knowledge and understanding of 
Federal, state, and institutional postsecondary student assistance 
programs. ACSFA was to provide technical expertise regarding student 
financial needs analysis and application forms and to recommend 
processes to maintain low- and middle-income students' access to 
postsecondary education. Though ACSFA has provided valuable service 
over the past 20 years, ACSFA's mission now duplicates services 
provided by other entities including the Congressional Research 
Service, the Government Accountability Office, and private non-profit 
entities. To save the funds that would be wasted by this duplication 
and to further streamline the vital services other entities now 
perform, the Committee will explore deauthorizing ACSFA in coming 
legislative proposals.

                          ____________________