WASHINGTON – House Republicans rejected consideration of an amendment last night to the defense authorization bill to restore important health and safety protections for workers and residents who live near nuclear weapons facilities operated by the Department of Energy.

The amendment, offered by Reps. George Miller (D-Calif.), Pete Visclosky (D-Ind.) and Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.), would remove provisions of the Defense Authorization Act (HR 4310) that weaken a number of worker and public safety protections that government contractors at nuclear weapons facilities must follow. 

“I am deeply disappointed that House Republicans are intent on dramatically reducing safety protections at nuclear weapons facilities,” said Rep. Miller. “If this bill were to become law, fewer protections mean more human costs for both workers who handle these dangerous materials and families who live near these operations. Self-policing by the government contractors who run these ultra-hazardous facilities only invites unnecessary danger.”

The Defense Authorization bill being considered by the House of Representatives weakens numerous safety protections that government contractors must follow today.

• The bill strips the current system of time-tested worker protections based on clear, concise, non-negotiable requirements that holds contractors accountable for safety.
• It strips the Secretary of Energy of oversight and enforcement authority and turns much of the safety oversight over to contractors to police themselves.
• It mandates new standards that downgrade workplace safety to the bare minimum established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for the average workplace, despite the unique risks at Department of Energy nuclear weapons sites. 
• Nuclear weapons workers would lose the right to stop work when they encounter unsafe conditions.
• Contractors would be allowed to use obsolete chemical exposure limits, rather than updated exposure limits developed in 2005.
• The bill erects roadblocks limiting the ability of the sole watchdog agency, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, to ensure adequate protection of public and worker safety.
• Rep. Miller and Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) sent a letter to the Armed Services Committee last week outlining the dangers of reducing safety protections at the nation’s nuclear labs. Read the letter here.

The Obama administration issued a statement of administration policy earlier this week opposing the effort to reduce safety protections at Department of Energy nuclear weapons facilities.

More than 30 citizens groups living near these facilities, Cold War-era nuclear workers and current workers at every Department of Energy facility have raised concerns or objections to the bill.

Miller spoke on the floor today against the legislation. Watch it here.

That is why House Democrats took action today, rolling out the Voter Empowerment Act to protect and promote voting rights.  Rooted in the simple, basic principle that we must ensure the right of every citizen to vote and every vote to be counted, this critical legislation achieves three key goals: improving access, protecting integrity, and ensuring accountability.

From the Voting Rights Act to the DISCLOSE Act to today’s Voter Empowerment Act, House Democrats will always fight for fairness and opportunity at the polls for all Americans.

WASHINGTON – Parents should be empowered to ensure their local schools live up to the promise to educate all children, witnesses told the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education at a hearing today. Specifically, they said parents should be equipped with the knowledge and tools they need to advocate for their children and be part of decision-making in the schools to ensure that both students and schools are successful.

“In order to effectively engage, parents must have access to meaningful information and data about their child’s academic achievement,” said Rep. Dale Kildee (D-MI), the senior democrat on the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.

Research clearly supports parental engagement leading to better academic outcomes for children.

“Family engagement is an essential component of our education system and must be a part of our strategy going forward as we work to close the achievement gap and better prepare our young people to be the leaders of tomorrow,” said Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY). “The bipartisan Family Engagement in Education Act is just the kind of community- and family-based solution that could help schools and students across the country in these tough economic times.  I’m grateful to Congressman Platts, the PTA and Dr. Fletcher for their support and leadership on this issue.”

Parental engagement must include informing school leaders and teachers about effective engagement practices and it must include parents having access to meaningful and consistent data.

“We should empower parents with real, tangible tools to supplement student learning at home coupled with accessible, understandable, and actionable student and school data that serves to inform and support instruction and learning,” said Dr. Maria Fletcher, President of New York State PTA.

Leading women’s organizations?  Sorry – groups that oppose this dangerous legislation include: the U.S. Conference of Mayors, National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, National Network to End Domestic Violence, National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, Break the Cycle, Legal Momentum, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, National Organization for Women, Feminist Majority, YWCA USA, AAUW, Business and Professional Women’s Foundation, National Women’s Law Center, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, American Bar Association, NAACP, National Council of La Raza, Human Rights Campaign, United Church of Christ, United Methodist Church, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, and National Congress of American Indians.

But the Republican rollback of VAWA received a special endorsement today from a group particularly attuned to victims of domestic abuse.

The Huffington Post – House VAWA Bill Picks Up Unhelpful Ally: National Coalition For Men

The House Republican version of the Violence Against Women Act reauthorization, which has been decried by women’s rights groups as a dramatic rollback of protections for domestic violence victims, has picked up the backing of a group that may prove to be an unhelpful ally: the National Coalition For Men.

Talking Points Memo – National Coalition For Men Endorses GOP Version Of VAWA Bill

…the president of the National Coalition for Men, wrote to endorse the House GOP’s VAWA bill over a Senate-passed counterpart that extends the laws protections to same-sex couples, immigrants, and native American women (you can read the full letter here):

“The House has the opportunity to pass H.R. 4970, a victim-centered VAWA reauthorization bill, endorsed by women and men. Those opposing H.R. 4970 loudly assert that VAWA serves all people, which is absurd on its face given the name of the Act. Opposing versions, by omission and lack of specificity, generally exclude men, particularly heterosexual men, regardless of specious arguments to the contrary.”

It’s one testimonial that says it all.

Now is the time for the House GOP to take a cue from their friends across the Capitol and bring the bipartisan, Senate-passed VAWA to the House floor immediately:

Washington Post’s Plum Line – GOP Senator pressures House Republicans on Violence Against Women Act

It’s been widely reported that house Republicans are in a difficult spot over the Violence Against Women Act, at a time when the battle over the female vote has intensified between the parties.

Now, with a high stakes vote on a version of the measure set for later today, things could get a bit harder: A female Republican Senator is joining with Democrats to call on House Republicans to drop their opposition to the Democratic version of the bill, which extends protections to same sex couples.

Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska has added her name to a letter signed by Senator Patty Murray and 11 other Democratic Senators calling on John Boehner to pass the Senate version of the bill, which passed the Upper Chamber already with an overwhelming majority of 68 votes…

The safety and security of American women depends on it.

This week, the full House will debate two important amendments to last week’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) related to nuclear safety: one offered by Representatives Miller (CA), Visclosky (IN), and Sanchez (CA) to strike NDAA provisions that would erode safety standards and weaken oversight, and another offered by Rep. Smith (WA) that would strike provisions removing nuclear weapons from the Secretary of Energy’s jurisdiction. 

The Miller et al. amendment would protect the “adequate protection standard” that has guided nuclear safety oversight for more than a quarter century, ensure that nuclear oversight agencies retain a “transactional” oversight model, and prevent new layers of bureaucracy from undermining technical experts. The Smith amendment would prevent jurisdictional overreach by the House Armed Services Committee, as power to determine the Secretary of Energy’s jurisdiction rests with the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Right now nuclear oversight is “transactional”, meaning that it prescribes best practices for contractors to follow in the hopes of avoiding an accident. “Performance-based” oversight – the standard that the NDAA would dictate – is the style used by the National Transportation Safety Board, which would only investigate an airline’s safety procedures based on an airline’s performance after a plane crash. 

Katherine Fuchs, Program Director for the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability (ANA) said “The results of the U.S. nuclear complex regulating itself are evident in the billions of dollars that the federal government has paid in compensation to sick nuclear workers and contaminated communities. The current NDAA’s shift to contractor self-regulation puts the fox in charge of the henhouse.”

“The decades that communities surrounding the U.S. nuclear complex struggled for justice, compensation, and hope for future generations must not be diminished by this Congress. The Miller and Smith amendments would ensure that others don’t have to struggle the way my family has.” said ANA Board member Sharon Cowdrey. Ms. Cowdrey is the president of Miamisburg Environmental Safety & Health and worked for cleanup at the Mound Site, part of NDAA author Rep. Mike Turner’s home district, where nuclear weapons components were manufactured.

ANA is a national network of organizations living in the shadows of the nuclear weapons complex. ANA and 32 other organizations recently sent a letter to House members requesting support for the amendments to protect safety standards on strengthen oversight of nuclear weapons facilities.

On Sunday, the delegation met with President Karzai to discuss regional security and stability issues, including reconciliation and reintegration efforts.  The delegation also met with General John Allen, Commander of the International Security Assistance Force, Afghanistan and U.S. Forces and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker on counterinsurgency operations and the transfer of security responsibilities to the Afghan people.

Leader Pelosi on her visit to Afghanistan:

Sunday marked the third phase of the transfer of lead security responsibility to the Afghan forces.  On every occasion, our delegation stressed the importance of Afghan women being involved in security decisions, especially in light of the upcoming NATO summits in Chicago and Tokyo.

Recognizing the significant role that our troops play in Afghanistan, we were pleased on Mothers’ Day to travel to Helmand and Kandahar provinces to hear directly from regional commanders on the ground and their coalition partners in the most critical areas in Afghanistan.  Our delegation was also honored to participate in a celebration in honor of Mothers’ Day at Camp Leatherneck in Helmand province with many mothers serving in our Armed Forces.

Photos from Afghanistan: