Political Quotes

“today we are voting on the nomination of P. David Lopez to serve as general counsel of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC is an important agency with a critical task. In August 1963, I stood in the crowd on the National Mall and listened to Dr. Martin Luther King's ``I Have a Dream'' speech when he called for our Nation to ``make real the promises of democracy.'' The next year, the historic Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed, establishing the EEOC as an important, independent agency to put an end to workplace discrimination, particularly in hiring, firing, and promoting. Today, employees are protected by law if they are discriminated against because of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability, or genetic information. The EEOC is charged with investigating complaints of discrimination to determine whether or not they have merit, and then attempting to resolve them informally, through conciliation and mediation. The general counsel at the EEOC has a great deal of responsibility-- he or she is in charge of conducting litigation at this important agency. Mr. Lopez is being re-nominated for the general counsel position. I do not believe he has fulfilled his charge over the last four and one- half years and will not support extending his time at the agency. I would strongly urge my colleagues to vote against this nomination as well.…”