On the recordMay 20, 2013
Before my friend from New Jersey leaves the floor, I wish to thank him for leading a letter regarding this important nomination. We need a Secretary of Labor. We had a wonderful Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis. The reason it is so essential is we now see that the middle class is essentially collapsing, even though we are coming out of the worst recession since the Great Depression because of the leadership of our President and those of us who tried to help him. We need a head of the Department of Labor to make sure everybody gets a fair chance. I wish to thank my friend. He makes a very important point about Republican obstructionism. After the election, they sat around, all of them, and said: Oh, my goodness. We have to do better with Hispanics. We have to do better with women. Who are the two people they are holding up with all their might at this point--and I hope they end it--Mr. Perez and Gina McCarthy, a woman who deserves a promotion just as Mr. Perez deserves a promotion. They can say all they want that they are reaching out to minorities and women, but then they are blocking promotions of people who are outstanding Americans. I wished to say that before my friend left the floor. ____________________
