Political Quotes

“Mr. President, this morning the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee is considering the nomination of Julie Su to be Secretary of Labor. Before joining the U.S. Department of Labor as Deputy Secretary under President Biden, Ms. Su previously served as labor secretary for the State of California, and in that post, she was perhaps most notable for presiding over massive unemployment fraud during the COVID crisis. Unemployment fraud was a significant problem during the pandemic, but even with widespread fraud, California stood out for the scope of its problem. During the first 6 months of the pandemic, California had an improper payment rate of 36.6 percent. Let that sink in for a moment--an improper payment rate of 36.6 percent. Ultimately, the State paid out around $30 billion in fraudulent claims between the start of the pandemic and last spring. Now, certainly, States faced an influx of unemployment claims during the pandemic that put additional pressure on unemployment agencies. But California's fraud situation was not simply a result of an increased workload during the pandemic. It was also in part the result of Ms. Su's decision to remove safeguards intended to help prevent fraudulent claims. During the early days of the pandemic, Ms.…”