Thank you, Senator Murray, and all others involved for working with the Department to create a bipartisan, win-win solution to the tip pooling issue.

Now, the omnibus bill that we implemented was not one I would have written or Senator Blunt would have written.

A nationally registered apprenticeship is an essential tool to create a talent ecosystem for our industry.

This is a critical rule and we hope that you urge your Department to move quickly on it.

providing workers with the skills that they need to succeed in the economy today is one of the smartest investments we can make to grow our economy.

I also hope Republicans will stand with Democrats in vigorously opposing any effort to undo the 2018 omnibus bill we passed.

I did want to draw your attention that in January, 21 Senators and I sent you a letter asking you to study the economic impacts of workplace harassment.

I am urging your Department to do what you can to raise that issue and make people aware that we are watching.

I come to the floor today to oppose in the strongest terms the nomination of Patrick Pizzella as Deputy Secretary of Labor. With this nomination President Trump is once again breaking his promise to put workers first. Mr. Pizzella has a…

Enforcing retaliation provisions--this goes back to my point, and they are already in place--enforcing those vigorously is very important and enforcing whistleblower provisions.

I have to say, I am deeply concerned about the Administration's continued efforts to create a duplicative, nonregistered program.

I am concerned will amount to nothing more than amnesty for employers engaged in wage theft.

Well, I appreciate that and I would just say, in general, that reneging on an agreement that took us a long time--it was very hard to get there--if we undo that, it is going to be very hard moving forward for us to be able to know that…

We've heard from experts in the field who are fighting this epidemic.

And similarly on the grant agreement for the Tacoma Link Extension, can you give me a timeline for that one?

This is about veterans who have been injured through no fault of their own. Our country has promised to make them whole again, and being a family is part of it.

I agree too, we cannot privatize the transmission lines. Absolutely opposed to it.

I think that is extremely important.

But we know that successful prevention efforts need sustained commitments.

The burden of this crisis isn't just borne by individuals or families, but by entire communities.

I am still waiting for answers and clarity and I just want you to know I'm not going to support any proposals until we get a thorough review and analysis to Congress and to the State of Washington and to the Tri-Cities Community because…

I want to make sure that you follow the congressional intent on this.

This bill is a testament to the value of listening, and we're not done listening yet.

If confirmed, I want to know, will you make this a top priority for the VA to fully implement the new caregivers law as Congress intended?

It has become abundantly clear that reaching this court mandated deadline sooner comes at the expense now of the rest of the waste treatment plant.