Congressional Record—Senate S3234
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S3234 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 8, 2013 under Mr. Perez’s leadership had be- The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Sen- be the central question before our com- come so politicized and so unpro- ator from Iowa. mittee today: Will Tom Perez be a good fessional that at times it became sim- f Secretary of Labor. The answer is un- ply dysfunctional, it could not function equivocally yes. Without question, he NOMINATION OF THOMAS PEREZ properly. has the knowledge and experience This 258-page report by the Depart- Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I come needed to guide this critically impor- ment of Justice inspector general cited to the floor today to express my deep tant agency. ‘‘deep ideological polarization,’’ which disappointment that once again Repub- Through his professional experiences, began under his predecessors and which lican obstructionism and procedural and especially his work as Secretary of has continued under Mr. Perez’s leader- tricks are preventing this body from the Maryland Department of Labor, Li- ship. The inspector general said this carrying out its constitutional duty censing and Regulation, he has devel- polarization ‘‘has at times been a sig- and responsibility, its obligation to oped strong policy expertise about the nificant impediment to the operation consider important Presidential nomi- many important issues for American of the Section and has exacerbated the nations. workers and businesses that come be- potential appearance of politicized de- This time the target is Mr. Tom fore the Department of Labor every cision-making.’’ Perez, the President’s extremely quali- day. He spearheaded major initiatives This is at the Department of Justice. fied nominee to be Secretary of Labor. on potentially controversial issues, So instead of upholding and enforcing The HELP Committee, which I chair, such as unemployment insurance re- all laws equally, the Department of was scheduled to vote on his nomina- form and worker misclassification, Justice, Civil Rights Division—the tion at 4 o’clock this afternoon. Obvi- while finding common ground between Voting Section—under Mr. Perez, has ously, we are not doing that. An anony- workers and businesses to build sen- launched politically motivated cam- mous Republican has invoked an ob- sible, commonsense solutions. paigns against commonsense constitu- scure procedural rule to prevent our He also clearly has the management tional laws, such as the voter ID laws committee from meeting at that sched- skills to run a large Federal agency ef- adopted by the States of Texas and uled time. This pointless obstruc- fectively. He was also an effective man- South Carolina. tionism is extremely disturbing. ager and a responsible steward of pub- In addition, he delivered misleading I would like to point out that we had lic resources, undertaking significant testimony to the U.S. Commission on previously been scheduled to vote on administrative and organizational re- Civil Rights back in 2010. The inspector his nomination in my committee 2 forms that made the Maryland DLLR general said Mr. Perez’s testimony weeks ago. In an effort to bend over more efficient and more effective. about a prominent voting rights case backwards and to be accommodating to His outstanding work in Maryland ‘‘did not reflect the entire story re- our colleagues who requested more has won him the support of the busi- garding the involvement of political time to consider documents related to ness community and worker advocates appointees.’’ So when you are not tell- the nomination, I deferred it for 2 alike. To quote from the endorsement ing the whole truth, you are not telling weeks as sort of senatorial courtesy. letter of the Maryland Chamber of the truth. This time there is no allegation that Commerce: Before joining the Department of they have had insufficient time for Mr. Perez proved himself to be a pragmatic Justice—and this is part of his unfortu- consideration, just delay for delay’s public official who was willing to bring dif- nate track record—he served as a local sake on the nomination. Tom Perez has fering voices together. The Maryland Cham- official in Montgomery County, MD. been before our committee since ber had the opportunity to work with Mr. During those years, he consistently op- March. We have had our hearing, dur- Perez on an array of issues of importance to posed the proper enforcement of our employers in Maryland, from unemployment ing which Mr. Perez fully answered all immigration laws. In fact, Mr. Perez and workforce development to the housing questions posed to him. I cut off no testified against enforcement measures and foreclosure crisis. Despite differences of one. I allowed anyone to ask whatever that were being considered by the opinion, Mr. Perez was always willing to questions they wanted. Maryland State Legislature. allow all parties to be heard, and we found I would ask my colleagues, because Mr. Perez has met with any inter- him to be fair and collaborative. I believe that our experiences with him here in Mary- we have an important function to play ested Senator personally and answered over 200 written questions for the land bode well for the nation. That is a pret- under our constitutional system, one of ty strong endorsement by a chamber of com- advice and consent—that is the con- record. It is an understatement to say his nomination has been thoroughly merce for a nominee whom the minority firmation process for Presidential leader today on the floor characterized as a nominees—is this really the type of vetted. This continuing delay is uncon- ‘‘crusading ideologue . willing to do or person we want running the Depart- scionable and only hurts the American say anything to achieve his ideological ment of Labor, especially at a time workers and businesses that rely on the ends.’’ That is how he was characterized by when Congress is contemplating pas- Department of Labor each and every the Republican leader today, but the Mary- land Chamber of Commerce didn’t seem to sage of important immigration reform day. As our country continues to move think so. So that grossly unfair character- laws? ization by the Republican leader is mani- Given his record, I am concerned Mr. down the road to economic recovery, the work of the Department of Labor is festly inconsistent with the experiences of Perez does not have the temperament the Republican leaders and businesses that or the competence we need in our Sec- becoming even more vital to the lives have actually worked with Tom Perez. of our working families. Whether it is retary of the Department of Labor. I Mr. President, I ask unanimous con- making sure workers get paid the fear that, just like he has at the De- sent to have printed in the RECORD let- wages they deserve, helping returning partment of Justice, he would invari- ters from businesses and Republican veterans reenter the workforce, pro- ably politicize the Department of leaders demonstrating the strong bi- tecting our seniors’ retirement nest Labor and impose ideological litmus partisan support for Mr. Perez’s nomi- eggs, ensuring that a new mother can tests. For all these reasons, and more, nation. These people clearly disagree care for her baby without losing her I will oppose his nomination. with the Republican leader’s assess- job, the Department of Labor helps Mr. President, I yield the floor and ment of Mr. Perez’s qualifications and families build the cornerstones of a suggest the absence of a quorum. character. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The middle-class life. There being no objection, the mate- Now more than ever we need strong clerk will call the roll. rial was ordered to be printed in the leadership at the Department to help The assistant legislative clerk pro- RECORD, as follows: ceeded to call the roll. strengthen our fragile recovery and MARCH 19, 2013. build a stronger and revitalized Amer- Mr. HARKIN. I ask unanimous con- JOINT STATEMENT FROM STATE ATTORNEYS sent that the order for the quorum call ican middle class. That is why this GENERAL IN SUPPORT OF NOMINATION OF be rescinded. nomination is so important. TOM PEREZ AS SECRETARY OF U.S. DEPART- The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. There has been a lot of public discus- MENT OF LABOR BROWN). Without objection, it is so or- sion about Mr. Perez but remarkably ‘‘Tom Perez is a brilliant lawyer and lead- dered. little of it has focused on what should er, who listens thoughtfully to all sides and VerDate Mar 15 2010 03:29 May 09, 2013 Jkt 029060 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\G08MY6.049 S08MYPT1 rfrederick on DSK6VPTVN1PROD with SENATE May 8, 2013 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S3235 works collaboratively to solve problems. He ment must work in partnership with busi- I believe that he will bring those skills and has dedicated his career to serving the pub- ness to find solutions that succeed in today’s strong personal qualities to the duties of the lic, and his experience as Secretary of the marketplace highlights his continual acces- Secretary of Labor and enable him to per- Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing sibility and his empathic approach to work- form in a manner worthy of your trust. and Regulation and in the U.S. Department ing with job creators nationwide. Thank you for listening to my support for of Justice make him ideally suited to serve We applaud the President’s nomination of this very special and patriotic man. as the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Tom Perez as Secretary of Labor because we Respectfully yours, Labor. have experienced, first hand, the fruits of JOHN R. DUNNE. ‘‘As state Attorneys General, we have Tom’s open door policy and his steady ap- Mr.