S. HRG. 111–1129 NOMINATIONS FOR COMMISSIONER AND FOR GEN- ERAL COUNSEL OF THE EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION HEARING OF THE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED ELEVENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION ON NOMINATION OF JACQUELINE R. BERRIEN TO BE CHAIR OF THE EEOC; CHAI R. FELDBLUM AND VICTORIA A. LIPNIC TO BE COMMISSIONERS OF THE EEOC; AND P. DAVID LOPEZ TO BE GENERAL COUNSEL OF THE EEOC NOVEMBER 19, 2009 Printed for the use of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/ U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 75–510 PDF WASHINGTON : 2012 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS TOM HARKIN, Iowa, Chairman CHRISTOPHER J. DODD, Connecticut MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, Maryland JUDD GREGG, New Hampshire JEFF BINGAMAN, New Mexico LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee PATTY MURRAY, Washington RICHARD BURR, North Carolina JACK REED, Rhode Island JOHNNY ISAKSON, Georgia BERNARD SANDERS (I), Vermont JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona SHERROD BROWN, Ohio ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah ROBERT P. CASEY, JR., Pennsylvania LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska KAY R. HAGAN, North Carolina TOM COBURN, M.D., Oklahoma JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon PAT ROBERTS, Kansas AL FRANKEN, Minnesota MICHAEL F. BENNET, Colorado DANIEL SMITH, Staff Director PAMELA SMITH, Deputy Staff Director FRANK MACCHIAROLA, Republican Staff Director and Chief Counsel (II) CONTENTS STATEMENTS THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009 Page Harkin, Hon. Tom, Chairman, Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, opening statement ............................................................................... 1 Enzi, Hon. Michael B., a U.S. Senator from the State of Wyoming, opening statement .............................................................................................................. 2 Hoyer, Hon. Steny, a U.S. Representative from the State of Maryland ............. 5 Clarke, Hon. Yvette, a U.S. Representative from the State of New York .......... 7 Isakson, Hon. Johnny, a U.S. Senator from the State of Georgia ....................... 9 Berrien, Jacqueline A., Associate Director-Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., New York, NY ...................................................... 10 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 12 Feldblum, Chai R., Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC ................................................................................................... 14 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 15 Lipnic, Victoria A., Counsel, Seyfarth Shaw, LLP, Washington, DC .................. 17 Lopez, P. David, Supervisory Trial Attorney, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Phoenix District Office, Phoenix, AZ ........................................... 18 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 21 Alexander, Hon. Lamar, a U.S. Senator from the State of Tennessee ................ 26 Hagan, Hon. Kay R., a U.S. Senator from the State of North Carolina ............. 28 ADDITIONAL MATERIAL Response by Jacqueline Berrien to questions of: The HELP Committee ...................................................................................... 32 Senator Enzi ..................................................................................................... 34 Senator Alexander ............................................................................................ 38 Senator Coburn ................................................................................................. 39 Response to questions of Senator Coburn by Jacqueline Berrien and Chai Feldblum ............................................................................................................... 40 Response by Chai Feldblum to questions of: The HELP Committee ...................................................................................... 41 Senator Enzi ..................................................................................................... 45 Senator Coburn ................................................................................................. 48 Senator Isakson ................................................................................................ 54 Response by Victoria A. Lipnic to questions of: The HELP Committee ...................................................................................... 56 Senator Coburn ................................................................................................. 57 Response by P. David Lopez to questions of: The HELP Committee ...................................................................................... 57 Senator Enzi ..................................................................................................... 59 Senator Alexander ............................................................................................ 60 Senator Coburn ................................................................................................. 62 (III) NOMINATIONS FOR COMMISSIONER AND FOR GENERAL COUNSEL OF THE EQUAL EM- PLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2009 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS, Washington, DC. The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:08 a.m. in Room SD–430, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Tom Harkin, Chair- man of the committee, presiding. Present: Senators Harkin, Murray, Hagan, Enzi, Alexander, and Isakson. OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR HARKIN The CHAIRMAN. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions will please come to order. Our meeting this morning is a nomination hearing for Jackie Berrien to be chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Chai Feldblum and Victoria Lipnic to be Commissioners of the EEOC, and David Lopez to be EEOC’s general counsel. Over the last 45 years, we have made great strides toward elimi- nating discrimination in the workplace. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, sex, national origin, and religion. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act in 1967 prohibited discrimination on the basis of age, and the Ameri- cans with Disabilities Act in 1990 prohibited discrimination on the basis of disability. These important guarantees, however, are not self-executing, as I like to say. They are only as strong as the agency charged with enforcing them, the EEOC. The EEOC’s mission is simple—to pro- mote equality of opportunity in the workplace and enforce Federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. While much progress has been made in recent decades, discrimi- nation in the workplace persists. Today, too many employment de- cisions are based on insidious stereotypes and prejudices rather than an employee’s talent, ability, and qualifications. Too many hard-working Americans face the harsh reality of getting a pink slip or not being hired at all, being subjected to harassment, or being paid less for comparable work and not because of a lack of skills or poor performance, but simply because of his or her race, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, or some other irrele- vant factor. (1) 2 And sadly, in times of economic turmoil, discrimination often in- creases, and this deep recession has been no different. From fiscal year 2007 to the end of fiscal year 2008, overall claims filed with the EEOC increased by 28 percent to over 95,000 claims, and this includes increases in every type of case. Moreover, as the economy continues to struggle, workers who are victims of discrimination face even greater challenges. As just one example, during this recession, older workers, who face stereotypes that they cannot learn new skills or that they are not as produc- tive, have remained unemployed for more than twice as long as all unemployed workers. Unfortunately, precisely when we need a vigorous enforcer of Federal law, until recently, the EEOC has been woefully under- funded. For 5 years, its budget was virtually frozen. Due to under- funding since 2001, the EEOC has lost 25 percent of its workforce, mostly frontline positions that directly serve the public. But thankfully, we have begun to turn this around. In fiscal year 2009, under the leadership of Senator Mikulski, as chair of our Ap- propriations Committee on Commerce, Justice, and Science, Con- gress increased EEOC funding for the first time in 5 years by $15 million. And the fiscal year 2010 CJS appropriations bill includes $367 million for the EEOC, an increase of $23 million. Well, one result of the chronic underfunding has been an ever- increasing backlog of cases that need to be addressed. The EEOC now has a huge backlog of over 85,000 claims. It currently takes an average of 294 days to process a discrimination claim. Well, this situation is unacceptable. Too often justice delayed is, indeed, jus- tice denied. Now, more than ever, we need strong leadership at the EEOC. The nominees before us today are all extremely well qualified. All have a lifetime of commitment and service. Each possesses extraor- dinary skills and experience that will advance the EEOC’s mission and