[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 146 (Wednesday, December 3, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6273-S6275]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Lance Corporal Chadwick A. Gilliam
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, this morning, I rise to share with my
colleagues the story of one brave marine from Kentucky who lost his
life while wearing our country's uniform.
LCpl Chadwick A. Gilliam of Mayking, KY, passed away on January 3,
2009, of an apparent cardiac arrest at Camp Buehring, Kuwait. He was 29
years old.
For his service in uniform, Lance Corporal Gilliam received several
medals, awards, and decorations, including the Global War on Terrorism
Service Medal and the National Defense Service Medal.
Chris Damron, Chad's brother-in-law, recalls how Chad was happy to
enlist. ``He'd said that it was just something he wanted to do,'' Chris
says. ``All his life he wanted to be a Marine.''
Before entering the U.S. Marine Corps, Chad graduated from Whitesburg
High School in the mid-1990s. After earning his bachelor's degree, he
also graduated from Lindsay
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Wilson College with a master's degree in counseling and human
development.
One of his former high school teachers, Scottie Billiter, said
Gilliam was an inspiration to other students. Billiter remembers that
Chad had a wide array of interests, from the football team to the
Spanish club. ``I have nothing but great, fond memories of him,''
Billiter says. ``He was a big part of who we were.''
As a marine, Chad continued to be a natural inspiration to others.
``All the Marines seemed to really look up to Chad,'' says brother-in-
law Chris Damron. ``He was a leader in the Marine Corps.''
Chad was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines, 2nd Marine
Division, Second Marine Expeditionary Force, based out of Camp Lejeune,
NC. He was an infantryman and joined the unit in June 2007. He was
promoted to lance corporal in 2008 and deployed to Iraq in support of
Operation Iraqi Freedom.
We are thinking of Chad's family as I share his story with my Senate
colleagues, particularly his parents Paul Gilliam and Mary Ellen Cook
Gilliam, his wife Corinne Marie Stewart Gilliam, his sister Paula
Regina Damron, his brother Michael Wayne Gilliam, his brother-in-law
Chris Damron, along with many other beloved family members and friends.
Chad was preceded in death by his paternal grandparents Willard and
Belvia Holbrook Gilliam and his maternal grandparents Arlie and Edna
Sergent Cook.
I know my Senate colleagues join me in expressing gratitude and
sympathy to the family of LCpl Chadwick A. Gilliam--gratitude for his
life of service and sympathy for his ultimate sacrifice. Without brave
men and women such as Lance Corporal Gilliam to defend our country, we
would not be free. Those of us who cherish our freedoms must never ever
forget that.
I suggest the absence of a quorum
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. King). Without objection, it is so
ordered.
Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I support the nomination of Charlotte
Burrows to be a commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission, or EEOC, and David Lopez to continue to serve as the
agency's general counsel.
These are two eminently qualified nominees. Mr. Lopez is a dedicated
public servant who has spent over two decades protecting people from
workplace discrimination. He did an admirable job during his first
term, and was responsible for marked improvements in both the agency's
litigation program and in its outreach to stakeholders.
Ms. Burrows has also had a distinguished career in public service.
She is currently Associate Deputy Attorney General at the Department of
Justice, and previously served as general counsel for Civil and
Constitutional Rights for Senator Kennedy and the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions. She is a leading expert in the field of
discrimination law, and she has proven herself committed to public
service.
Both of these nominees deserve to be confirmed by the Senate. And our
Nation needs public servants of their caliber and experience at the
EEOC, which has the critical mission of protecting working Americans
from workplace discrimination.
Throughout my career I have been guided by the vision of an America
that is compassionate, just, and inclusive--a society where the
government provides a ladder, or sometimes a ramp--of opportunity that
gives every American a fair shot at the American dream. However, that
ladder cannot function properly if there are barriers of discrimination
that unfairly limit opportunities for some Americans to fully
participate in the social, political, and economic life of this Nation.
Over the last 50 years, we have made great strides towards
eliminating 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. The Americans with
Disabilities Act, in 1990, and the ADA Amendments Act, in 2008,
prohibited discrimination on the basis of disability.
These important guarantees, however, are not self-enforcing. They are
only as strong as the agency charged with enforcing them, the EEOC. The
EEOC's mission is simple and profoundly important--to promote equality
of opportunity in the workplace and enforce Federal laws prohibiting
employment discrimination.
While much progress has been made in recent decades, discrimination
in the workplace continues to be all too common. Too many employment
decisions are based on insidious stereotypes and prejudices rather than
an employee's talent, ability, and qualifications. Too many hardworking
Americans face the harsh reality of getting a pink slip or not being
hired at all because of race, sex, national origin, religion, age,
disability or some other irrelevant factor.
The realities are especially harsh for individuals with disabilities.
Less than 30 percent of working-age Americans with disabilities
participate in the workforce, and households with an adult member with
a disability earn 38.4 percent less than households without an adult
member who has a disability. These facts make it clear that people with
disabilities are still encountering roadblocks, and that the ADA's goal
of economic self-sufficiency is far from achieved.
The EEOC has an important role to play in combating discrimination
and supporting employment opportunities for individuals with
disabilities and for all Americans.
Unfortunately, today's EEOC faces enormous challenges. The agency has
a substantial backlog of almost 71,000 cases. And it takes an average
of 267 days to process a discrimination claim. The truth is that the
EEOC suffers from chronic underfunding, and this underfunding has
resulted in a significant reduction in full-time employees. Under this
administration, the agency has made real progress moving investigations
forward in a timely manner, but all too often justice delayed is
justice denied.
American workers deserve better, especially in these times of
economic turmoil, when discrimination often increases and workers who
are victims of discrimination face even greater challenges. Now more
than ever, we need strong leadership at the EEOC. The nominees are both
extremely well-qualified and have a deep commitment to public service.
They possess the extraordinary skills and experience that will help
them advance the EEOC's mission and ensure proper enforcement of
critically important laws.
Some of my friends on the other side of the aisle have raised
concerns that EEOC is too quick to bring lawsuits. That is just not the
case. Litigation is a last resort for the agency, and represents less
than 0.5 percent of all charges filed and only around 5 percent of
charges where the commission has issued a cause finding.
The EEOC under this administration has made enormous strides in
improving the conciliation process. In the last 3 years, the EEOC
improved its conciliation results significantly with successful
conciliations now at a rate of 41 percent of all cases that are
conciliated, up from 31 percent in fiscal year 2011. It is important to
remember that EEOC v. CRST, the case so often cited as evidence that
the agency isn't doing enough in the conciliation process, was a case
brought by a Bush administration-appointed general counsel.
My Republican colleagues also criticize the Commission for delegating
the prosecution of routine cases to the general counsel. There is
absolutely nothing inappropriate about that practice, and it should not
be a controversial issue. It is a practical measure to make sure the
Commissioners are focusing on the most important issues and have ample
opportunity to deliberate on broader policy issues. That is why the
EEOC's delegation policy has been carried forward across multiple
administrations and has bipartisan support from both Republican and
Democratic Commissioners.
Now, I think we can all agree that there have been some unacceptable
instances where courts have required the EEOC to pay attorney's fees
for a defendant. But those cases are rare and
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need to be viewed in perspective. Out of the 1,045 lawsuits filed from
fiscal year 2009 through fiscal year 2013, there have only been seven
in which fees have been assessed, and two of those are pending an
appeal. Generally, the EEOC is prudent and successful in litigation,
and the agency has won 11 out of 16 trials from fiscal year 2013 to the
present.
I want to comment on another issue that came up at the HELP Committee
hearing on these nominees--the EEOC's work with regard to wellness
programs. I am a strong supporter of wellness programs, and I was
intimately involved in drafting the section of the Affordable Care Act
that encourages such programs. Recently, the EEOC has been involved in
litigation involving wellness programs, and I think a lot of people are
trying to cloud the issue here. The EEOC has never--never--taken the
position that wellness programs are illegal. They are, however,
investigating extreme cases where employers have allegedly forced their
employees to participate in programs that require medical testing. That
raises Americans with Disabilities Act issues, and the EEOC is right to
look carefully at the issue. Plus, the agency has indicated that it
intends to issue guidance next year to help employers and employees
navigate the tricky legal issues.
One final point, none of the manufactured concerns coming from the
other side of the aisle have anything to do with the ability of these
two nominees to do the job for which they were nominated. No one has
questioned their qualifications. Both Ms. Burrows and Mr. Lopez are
eminently qualified. Some of my Republican colleagues just do not like
the fact that the EEOC is doing its job and enforcing our Nation's
civil rights laws. That is a shame because civil rights should not be a
partisan issue. We should all be coming together to support the agency
and the important role it plays in making fairer, more equal
workplaces.
I urge my colleagues to support both of these distinguished nominees
and confirm them quickly so they can get to work ensuring fairness and
equal opportunity for every American worker.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, all cloture time has
expired.
Under the previous order, there will be 2 minutes of debate prior to
a vote on the Burrows nomination.
Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I don't know of anybody seeking
recognition. I ask unanimous consent that all time be yielded back.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
All time having been yielded back, the question is, Will the Senate
advise and consent to the nomination of Charlotte A. Burrows, of the
District of Columbia, to be a Member of the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission?
Mr. ENZI. I ask for the yeas and nays.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from California (Mrs. Boxer),
the Senator from Louisiana (Ms. Landrieu), and the Senator from West
Virginia (Mr. Rockefeller) are necessarily absent.
Mr. CORNYN. The following Senators are necessarily absent: the
Senator from Oklahoma (Mr. Coburn) and the Senator from Mississippi
(Mr. Cochran).
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber
desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 93, nays 2, as follows:
[Rollcall Vote No. 301 Ex.]
YEAS--93
Alexander
Ayotte
Baldwin
Barrasso
Begich
Bennet
Blumenthal
Blunt
Booker
Boozman
Brown
Burr
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Chambliss
Coats
Collins
Coons
Corker
Cornyn
Crapo
Cruz
Donnelly
Durbin
Enzi
Feinstein
Fischer
Flake
Franken
Gillibrand
Graham
Grassley
Hagan
Harkin
Hatch
Heinrich
Heitkamp
Heller
Hirono
Hoeven
Inhofe
Isakson
Johanns
Johnson (SD)
Johnson (WI)
Kaine
King
Kirk
Klobuchar
Leahy
Lee
Levin
Manchin
Markey
McCain
McCaskill
McConnell
Menendez
Merkley
Mikulski
Moran
Murkowski
Murphy
Murray
Nelson
Paul
Portman
Pryor
Reed
Reid
Risch
Rubio
Sanders
Schatz
Schumer
Scott
Sessions
Shaheen
Stabenow
Tester
Thune
Toomey
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Vitter
Walsh
Warner
Warren
Whitehouse
Wicker
Wyden
NAYS--2
Roberts
Shelby
NOT VOTING--5
Boxer
Coburn
Cochran
Landrieu
Rockefeller
The nomination was agreed to.
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