[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 115 (Wednesday, July 10, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S4759]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                     Nomination of John P. Pallasch

  Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I come to the floor today to speak 
about the two nominations we are about to vote on.
  The first one is the nomination of John Pallasch to be the Assistant 
Secretary of Labor overseeing the Employment & Training Administration. 
This is a critically important role that manages nearly two-thirds of 
the Department of Labor's budget and our Nation's workforce development 
programs, which serve over 22 million youth, workers, jobseekers, and 
seniors who are working to improve their employment opportunities and 
the lives of their families.
  This position is particularly important now as we are seeing the 
Trump administration work to undermine some of the most crucial 
programs within the Employment & Training Administration. They are 
attempting to close Job Corps centers that help train at-risk youth, 
conserve our natural resources, and provide economic opportunities in 
rural areas and communities in need. They are also proposing a 
duplicative, lower quality apprenticeship program that would put 
workers at risk and give taxpayer dollars to for-profit colleges with 
very little accountability.
  It is clear that the Employment & Training Administration needs a 
leader now who is knowledgeable, who is experienced, and who is 
committed to providing workers with the training, support, and benefits 
they need to succeed in this changing economy. Unfortunately, Mr. 
Pallasch is not that person. Throughout this nomination process, Mr. 
Pallasch has shown that he has very limited experience with or 
understanding of the programs that he would be overseeing.
  I am going to vote against this nomination, and I urge my colleagues 
to do the same.
  At this time, I also want to once again reiterate my disappointment 
in the unprecedented obstruction to Democratic nominees to the Equal 
Employment Opportunity Commission and the National Labor Relations 
Board. Last Congress, Republicans refused to confirm two very highly 
qualified and respected nominees to additional terms on the EEOC and 
the NLRB.
  Earlier this year, Republicans broke yet another longstanding 
tradition by confirming a majority nominee to the EEOC without a 
Democratic pair.
  Last week, the White House announced its intention to nominate a 
bipartisan pair of nominees to the EEOC. After a year of obstruction, I 
am encouraged by this small step toward bipartisanship and normalcy, 
but I am here today to urge the White House to formalize these 
nominations as quickly as possible so that the Senate can confirm them 
and restore balance to the EEOC.
  I strongly urge the White House to nominate a full slate of 
nominees--Republican and Democrat--to both the NLRB and EEOC.
  For those reasons and because of Mr. Pallasch's lack of experience 
and knowledge about the programs and the policies he would be 
responsible for, I will vote against his nomination.