[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 198 (Tuesday, December 20, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7817-S7818]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST--EXECUTIVE CALENDAR

  Ms. SMITH. Mr. President, in a moment, I will ask unanimous consent 
to confirm Executive Calendar No. 1204, the nomination of Jessica 
Looman, of Minnesota, to be Administrator of the Wage and Hour 
Division, Department of Labor. Ms. Looman's nomination was favorably 
reported out of the Senate HELP Committee on November 29 with a strong 
bipartisan vote of 13 to 9.
  Jessica Looman has very capably served as the Principal Deputy 
Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division since January of 2021. In 
recognition of her excellent service, Ms. Looman was nominated to 
permanently lead the Division at the Department of Labor, and I can't 
think of a better candidate.
  I have had the opportunity to know and to work with Jessica since 
2011. Jessica is from St. Paul, MN. She is a longtime labor leader, 
attorney, and lifelong champion of workers. In addition to being a 
strong advocate for working people, she is also thoughtful and 
innovative and fair. She has led executive agencies and has wide 
experience working with diverse stakeholders. I am confident that she 
will be a fair and pragmatic Administrator as she enforces some of our 
Nation's most important labor laws, including laws governing minimum 
wage, overtime, and child labor.
  This role that she will serve in has a direct impact on working 
people, like the waitress who should be protected from a boss who 
steals her tips, like the building trades carpenter or laborer who has 
the right to earn the prevailing wage that can support their families 
when they work on a Federal project, and like the worker who has the 
right to earn overtime and isn't being paid for the hours they work.
  At a time when we have seen child labor abuses at meatpacking plants 
in Minnesota and auto suppliers in Alabama, it is critical that we have 
strong oversight and enforcement to protect children from abuse.
  Ms. Looman's values are rooted in upholding the dignity of work and 
supporting hard-working Americans. In all of the time I have known her, 
she has approached issues with a keen desire to understand both sides 
of an argument and to find fair solutions that both sides can accept. 
This is why she is respected by both labor and employers, first in 
Minnesota and now in her work at the U.S. Department of Labor. Ms. 
Looman has built this reputation because she is reasonable and builds 
consensus even when it is difficult and there are real differences to 
bridge.
  Ms. Looman will be a strong, fair Wage and Hour Administrator for 
workers and for employers across the country. For this reason, I urge 
my colleagues to support her nomination and to allow this request to 
move forward.
  So, Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that, as in executive 
session, the Senate consider the following nomination: Calendar No. 
1204, Jessica Looman, of Minnesota, to be Administrator of the Wage and 
Hour Division, Department of Labor; that the Senate

[[Page S7818]]

vote on the nomination without intervening action or debate; and that, 
if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon 
the table and the President be immediately notified of the Senate's 
action.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  The Senator from Indiana.
  Mr. BRAUN. Mr. President, reserving the right to object, before 
coming to the Senate, I was actually involved in a very, very small 
business. For nearly 17 years, this business had 1 location and 15 
employees. After all that work, over the next 20 years, it did grow 
into then a regional company and a national one. All I can tell you is 
that that is the hardest job out there. Farming is another example 
where you are a sole proprietor and you have all the risk.
  Whenever there are burdensome regulations that come into play, they 
have to be measured. You have to make sure you don't have things that 
are going to make that job even more difficult. Living that life as a 
Main Street business owner, I know firsthand how some of that stuff, 
even though well-intentioned, can end up being something that makes the 
difference whether you survive or not.
  As Wage and Hour Administrator, Ms. Looman would be in charge of 
enforcing the Fair Labor Standards Act, which is a Federal statute 
dictating minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping, and child labor 
requirements for private employers. As Acting Administrator, she 
oversaw the end of the Trump administration's rules on joint employers, 
independent contractors, and overtime. These rules brought greater 
regulatory certainty and consistency to employers and entrepreneurs, 
small ones.
  The Biden administration is working on their own version of these 
rules, which I fear will be job-killing, burdensome, and bring 
uncertainty to employers, employees, and entrepreneurs.
  The other thing that these businesses do--unlike larger ones, this is 
their main source of income. Their living is made out of it. They are 
lucky if they scrape out a return on investment. So if it gets to be 
too burdensome, you are taking away, in essence, a paycheck.
  Most recently, they announced a proposed rule for determining 
independent contractor classification. This proposed rule would have 
immediate and long-term disruptive effects on millions of workers and 
thousands of businesses at a time when the economy is facing high 
inflation rates and stress in the business community in general.
  This position impacts too many Americans and small businesses not to 
have a vote for them or to have undue, burdensome regulations; 
therefore, I do object.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kentucky.

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