Nomination of Chai Feldblum

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to raise concerns about the unprecedented and partisan obstruction of a highly qualified nominee to a critical agency.

In this country, it is illegal to discriminate against someone in the workplace because of the traits that make them who they are--their race, religion, sex, disability, and more--and it is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's responsibility to enforce those laws and give every person the opportunity to make a living for themselves without fear of discrimination or harassment.

Right now, a single Republican Senator is threatening to derail the confirmation of Ms. Feldblum for another term on the EEOC. Ms. Feldblum has served two terms on the EEOC, where she has earned the respect of her professional colleagues on both sides of the aisle. She has strong support from Republicans and Democrats in the Senate, and she has been confirmed by this Senate twice.

When it comes to independent boards and commissions, including the EEOC, the Senate has a longstanding practice of pairing nominees--one from the majority party and one from the minority party. This is so important because it allows the minority party the opportunity to have a voice. In this case, it allows my Democratic colleagues and me to ensure that employers are held accountable for workers' rights and safety on the job. This practice is also important to bipartisanship in the Senate. Part of that longstanding practice is that the majority cannot railroad the nomination of a well-respected and well-qualified individual chosen by the minority.

If Ms. Feldblum's nomination is blocked by this Congress, it will be an unprecedented power grab by the majority that would permanently shift the balance of power in the Senate. I hope all of my colleagues take seriously what it would mean if yet another power of the minority in the Senate was taken away. Most importantly, if one Republican Senator insists on blocking Ms. Feldblum's nomination, the work of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission--an agency workers rely on to protect their rights and safety on the job--is going to come to a grinding halt.

Over the past 2 years, we have seen a shift in this country toward acknowledging and taking action against sexual assault and harassment, especially in the workplace. For far too long, this epidemic of powerful men taking advantage of their subordinates, employees, or those without a voice was swept under the rug. Women and men were told to brush it off or have a sense of humor or just endure the harassment or abuse they were facing in the workplace. Many did because they knew they would be punished, retaliated against, or even fired.

After the Presidential election and the Women's March, when so many women and men around the country made their voices heard and fought back against misogyny, sexism, racism, and tilted the playing field that has favored those at the top for too long, we started to see women and men bravely come forward at a level we have never seen before to say ``no more'' and to speak out against their experiences of sexual assault and harassment in the workplace.

Because of that courage, a lot of powerful men in Hollywood, in the media, and in Congress have finally been held accountable for their actions, especially when it came to using their power to take advantage of younger or less powerful women and men.

For women and men in industries outside the spotlight--in hospitality, in technology, in farm fields, and in so many offices and workplaces around the country--there has not been the same kind of reckoning. For many of those workers, the EEOC is one of the very few places they can turn to. The EEOC is a resource for workers who need to file complaints of harassment or discrimination. It holds employers and businesses accountable for widespread discrimination and harassment.

Again, because of the objection of a single Republican Senator, it is possible now that the EEOC will be unable to conduct some of its most critical work. Here is what that means for workers in our country. The EEOC would no longer be able to bring some large cases when discrimination is part of employers' general operating standards. That often includes hiring practices, equal pay, or sexual harassment. It means workers will not be able to file complaints to stop what happened to them from happening to anyone else.

The EEOC would not be able to rule in cases where the Commission has not previously taken a position and a new policy must be created, and regional EEOC offices would not be able to hire expert witnesses in some cases, meaning that many cases would be stalled or even punted.

This is not hypothetical. Without a quorum--without a quorum--the EEOC would not have been able to participate in the 2016 case against a tire company that refused to hire women for field positions. After the EEOC intervened, that company settled with 46 women and implemented safeguards to prevent further discrimination. The EEOC also would not have been able to participate in a case against the outdoor store that discriminated against African Americans and Hispanic workers in hiring practices and retaliated against workers who stood up against unlawful practices.

Workers around the country rely on the EEOC every day to intervene when they are being harassed, discriminated against, or unfairly treated at work. Whether they are being told they must work on their day of religious observance or being told they cannot do a certain job because of their sex, the EEOC is there for them.

In this moment when sexual assault and harassment in the workplace are at the forefront of our national conversation, this is the wrong message to send to the American workers and their employees. We need to prove to the millions of women and men that we are taking the epidemic of harassment in the workplace seriously.

I have spoken to many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to make the case for confirming Ms. Feldblum before the end of this Congress. There is strong support on both sides of the aisle to get this done, with the exception of one lone Republican Senator.

I urge my colleagues across the aisle to push aside this unprecedented obstructionism, and I call on the Senate to move forward with confirming the full slate of nominees to the EEOC before this Congress ends so the Commission can continue to fulfill its duty to workers by enforcing protections and ensuring people are able to go to work and make a living without the fear of discrimination, harassment, or abuse.

I hope that as we are confirming the EEOC nominees, the Senate will also confirm Mark Pearce to another term on the National Labor Relations Board. Like the EEOC, the Senate has a long history of confirming majority and minority members to the Board in pairs. However, this year, Senate Republicans jammed through the majority members without reconfirming Mr. Pearce, allowing a minority seat to sit empty.

Mr. Pearce is extremely qualified and has a long track record of serving his country for 8 years now as a member of the Board. He has a distinguished background representing unions and workers. Right now, when the Republican Board members are rushing decisions through that chip away workers' rights, even violating ethics pledges to do so, it is clear that the Board could benefit from his knowledge and expertise and voice for workers.

As I have told my colleagues across the aisle, I will not allow the Senate to jam through any HELP Committee nominees until Mr. Pearce and Ms. Feldblum are reconfirmed to their positions on the Board and the EEOC.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source