Nomination of Jocelyn Samuels

Floor Speech

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Mrs. MURRAY. Madam President, I was proud to vote to confirm Jocelyn Samuels to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission last year when she was confirmed in a bipartisan vote, and I am proud to do so again.

The EEOC has a critical role to play in protecting workers' rights and addressing inequities in our economy which disproportionately disadvantage women, people of color, people with disabilities, and more. For example, it is responsible for enforcing discrimination and harassment laws and works to address the gender pay gap.

Workers need a champion at the EEOC fighting for them, and Ms. Samuels has proven over her nearly two decades of experience with the Federal Government and her recent service as a Commissioner of the EEOC that she is that champion.

From pushing to pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act as vice president of education and employment at the National Women's Law Center to leading civil rights efforts at the Department of Justice and Department of Health and Human Services, to working as a staffer on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and a senior attorney at the EEOC, she has spent her career working to address discrimination and ensure no one is treated unfairly because of their age, sex, including sexual orientation and gender identity, race, religion, or disability.

I was pleased to see her nomination advanced out of our HELP Committee with bipartisan support, and I hope to see similar bipartisan support for her final confirmation.

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