Nomination of Catherine Elizabeth Lhamon

Floor Speech

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Mrs. MURRAY. I come to the floor today to support strongly the confirmation of Catherine Lhamon to serve as Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the Department of Education.

She is extremely qualified for this role. In fact, she has served in it before. In 2013, Ms. Lhamon was confirmed to the same role by voice vote. During her past tenure, she demonstrated her commitment to students across the country as she worked to combat sexual assault on college campuses, protect transgender students, reduce the use of seclusion and restraint, reduce disparities in school discipline based on a student's race or disability, and enforce civil rights laws to protect students.

Unfortunately, the previous administration took major steps backwards when it came to supporting and protecting students--for example, by significantly reducing efforts to enforce civil rights protections and rescinding important policies to address campus sexual assault.

Now, as we know, the pandemic has also done serious damage and worsened deep-seated inequities for students whose families earn low incomes, students of color, English learners, and students with disabilities.

We have a lot of work ahead to fix this and help our schools rebuild stronger and fairer, which is why I am especially glad to see Secretary Cardona and President Biden working so hard to right the wrongs of the last administration and support our schools through this pandemic.

I know Ms. Lhamon will be a critical, capable partner in those efforts because not only did she tackle many of these challenges in her past service as Assistant Secretary, but even after her service in the Obama administration, Ms. Lhamon continued fighting for civil rights through her time as the Chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, her work litigating civil rights cases with the National Center for Youth Law, and as legal affairs secretary to the Governor of California.

She currently serves the Biden administration as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director to the Domestic Policy Council for Racial Justice and Equity.

Ms. Lhamon is a highly qualified nominee. She has a long track record that proves she is a champion for students through and through, and that is exactly what our students need. I am thrilled to have her returning to the Education Department's Office of Civil Rights. I urge all of our colleagues to join me in voting for her confirmation.

Thank you.

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