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Floor Speech
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Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support President Biden's nominee to serve as Secretary of Labor, current Acting Secretary Julie Su.
Julie is a proud Californian and a champion for workers everywhere. She was a tireless advocate for workers in California for years. I was honored to introduce her before the HELP Committee 2 years ago when she was first nominated to serve as Deputy Secretary of Labor.
I should note that, that year, I was also proud to see every single Democratic Senator vote to confirm her nomination. In the time since, I think it is perfect to ask, what has happened? I will tell you what has happened. She has gained even more experience in defending workers nationwide and in managing a Federal Department.
As a highly effective Deputy Secretary of Labor and now as Acting Secretary, she has played a critical role in helping the administration add 12.6 million jobs to the American economy, which is more job gains than any previous President has achieved in a 4-year term. It is further proof that job creation and strong labor protections are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they go hand in hand in building a strong, resilient economy.
Julie's service and track record come as no surprise, frankly, when you understand where she came from. She is the daughter of immigrants and a native of California. She knows personally the sacrifices that many working families make to make ends meet. Her parents worked hard for decades in minimum wage jobs before establishing and growing their own small business.
So, yes, colleagues, Julie Su and her family have seen both sides of a paycheck. They instilled in Julie a strong work ethic, which has led her to take on tough fights as a labor lawyer, as labor secretary for the State of California, as Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor, and now as Acting Secretary.
I also have to note, as the secretary of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency--the then-fifth largest economy in the world and now the fourth largest economy in the world--she was a strong manager who led a number of major departments, boards, and panels at the State level.
Her experience and qualifications are unmatched. As former Secretary Walsh put it, Julie is a ``lifelong champion of America's workers.''
I will end with this: If confirmed, she would be the first Asian American to serve as a Secretary in President Biden's Cabinet. Millions of Americans will see themselves represented at the highest levels of government and take pride in her story as a daughter of working-class immigrants.
I was proud to hear her impressive recent testimony in the HELP Committee when I introduced her once again and where she was successfully voted out of committee. She is exactly the type of labor champion we need at this critical time.
I urge my colleagues to join me in once again confirming her nomination.
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