[Senate Hearing 117-201]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 117-201
NOMINATIONS OF LISA GOMEZ,
AND JOSE JAVIER RODRIGUEZ
=======================================================================
HEARING
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION,
LABOR, AND PENSIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
ON
EXAMINING THE NOMINATIONS OF LISA M. GOMEZ, OF NEW JERSEY,
AND JOSE JAVIER RODRIGUEZ, OF FLORIDA, BOTH TO BE AN ASSIST-
ANT SECRETARY OF LABOR
__________
OCTOBER 7, 2021
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
46-781 PDF WASHINGTON : 2023
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS
PATTY MURRAY, Washington, Chair
BERNIE SANDERS (I), Vermont RICHARD BURR, North Carolina,
ROBERT P. CASEY, JR., Pennsylvania Ranking Member
TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin RAND PAUL, M.D., Kentucky
CHRISTOPHER S. MURPHY, Connecticut SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine
TIM KAINE, Virginia BILL CASSIDY, M.D., Louisiana
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska
TINA SMITH, Minnesota MIKE BRAUN, Indiana
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada ROGER MARSHALL, M.D., Kansas
BEN RAY LUJAN, New Mexico TIM SCOTT, South Carolina
JOHN HICKENLOOPER, Colorado MITT ROMNEY, Utah
TOMMY TUBERVILLE, Alabama
JERRY MORAN, Kansas
Evan T. Schatz, Staff Director
David P. Cleary, Republican Staff Director
John Righter, Deputy Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
----------
STATEMENTS
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2021
Page
Committee Members
Murray, Hon. Patty, Chair, Committee on Health, Education, Labor,
and Pensions, Opening statement................................ 1
Burr, Hon. Richard, Ranking Member, a U.S. Senator from the State
of North Carolina, Opening statement........................... 3
Witnesses
Gomez, Lisa, Raritan Township, NJ................................ 7
Prepared statement........................................... 9
Rodriguez, Jose, Javier, Miami, FL............................... 9
Prepared statement........................................... 11
NOMINATIONS OF LISA GOMEZ,
AND JOSE JAVIER RODRIGUEZ
----------
Thursday, October 7, 2021
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 a.m., in room
216, Hart Senate Office Building, Hon. Patty Murray, Chair of
the Committee, presiding.
Present: Senators Murray [presiding], Casey, Baldwin,
Murphy, Kaine, Hassan, Smith, Rosen, Hickenlooper, Burr, Braun,
Marshall, Scott, and Tuberville.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR MURRAY
The Chair. Good morning. The Senate Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions Committee will please come to order.
Today, we are holding a hearing on the nominations of Lisa
Gomez to be the Assistant Secretary for the Department of
Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration, or EBSA, and
Jose Javier Rodriguez to be the Assistant Secretary for the
Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration,
the ETA.
Ranking Member Burr and I will each have an opening
statement, and then I will introduce our witnesses. And after
they give their testimony, Senators will each have 5 minutes
for a round of questions.
We are again unable to have this hearing fully open to the
public or media for in-person attendance. Live video is
available on our Committee website at help.senate.gov. If you
are in need of accommodations, including closed captioning, you
can reach out to the Committee or the Office of Congressional
Accessibility Services.
We received Ms. Gomez' formal nomination on July 28th, her
Office of Government Ethics paperwork on August 9th, her
Committee paperwork on September 15th.
We received Mr. Rodriguez' formal nomination July 13th, his
Office of Government Ethics paperwork on July 27th, and his
Committee paperwork on September 15th.
I would like to thank all of our witnesses for joining us,
and also, welcome to your families. Ms. Gomez' husband, Alex
Gomez, and their three children, Tina, Alyssia, and Adrian, are
watching from home. And Mr. Rodriguez' wife, Sonia Succar, is
here with him. Welcome to all of you.
EBSA and ETA both do critical work to make sure the
economic security of families across the Country, so I am
pleased to have before us two extremely qualified nominees who
have shown they have what it takes to lead these important
agencies.
EBSA has the massive task of overseeing more than 700,000
retirement plans, two million health plans, and 880,000 other
welfare benefit plans. That is tens of trillions in assets
overall, the management of which has huge consequences for the
everyday lives and futures of millions of our families across
the Country.
The agency also has a critical role to play in addressing
threats to families' financial security, like unscrupulous
financial advisors that may put their own interests above the
financial security of those who turn to them for help, or the
growing array of cybersecurity threats.
While Congress passed legislation to address the multi-
employer pension crisis, which threatened to cut the hard-
earned benefits of millions of workers who did nothing wrong,
EBSA faces the challenge of helping retirement plan
participants recover the benefits they are entitled to.
EBSA also enforces critical protections for people who get
their healthcare coverage through their job, such as
protections for people with pre-existing conditions;
protections enacted in the ACA, including access to free
preventive services; and mental health parity and addiction
equity law, which ensures health plans cover those benefits at
the same level they would cover other medical care.
Thanks to the law we passed last year banning surprise
medical bills, EBSA will help make insurance companies--make
sure insurance companies cannot leave patients with unexpected,
exorbitant medical bills for out-of-network care and will have
additional tools to enforce mental health parity.
While EBSA works to make sure the benefits millions of
employers provide comply with Federal protections, ETA plays
another critical role when it comes to providing economic
security for workers and their families. It is charged with
addressing our Nation's workforce needs and works to do this by
providing high-quality job training and employment programs,
administering worker dislocation programs, tracking labor
market information, and supporting unemployment insurance and
other state programs through Federal grants.
During the COVID-19 crisis, we have seen how unemployment
insurance programs are a critical lifeline for workers when
their financial security is upended. But also, how urgently--we
urgently need to modernize our unemployment insurance system so
relief is not delayed by outdated infrastructure. ETA has been
at the forefront of these efforts.
As we work to recover from this pandemic, it also has a key
role to play in our Nation's workforce--addressing our
workforce shortages this pandemic has exacerbated in so many
fields.
Our Nation has an enormous challenge ahead to build back
from this pandemic stronger and fairer. It will take additional
bold relief, which Democrats are continuing to fight for, and
it will take experienced leaders like Ms. Gomez and Mr.
Rodriguez at key agencies like EBSA and ETA.
I look forward to hearing from both of you about the
challenges ahead and how we build an economy that truly works
for working families.
Now, before I turn it over to Ranking Member Burr for his
opening remarks, I seek unanimous consent to put in the record
three letters in support of Ms. Gomez' nomination and 26
letters in support of Mr. Rodriguez' nomination. So ordered.
[The information referred to was not submitted.]
The Chair. Senator Burr.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR BURR
Senator Burr. Thank you, Madam Chair.
The purpose of this hearing is to consider the nominees to
serve on the Employee Benefits Security Administration and
Employment and Training. To our nominees today, welcome, and to
your families, congratulations.
In my role as Ranking Member, this is usually where I
either raise concerns about your qualifications or raise
concerns about some terrible thing that the Administration is
doing. There are enough concerns--excuse me. There are enough
concerning things being done by the White House and the
National Labor Relations Board to fill volumes of the
Congressional Record.
But, today, I have to address the reckless spend--tax and
spend agenda of the partisan majority that calls for $3.5
trillion in additional spending and a massive transformation of
the size and scope of the Federal Government. That is on top,
on top, of the 3.5 trillion we spent combating COVID last year,
all passed on a bipartisan basis. It may seem like a distant
memory, but Republicans and Democrats actually worked together
on those bills.
That is on top of the 1.9 trillion splurge by a partisan
majority less than 7 months ago during its first taxpayer
funding spree.
In the past 18 months, the Congress has added $5.4 trillion
to the national ledgers, and it is $29 trillion in debt.
Social Security actuaries say Social Security will become
insolvent in 2034, leading to cuts by as much as 24 percent in
the retirement benefits of approximately 65 million Americans.
Medicare is equally in dire shape. Medicare's hospital
trust fund is set to run out of money in 2026, just a few years
down the road. The Medicare trustees, which include, by the
way, Secretary Becerra, Secretary Yellen, and Secretary Walsh,
admit that when Medicare cannot pay its bills, beneficiaries'
access to health services will be rapidly curtailed.
But, instead of working to make these programs solvent, a
narrow partisan majority wants to grow government even more and
add another $3.5 trillion, at least, in a massive socialist
redesign of society.
We should be honest that this is a socialist agenda. You
can dress it up with the label of progressive, but when you put
government at the center of every decision a family makes about
childcare and education, about healthcare, energy production,
where we live, how we work, how much you can earn, how much you
can save, and how much you can pass onto your children, that is
not making a free society more free or more fair. That is
making government bigger, to control our lives.
Rammed into this vision for progressive socialist America
is an instruction to this Committee to report spending,
legislative spending, of $726 billion--three-quarters of a
trillion dollars.
On August 23rd, every Republican on this Committee wrote,
asking for a hearing and markups on any proposals to meet those
instructions within the Committee's jurisdiction. Because if
the Committee is tasked with spending three-quarters of a
trillion dollars, when we are evenly divided in the U.S.
Senate, you would think hearings and markups would in fact be
on the docket. Based upon the Committee's public calendar and
this week's letter from Senator Schumer, I suspect that we are
not going to be given the opportunity.
I would like to remind my friends on the other side of the
aisle--and, I might say, many of them are my friends--that
Democrats have the barest of majorities. Democrats hold a
three-seat majority in the U.S. House; and, only with the Vice
President breaking a tie, do Democrats run the Senate.
This is not a mandate for sweeping partisan legislation to
reshape every aspect of American family. It is not a mandate
for grand socialist expansion of government designed and driven
by the furthest left reaches of the Democrat socialist in your
party.
Why am I so frustrated? It was not that long ago that the
Senate came together in a bipartisan fashion to work on
childcare. I remember. I was here.
In 2014, Barbara Mikulski and I led the reauthorization of
the Childcare and Development Block Grant, a bipartisan law
that has been the foundation of access to healthcare for over--
or to childcare for over 30 years. Barbara and I held three
hearings on the legislation. We marked it up. We worked all the
issues out, and then we passed it, unanimously, in this hearing
room. Unfortunately--we passed it in the U.S. Senate
overwhelmingly, 96 to 2, and the final agreement, after
conference, 88 to 1.
Republicans and Democrats on this Committee have proven
overwhelmingly that we care about childcare and that we both
want to help families have the opportunity to get high-quality
care for their children.
In 2007, this Committee reauthorized Head Start and Early
Start programs to make major improvements to critical programs
for our Nation's youth.
As recently as 2015, this Committee, included in the Every
Student Succeeds Act signed by President Obama, the preschool
development grants to help states further their efforts to
improve and coordinate childcare and early childhood
development. More proof that Republicans and Democrats can work
together on these issues if given the chance.
Last year alone, the Federal Government spent $21.4 billion
on childcare and early education in addition to 53.5 billion
provided in childcare and early education funding provided
through the CARES Act and other legislation.
We also have nine Federal programs and three tax
expenditures with early childhood and preschool as their
explicit purpose, and 35, 35, additional Federal programs that
support early education and childcare.
Without a hearing, without a Committee vote, the
progressive socialists are saying that Congress should ignore
all the bipartisan work, the bipartisan support, that
bipartisan foundation of millions of families across the
Country for a poorly conceived effort to grow government.
We have massively successful programs that support a rich,
mixed delivery system of providers, from family childcare
providers, mom-and-pop operations, to churches, synagogues and
mosques, to employer-based care and large center-based programs
that span the Country.
Ending that successful system, destroying it from within,
and especially shutting down faith-based providers as the House
proposal does, is not worthy of a great Country, and it is
certainly not worthy of a great Senate.
In higher education, the House bill again throws away
decades of bipartisan efforts and collaboration. In higher
education, we fund the student, not the institution. We give
students Pell Grants and student loans, and they pick the
college they want to go to. That started under the G.I. Bill of
World War II and continues today. The House proposes to subvert
that entirely and fund just some schools while commandeering
state authority to advance this partisan objective of
Washington control over more of our educational system.
Community colleges are the backbone of our communities, and
I am proud to support them. We have some of the Nation's best
community colleges in North Carolina. Our tuition is already
affordable, and tuition is essentially free, free, with a Pell
Grant.
But, as I look across the Country, most of these
institutions have terrible completion rates. We should not just
pour money into schools that cannot get their students out with
a degree or a certificate, and we should not make that the only
affordable option for low-income students.
Republicans and Democrats agree that college should be more
affordable; that our graduation rate is too low; and
accountability in higher education is lacking. We agree that
our student loan repayment programs are too complex.
I am grateful to Senator Angus King, an Independent who
sits on the Democrats' side of the aisle and agrees on a
bipartisan solution as to how to fix it. We do not need to
control state higher education policy from here. We do not need
the Federal guardrails for the bad old days of No Child Left
Behind in higher education.
We could, Heaven forbid, work together. That is the model
this Committee famously stands for. Two previous Chairmen, my
good friend, Ted Kennedy and Mike Enzi, called it the 80-20
rule. We usually agree on 80 percent; we disagree on 20. So,
let's work on the 80.
But, these partisan efforts will change that. If Democrats
succeed in ramming through partisan legislation like this,
Republicans and Democrats will no longer agree on higher
education or on childcare or on national service. Instead, we
will seesaw back and forth in support and opposition. The cycle
of anger will grow, and the very fabric of society will
continue to tear itself apart.
We have shown we can work together on a bipartisan
infrastructure bill--one trillion in spending, six--including
500 billion in new spending; 110 billion for roads; 65 billion
for high-speed internet; 40 billion for bridges; 39 billion for
transit. There is about 66 billion in funding for Amtrak for
the President.
But, the answer from the left, from the admirers of
socialism and total government control, is no. If they cannot
get everything they want, they would rather have nothing. They
have even proudly said that last Saturday--last Friday, that
nothing is better than something. Tell that to the families who
are relying on jobs created by the infrastructure bill. Tell
that to school children in rural communities that for the first
time are going to get high-speed internet.
They used to say that it was my way or the highway. I guess
it is now my way or no highway. And when traffic jams mount,
when communities get--commutes get longer, you can thank the
Democrats, who do not understand that most Americans do not
want to live in a worker's paradise.
I say to my colleagues, let's set aside this disastrous
budget. Let's set aside this reckless tax and spend agenda,
designed by progressives. Let's tackle these challenges
together, which is what the American people sent us here to do.
I yield back.
The Chair. Thank you.
We will now introduce today's witnesses. Our first witness
is Lisa Gomez, President Biden's nominee to lead the Employee
Benefits Security Administration.
Ms. Gomez is currently a partner at the law firm Cohen,
Weiss and Simon, and the chair of the firm's management
committee. At Cohen, Weiss and Simon, Ms. Gomez represents
clients on issues running the gamut of employee benefits law.
She has worked with Federal employee health benefits plans,
multi-employer pension and welfare plans, single-employer
plans, jointly administered training program trust funds, plans
sponsored by unions for their internal staff, and more.
She is also a member of the American Bar Association's
Labor and Employment Law Section Committee and the
International Foundation for Employee Benefit Plans.
She was recognized in 2014 for her contributions to the
employee benefits field by being inducted as a fellow of the
American College of Employee Benefits Counsel.
She serves on the board of senior editors for the ABA and
Bloomberg Law Employee Benefits Law Treatise and authoritative
text in the field.
She is also a member of the Peggy Browning Fund's advisory
board, an organization which helps law students pursue
opportunities to fight for workers' rights.
Ms. Gomez received her undergraduate degree from Hofstra
University and her law degree from Fordham University Law
School, where she was an editor at the Fordham Urban Law
Journal.
Ms. Gomez, we are glad you could join us today. Given your
deep experience in employee benefits law, I believe you are a
highly qualified pick to lead EBSA, and I look forward to your
testimony.
We will also hear today from Jose Javier Rodriguez, who is
nominated to lead the Employment and Training Administration.
He is a litigator and partner at the law firm Sugarman &
Susskind, representing employees, labor unions, and pension and
benefit funds.
He served for 8 years in the Florida legislature, first in
the State House of Representatives and later in the State
Senate, where he was vice chair of the Judiciary Committee.
During his time in the state legislature, Mr. Rodriguez
proved himself as a strong advocate for workers and families.
He pressed for action on climate change and successfully
worked to pass landmark environmental legislation.
He helped rally support for a ballot measure the state
passed last year to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
He fought throughout this pandemic for financial support
for struggling workers and families.
Mr. Rodriguez began his career in service. Before he joined
the legislature, after receiving his undergraduate degree from
Brown University, he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in
Senegal.
After graduating from Harvard Law School, he began his
legal career as a legal aid attorney for Florida Legal
Services, where he litigated cases on behalf of workers who are
paid low wages, tenants, and small businesses.
Mr. Rodriguez also served as an adjunct law professor
throughout his career, most recently at St. Thomas University
School of Law.
Mr. Rodriguez, I am pleased to have a champion for workers
like you nominated for this critical role. I appreciate you
joining us today and look forward to hearing from you.
Ms. Gomez, we will begin with your testimony.
STATEMENT OF LISA GOMEZ, RARITAN TOWNSHIP, NJ
Ms. Gomez. Good morning. Thank you, Chair Murray, for that
introduction.
Chair Murray, Ranking Member Burr, and Members of the
Committee, it is my honor to appear before you today as you
consider my nomination for Assistant Secretary of the Employee
Benefits Security Administration, EBSA.
If confirmed, I am committed to serving and protecting the
participants and beneficiaries in America's employee benefit
plans. I will dedicate myself to carrying out EBSA's mission of
ensuring the security of the retirement health and other
workplace-related benefits of America's workers and their
families.
I thank President Biden and Vice President Harris for this
tremendous opportunity, and Secretary Walsh for his support of
my nomination. I am thrilled at the possibility of being able
to contribute in a meaningful way to the important work of
EBSA, the Department of Labor, and this Administration.
I would like to extend my love and deep gratitude to my
amazing children, my daughters Tina and Alyssia, and my son,
Adrian. I wish they could be here in person. They are and will
always be my greatest accomplishments and the sources of my
inspiration to make a difference and to lift others up.
I am forever thankful to Alex, my devoted husband, for
always being by my side as my most ardent supporter and friend,
as he is here with me today.
I want to also thank my family, friends, and colleagues,
and my parents, Linda and Lou, for the tremendous love and
support they have surrounded me with, especially during this
process and as I move forward toward this incredible new
chapter.
I was raised in a working class family and was the first to
attend college. While I was not sure exactly what I wanted to
do with my life, I knew I wanted to work to protect others and
make a difference.
In law school, I learned about the struggle to protect
America's workers and their hard-earned benefits. I came to
understand that my father, who worked for a small printing
shop, and my mother, who worked at a local uniform supply
company after being home with us, did not have most of these
basic protections. Despite years of hard work, they did not
have any form of workplace retirement benefits to provide
security in later years. It was not until my father was within
a few years of retirement that he had any opportunity for a
pension benefit.
I have spent the last 27 years, my entire legal career,
representing employee benefit plans. My work has focused on
protecting the benefits of workers and their families, and
helping them to understand their benefits.
It has also centered on counseling plan sponsors so that
they can comprehend and appreciate their responsibilities to
participants and their families.
My extensive experience with plans, with employees, and
employers in a broad and diverse range of industries, with
different concerns and needs, has given me a fuller
understanding of how to serve them all best.
Over nearly three decades, I have found that my substantive
experience in the law must work hand in glove with managing
challenging--challenges and empowering people.
One of the most rewarding aspects of my work is bringing
parties with competing interests to consensus. To now have the
honor of this nomination and the opportunity to serve and
contribute on behalf of all Americans is an unbelievable dream
job.
A key strength I bring to this position is my ability to
assess difficult situations, see the clear path forward, and
bring the parties to reach the end goal. Bringing people toward
practicable, workable solutions, I strive to have people
sincerely feel heard, no matter the ultimate outcome. My end
goal is to help EBSA carry out its mission and do its part in
Bringing Back Better.
If confirmed, it would be an honor to work with everyone at
EBSA, the Department, the related agencies, Congress, and this
Administration to make EBSA's mission a reality.
Former Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins, said, There is
always a large horizon. There is much to be done. It is up to
you to contribute some small part to a program of human
betterment for all time.
It would be my privilege to do so through this role.
Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Gomez follows:]
prepared statement of lisa gomez
Chair Murray, Ranking Member Burr, and Members of the Committee, it
is my honor to appear before you today as you consider my nomination
for Assistant Secretary of the Employee Benefits Security
Administration (EBSA). If confirmed, I am committed to serving and
protecting the participants and beneficiaries in America's employee
benefit plans. I will dedicate myself to carrying out EBSA's mission of
ensuring the security of the retirement, health and other workplace-
related benefits of America's workers and their families.
I thank President Biden and Vice President Harris for this
tremendous opportunity, and Secretary Walsh for his support of my
nomination. I am thrilled at the possibility of being able to
contribute in a meaningful way to the important work of EBSA, the
Department of Labor and this Administration.
I'd like to extend my love and deep gratitude to my amazing
children--my daughters, Tina and Alyssia, and my son Adrian. I wish
they could be here in person--they are and will always be my greatest
accomplishments and the sources of my inspiration to make a difference
and lift others up. I am forever thankful to Alex, my devoted husband,
for always being by my side as my most ardent supporter and friend, as
he is here with me today. I want to also thank my family, friends and
colleagues--and my parents, Linda and Lou, for the tremendous love and
support they have surrounded me with, especially during this process
and as I move toward this incredible new chapter.
I was raised in a working class family and was the first to attend
college. While I wasn't sure what I wanted to do in life, I knew I
wanted to work to protect others and make a difference. In law school,
I learned about the struggle to protect America's workers and their
hard earned benefits. I came to understand that my dad, who worked for
a small printing shop and my mom, who worked at a local uniform supply
company after being home with us, did not have most of these basic
protections. Despite years of hard work, they did not have any form of
workplace retirement benefits to provide security in later years. It
was not until my father was within a few years of retirement that he
had any opportunity for a pension benefit.
I've spent the last 27 years, my entire legal career, representing
employee benefit plans. My work has focused on protecting the benefits
of workers and their families, and helping them to understand their
benefits. It has also centered on counseling plan sponsors so that they
comprehend and appreciate their responsibilities to participants and
their families. My extensive experience with plans covering employees
and employers in a broad and diverse range of industries, with
different concerns and needs, has given me a fuller understanding of
how to serve them best.
Over nearly three decades, I have found that my substantive
experience in the law must work hand-in-glove with managing challenges
and empowering people. One of the rewarding aspects of my work is
bringing parties with competing interests to consensus.
To now have the honor of this nomination and the opportunity to
serve and contribute on behalf of all Americans is an unbelievable
dream job. A key strength I bring to this position is my ability to
assess difficult situations, see the clear path forward, and bring the
parties to reach the end goal. Bringing people toward practicable,
workable solutions, I strive to have people sincerely feel heard, no
matter the ultimate outcome. My end goal is to help EBSA carry out its
mission and do its part in building back better.
If confirmed, it would be an honor to work with everyone at EBSA,
the Department, the related agencies, Congress and this Administration
to make EBSA's mission a reality.
Former Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins said, ``There is always a
large horizon . . . There is much to be done . . . It is up to you to
contribute some small part to a program of human betterment for all
time.'' It would be my privilege to do so through this role.
Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.
______
The Chair. Thank you.
Mr. Rodriguez.
STATEMENT OF JOSE JAVIER RODRIGUEZ, MIAMI, FL
Mr. Rodriguez. Chair Murray, Ranking Member Burr, and
Members of the Committee, I am honored to appear before you
today as nominee for Assistant Secretary of Labor for
Employment and Training.
I thank President Biden for nominating me. I share his
commitment and that of his Administration to a strong and
competitive American workforce. If confirmed, I look forward to
serving the American people during these times that have been
so challenging for workers and their families, for businesses,
and for communities.
I thank my wife, Sonia, who is in the Committee room with
us today. She traveled with me from Miami. Both of us say hello
to our two boys, who will watch from home after school today
with family.
I am also grateful to my parents. I grew up bicultural and
bilingual. My mother, Joyce, grew up in rural Indiana, and
until her retirement, she worked in bedside nursing at our
local public hospital. She and our family instilled strong
values in my brother and I, and helped inspire my public
service.
My father, Guillermo, left communist Cuba alone as a boy
during Operation Pedro Pan, a program that evacuated
unaccompanied Cuban children in the early 1960's. After paying
his way through college, serving in the U.S. Corps--Army Corps
of Engineers, and working as a corporate executive, my father
went on to start and run a successful small business. From him,
I learned the value of hard work and making the most of
opportunity that no other country offers.
The American Dream is that hard work will meet with success
if given the opportunity. That is my family story, and it has
motivated a career of service dedicated to making sure those
opportunities remain open.
Before law school, I served in the Peace Corps in West
Africa, first training small business owners, and then helping
design training programs in the Employment Section at Senegal's
Ministry of Labor.
I returned home to Miami after earning a Harvard Law
degree. I worked as a Legal Aid lawyer, representing employees,
homeowners, and small businesses who could not afford a lawyer
but needed help as they sought to improve their economic
futures.
I later went into private practice. I am currently a
partner at a labor and employment firm where, among many other
matters, I have had the chance to work with joint
apprenticeship and training committees.
For 8 years, I had the honor of serving my fellow
Floridians in the state legislature. In my first campaign, my
platform included reform of our state jobs programs. So, I was
thrilled when one of the first bills I presented after arriving
at the capitol became part of that year's bipartisan economic
development and jobs reform.
That year, I also proposed legislation that would have been
part of modernizing our unemployment system. I am proud to
report that some of that work bore fruit before I left. Much of
that work, however, remains to be done. The pandemic made that
painfully clear.
Like many colleagues, I took pride in the constituent
service that I did throughout my legislative--through my
legislative office. Last year, during the pandemic, my team and
I served small businesses together with our local workforce
board. We also served hundreds of constituents that desperately
needed an economic bridge but were failed by an inadequate and
unreliable unemployment system.
If confirmed, I hope to serve the many Americans who need
and deserve a responsive, modern workforce system.
They are workers willing to put in the time to earn a
higher wage.
They are disadvantaged youth or returning citizens who will
thrive in the workforce with some assistance overcoming
barriers.
They are young people who want a career rather than a
series of low-paying jobs.
They are employers in growth industries that need skilled
workers, or employers in industries battered by change that
need to upskill their current workforce.
They are hard-hit communities, looking for the added
economic stability that temporary support programs can provide.
They are workers who will be able to compete and lead as
our Nation tackles the climate crisis.
Delivering on all of these is the business of the
Employment and Training Administration. If confirmed, I would
be honored to lead this critical mission.
I look forward to addressing any questions that you have.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Rodriguez follows:]
prepared statement of jose javier rodriguez
Chair Murray, Ranking Member Burr, and Members of the Committee,
I'm honored to appear before you today as the nominee for Assistant
Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training.
I thank President Biden for nominating me. I share his commitment,
and that of this Administration, to a strong and competitive American
workforce. If confirmed, I look forward to serving the American people
during these times that have been so challenging for workers and their
families, for businesses and their communities.
I thank my wife Sonia who is in the Committee room with us today.
She travelled with me from Miami. Both of us say hello to our two boys
who are watching from home with their grandparents.
I am also grateful to my parents. I grew up bicultural and
bilingual. My mother Joyce grew up in rural Indiana. Until her
retirement she worked in bedside nursing at our local public hospital.
She and our family instilled strong values in my brother and I; and
helped inspire my public service.
My father Guillermo left communist Cuba alone as a boy during
Operation Pedro Pan, a program that evacuated unaccompanied Cuban
children in the early 1960's. After paying his way through college,
serving in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and working as a corporate
executive, my father went on to start and run a successful small
business. From him, I learned the value of hard work and making the
most of the opportunities that no other country offers.
The American Dream is that hard work will meet with success if
given the opportunity. That is my family's story. And it has motivated
a career of service dedicated to making sure those opportunities remain
open.
Before law school I served in the Peace Corps in West Africa, first
training small business owners and then helping design training
programs in the Employment Section at Senegal's Ministry of Labor.
I returned to my beloved Miami after earning a Harvard Law degree.
I worked as a legal aid lawyer representing employees, homeowners and
small businesses who could not afford a lawyer but needed help as they
fought to improve their economic futures.
I later went into private practice. I am currently partner at a
labor and employment firm where among many other matters I've had the
chance to work with joint apprenticeship and training committees.
For 8 years I had the honor of serving my fellow Floridians in the
state legislature. In my first campaign, my platform included reform of
our state jobs programs. So I was thrilled when one of the first bills
I presented after arriving at the Capitol became part of that year's
bipartisan economic development and jobs program reform.
That first year I also proposed legislation that would have been
part of modernizing our unemployment system. I'm proud to report that
some of that work bore fruit before I left. Much of that work, however,
remains to be done. The pandemic made that painfully clear.
Like many colleagues I took pride in the constituent services my
legislative office offered. During the pandemic, we served small
businesses together with our local workforce board. We also served
hundreds of constituents that desperately needed an economic bridge but
were failed by an inadequate and unreliable unemployment system.
If confirmed, I hope to serve the many Americans who need and
deserve a responsive, modern workforce system.
They're workers willing to put in the time to earn a higher wage.
They're disadvantaged youth or returning citizens who will thrive
in the workforce with some assistance overcoming barriers.
They're young people who want a career rather than a series of
jobs.
They're employers in growth industries that need skilled workers.
Or employers in industries battered by change that need to upskill
their current workforce.
They're hard-hit communities looking for the added economic
stability that temporary support programs can provide.
They're workers who will be able to compete and lead as our Nation
tackles the climate crisis.
Delivering on all of these is the business of the Employment and
Training Administration. If confirmed, I would be honored to lead this
critical mission.
Thank you. I look forward to addressing any questions you have.
______
The Chair. Thank you very much, Mr. Rodriguez.
We will now begin our round of 5-minute questions, and I
will ask my colleagues to please keep track of the clock and
stay within those 5 minutes. And I will begin.
Four in every 10 women expect the pandemic will have a
long-term impact on their finances and inequities throughout
our economy, and this has really left women, on average, less
financially secure in retirement than men as a result of that.
The COVID-19 pandemic has really made all of this worse. It was
a problem before.
I recently reintroduced the Women's Retirement Protection
Act to address some of these long-standing inequities by
expanding eligibility for employer-sponsored retirement plans
to more part-time workers, most of them who are women, and
expanding protections to prevent one spouse from undermining a
couple's retirement resources without the other's knowledge and
consent.
Ms. Gomez, if you are confirmed, how will you plan to
address some of the challenges that women face in saving for
retirement?
Ms. Gomez. Thank you, Chair Murray, for your thoughtful
introduction. And I appreciated our discussion, and I thank you
for your commitment to workers' rights, and particularly to
issues related to protecting women in retirement, as you
mentioned.
I am fully supportive of efforts to increase financial
security for those who face systemic barriers, including women,
or who have been economically or socially marginalized,
particularly as a result of the pandemic. And, if confirmed, I
would look forward to working with Congress to better
understand the challenges and to address those challenges so
that women have more financial security in retirement.
I thank you again for this very important issue and for
that question.
The Chair. Thank you.
Mr. Rodriguez, for the past several decades, workers have
experienced growing inequality, a trend that has increased
exponentially during this pandemic. Women, workers of color,
workers with disabilities are increasingly being left behind.
Workers who could benefit the most from workforce training
programs are more likely facing challenges to access them.
These programs are often not accessible to workers who work
multiple jobs or have other demands on their time, like
caregiving for their kids and other family members. Some
workers may not be able to afford to take time off from
working, or may not have access to transportation needed to
reach training centers.
I wanted to ask you, if you are confirmed, what steps will
you take to expand access to workforce training programs for
those workers who stand to benefit the most from those
programs?
Mr. Rodriguez. Senator, thank you for your question, and
thank you also for your introduction.
The President and the Secretary have made equity central to
their agenda. It is one of the reasons why, if confirmed, I
would be thrilled to join the Department of Labor.
When it comes to equity and reform of our public workforce
system, reauthorization of the central framework of our public
workforce system is a priority for the President, and he has
laid it out in his proposed budget. And, as I said, equity is
at the center. Federal resources must deliver equitable
outcomes for workers and communities historically underserved
and most adversely affected by inequality and poverty. The
President has proposed historic investments in the system,
prioritizing the--those who have traditionally been
underserved.
Just as an example, in Florida, where I come from, we have
seasoned workforce providers that work with returning citizens
and are very attuned to the onramps that those ending a term of
incarceration need to get to the right place in the workforce,
whether that is adult basic education, whether that is career
counseling, whether that is paid work opportunities.
I would mention that throughout the programs that ETA
administers, the President's executive order on equity has
really set the tone. And, I would mention that, for example, in
apprenticeship, where the President has proposed significant
expansion of apprenticeship slots--apprenticeship, of course,
is the premiere earn-as-you-learn training strategy.
But, it is extremely important for many reasons, but one of
them is because it is a great way to increase the
representation of folks who have traditionally been
unrepresented in the workforce. And the Secretary has partnered
ETA and the Women's Bureau, for example, specifically to have a
strategic approach to making sure that women are also better
represented in apprenticeship.
The Chair. Thank you very much to both of you.
Senator Burr.
Senator Burr. Thank you, Madam Chair.
To both of you, you come from a tremendously strong and
impressive family background, so it begs me to remind you of
something you may not know, or maybe you have forgotten.
In 2009, Democrats had 60 votes in the U.S. Senate, 256 in
the House. They used reconciliation to pass massive legislation
inserting government deeply into healthcare. For all of the
many problems with that legislation, at least it was done in
the light of day, starting on June 17th and ending almost an
entire month later on July 15th. This Committee spent 13
legislative days working on a record number of amendments.
We even adopted a bipartisan amendment, even though it was
abundantly clear that no Republicans were going to vote for the
massive government expansion that made healthcare more
expensive for millions; made millions more dependent on
government; robbed Americans of the power to choose their own
insurance; raised taxes on seniors, innovators, and any person
who did not want or could not afford to purchase healthcare.
We had a similarly exhausting process in the Senate Finance
Committee. In 2017, when Republicans moved to pass the job--the
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, we did it in the light of day. The
Senate Finance Committee had a markup that lasted 4 consecutive
days with 23 hours and 34 minutes of Committee time. Three
hundred and fifty amendments were filed while 69 amendments
were considered. Thirty-five bipartisan amendments were adopted
as part of the chairman's mark.
Now, we sit in Congress that has the narrowest margins in a
century and not a single committee in the Senate is going to
consider the current reconciliation legislation. No committee
in the entire U.S. Senate will have a hearing or a markup on a
bill that would massively grow government, massively grow
dependence on government, massively shove government into
decisions individuals, parents, families, and every company
make every day of their lives.
Ronald Reagan and Milton Friedman developed the adage that
there was nothing so permanent as a temporary government
program.
Well, the Democrats are determined to prove them right.
Under COVID, we temporarily expanded taxpayer subsidies for
insurance companies. Now, they want to make them permanent
without a markup.
Democrats must not want to confront the reality that their
proposals have actually cost millions of Americans to lose
their health insurance plans and increase healthcare costs
overall. They did not make healthcare more affordable; they
made it more expensive. And, they just shifted the cost to
taxpayers and younger Americans, making insurance free for some
but grossly unaffordable for others. It is just a nationwide
game of robbing Peter to pay Paul.
PolitiFact even called it the Lie of the Year when
President Obama and nearly every Democrat in Congress said that
if you like your plan, you can keep your plan. Now, Democrats
propose to literally take over health insurance, away from
people in states that do not like it, and shove them into a
government-run plan.
The great philosopher, C.S. Lewis, warned us against this
type of arrogance in government when he said that a tyranny
exercised for good of its victims may be the worst oppressive;
and warned us against those who torment us for our own good
because they will torment us without end so that they do so
with the approval of their own conscience.
Democrats failed to force all states into Medicare--
Medicaid expansion scheme. They failed to make healthcare costs
cheaper, failed to make health insurance cheaper. But, not to
worry. The technocrats', bureaucrats', professors' lounge is on
top of it. If they did not get it right, no worries. They will
just try again, and again, no matter what you want because they
know best.
They have also decided that states should no longer be
responsible for licensing and approving of who runs healthcare
in their states. Democrats trust the Federal Government to make
decisions for you, but out in the real world, we think people
should have the ability to make these types of decisions for
themselves.
After 12 months of constant debate and struggles over
health insurance, you would think someone on that side of the
aisle would actually understand the concept of how insurance
works. A 3-year long open enrollment season is only aimed at
killing private insurance. There cannot be any other
explanation.
Enrollment seasons exist so insurance companies know who is
purchasing coverage in order to negotiate rates with providers
and hospitals so they can plan ahead, so they can have a viable
network, and not go out of business. All of this creates
predictability and lowers premiums.
I understand Democrats think subsidies can fix any problem.
But, no matter how much they want, it is impossible to repeal
the laws of economics. So, instead, they propose to take
insurance markets they break, break them further, and cut
checks to insurance companies with the hopes they will not
notice. This is an exceedingly bad idea.
I hope I have given you a little insight into the past.
I yield back.
The Chair. Senator Smith.
Senator Smith. Thank you, Madam Chair, and welcome to our
two nominees. It is wonderful to be here. And welcome to your
family, as well. Thank you for your willingness to serve our
Country in this way.
I am going to try to ask each of you a question, and I am
going to start with Ms. Gomez. I would like to follow-up on the
conversation you and I had, I think it was earlier this week.
It has been a long week.
After I was appointed to the Senate in 2018, one of the
first things I did was go to Duluth, Minnesota to meet with a
group of Teamsters retirees, and they told me about their deep
concerns about the impending insolvency of their pension plan,
the Central States Pension Plan.
Here is this group of individuals who had worked hard, done
everything right, paid into their pension, and now, that hard-
earned pension was at risk of insolvency, through no fault of
their own or the management of the pension.
Vickie, one of the retirees, told me about how if she lost
this pension, if it was not there for her, she says, I don't
have a Plan B. Plan B for me is living under a bridge.
Now, earlier this year, I am so grateful that we were able
to pass landmark legislation to provide a lifeline to these
retirees and to keep multi-employer pension plans solvent for
at least the next 30 years. And now, we turn to implementation,
which is always challenging, and we need to make sure that
implementation works.
Ms. Gomez, if you are confirmed, what will you do to
address the implementation challenges that we are seeing here
and to work with us to make sure that these plans get the full
funding that they need to stay solvent for 30 years?
Ms. Gomez. Yes. Thank you, Senator, for that question, and
I did enjoy our conversation however many days ago that may
have been. I have lost--sort of lost track.
Before the American Rescue Plan was passed, there were
millions of Americans who were in the same situation as the
worker you described, who had worked their entire careers
toward a pension that was now at risk of being lost, with plans
approaching insolvency, and with the PBGC being itself at risk.
If confirmed, I expect to be fully briefed on the current
status of the rulemaking process, and to work with the other
Departments in making sure that we implement a program that
achieves the mission of that law and has the appropriate
safeguards so that plans that are entitled to this relief and
eligible for this relief will receive the assistance that they
need; assistance that really gave a sigh of relief, not to use
the word loosely, but to both the unions and the employers that
were contributing to those funds so that they could make sure
that they lived up to the promise that they made to those
employees.
I look forward to, if I am fortunate enough to be
confirmed, working to implement those safeguards in moving
forward. Thank you.
Senator Smith. Thank you. I look forward to working with
you on that, as well. I appreciate that very much.
Ms. Gomez. Thank you.
Senator Smith. Mr. Rodriguez, I would like to talk with you
briefly about registered apprenticeship programs. And I want to
draw your attention to some great work that is happening in
Little Canada, Minnesota, which is being done at the Finishing
Trades Institute of the Upper Midwest, which is led by IUPAT,
the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades.
What they are doing is pretty unique. They are--it is an
authorized institution of higher education in the State of
Minnesota, and they are running an official registered
apprenticeship program around industrial painting and coatings
and glazing and others, other activities. And, so, they are
getting--developing skilled tradespeople and helping students
earn their degree and qualifications. And it is also cutting
edge because they are doing great work to advance equity and
serving people who have historically been underserved and
underrepresented in these trades.
I would welcome my colleagues, including my Republican
colleagues, if you are interested in joining with me and
working with me to support this type of apprenticeship college,
I would be delighted to work with you on this.
This is my question, Mr. Rodriguez. Can you speak to how
you would approach the workforce education system, including
registered apprenticeships, under your purview at the ETA?
Mr. Rodriguez. Senator, thank you so much for your question
and for your commitment to apprenticeship and to the training
of the workforce.
I am familiar with the Finishing Trades Institute in
Florida, as well. And the reason--reasons that you mentioned
that apprenticeship is the benchmark earn-as-you-learn strategy
are not only because it is cost-effective for government; it is
a win-win for employers and employees. But, also, because it is
an extremely effective tool that we have to address
underrepresentation in many occupations.
I absolutely would, if confirmed, would be honored to work
with you. And, I know that the Administration has as a priority
the National Apprenticeship Act, which would be the first
effort to do so since the 1930's.
Senator Smith. Thank you very much.
I yield back, Madam Chair.
The Chair. Yes.
Senator Tuberville.
Senator Tuberville. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you both for being here today.
Mr. Rodriguez, Congress right now is in the middle of
debating a $3.5 trillion bill with all kind of programs in it.
My Democratic colleagues continue to talk about pay-fors in
ways that they somehow can justify spending that much money. I
know you are a big fan of expanding unemployment benefits, and
you want to make--as we all want to make sure everybody has
access.
We also know that over the past year and a half, we saw
tons of fraud in unemployment. In California alone, we know
there has been found out to be 11.4 billion in fraudulent
payments sent out; possibly over 20 billion. I am sure other
states were in similar positions. The Department of Labor
Inspector General estimates that more than 63 billion have been
paid out through fraud.
Mr. Rodriguez, what is being done to recover the money?
Will people be prosecuted? And what will you personally do if
confirmed?
Mr. Rodriguez. Senator, thank you so much for your question
and for your concern for the 53 unemployment systems.
It is absolutely the case that transnational criminal
syndicates exploited the unreadiness of states with respect to
security concerns. That is especially true with remote identity
verification. The just--again----
A footnote from Florida, as well. We learned that there was
a--that the identities of 58,000 claimants were impacted by a
data breach. So, these are live issues. They are very, very
important.
The pandemic exposed these long-standing challenges in our
unemployment system, not just about access, as you mentioned,
but also in security. The design of our systems was out of
touch with the modern workforce, but also, the architecture of
these systems was outdated and inflexible, and the fact that
they were ill-equipped for security threats was part of that.
The Administration has moved forward with support from
Congress, most recently through ARPA, to address equitable
access, but also to root out the fraud plaguing the systems.
It has provided immediate technical assistance to states,
sending teams of specialists.
It has also had a focus on increasing the capacity of
states, particularly with identity verification, and is
developing open modular technology to help update and protect
the systems, in addition to deploying grants to states.
If confirmed, I would also look forward to working with the
modernization office that the Secretary has established, as
well as working with state unemployment systems on these
solutions. They are critically important.
But, I would note one of the reasons why it is so important
to get this right is that despite the failures in our
unemployment systems, they nevertheless were the reason why 53
million workers were able to stay afloat during the pandemic
and helped stave off an even deeper recession. So, we do need
to tackle these challenges.
Senator Tuberville. Yes. Mr. Rodriguez, we cannot afford
that many billion in fraud. And it will get worse. We know that
organization is the key to winning in this situation, so I know
you will be well organized.
Ms. Gomez, please briefly walk me through what it means to
be a fiduciary as it is defined by ERISA.
[Technical difficulties.]
Ms. Gomez. There is a five-part test for determining
whether an individual is a fiduciary, and there is really no--
there is nothing that is more central to ERISA than defining
who is a fiduciary.
But, in determining exactly who is a fiduciary in different
contexts has been the source of some disagreement, and it has
been a long road to get there. And I look forward, if I am
fortunate enough to be confirmed, to working with the SEC, as
well as with the Department to be briefed on the efforts of
looking at the definition of a fiduciary in different contexts
and taking another look at the conflict of interest rule and
how it would apply in different situations.
Senator Tuberville. Would you agree that a fiduciary should
always act in the best economic interest of investors and work
to maximize the investors' total return on a risk-adjusted
basis? Yes or no. I am running out of time.
Ms. Gomez. Thank you, Senator, for that question. I think,
unfortunately, that is not a yes or no question.
Fiduciaries have various fiduciary duties, one of which is
to act in the best interests of the participants and the
beneficiaries of the plan, which has different nuances as to
exactly how that would work. And I would need to look at the
circumstances of the situation in order to address any given
question as to how to act in a--as a fiduciary in that--with
respect to that decision that is being made.
Senator Tuberville. You would hope it would be in their
best interest after you have made all your decisions, is what
you are saying?
Ms. Gomez. It--yes, thank you, Senator, for that
clarification. It should be--the cornerstone of being a
fiduciary is acting in the best interests of the participants
and beneficiaries. How one does that may differ depending on
the decision that is being made.
But, I would look forward to--I would commit to making sure
to always work with fiduciaries to make sure that they are
acting in the best interests of the participants and their
families with respect to these plans. And thank you.
Senator Tuberville. Thank you.
Thank you, Madam Chair. It went over a little bit, but
thank you.
The Chair. Thank you.
Senator Hickenlooper.
Senator Hickenlooper. First, thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you both for your commitment to public service and
your willingness to go through this ordeal.
First, Mr. Rodriguez, I was going to ask you a question. I
believe we have come to a point where we really need to help
this Country reimagine and think holistically about workforce
training and how it interfaces with education and training,
really on a cradle-to-grave circumstance.
Apprenticeships provide an opportunity for workers to earn
while they learn, with a job waiting at the end of the program.
And apprenticeships with the trades is how we create
electricians and plumbers and all manner of tradespeople. But,
also, in business now, increasingly we see more
apprenticeships.
My friend, Senator Braun, and I just held a hearing on
innovative adult and youth apprenticeships. We want to make
sure that--or at least I want to make sure that you recognize
and you are willing to work with us to expand the range of
apprenticeship opportunities to new industries, recognizing
that we owe so much to the apprenticeships that have been
created by our trade unions. In other words, they have created
a template that is very valuable.
My goal, to figure out ways that, even as we expand those
opportunities, that we--within organized labor, we also look at
making sure that we expand that to businesses more traditional,
like banks or insurance companies.
Mr. Rodriguez. Senator, thank you. I enjoyed our
conversation last week, and I also enjoyed watching the
Subcommittee hearing. This is exciting stuff in terms of what
the future of workforce training looks like.
Yes, absolutely. The easy answer is yes, if confirmed, it
would be an honor and a thrill to assist you in this.
The President has made it a priority to invest in
apprenticeships, has advocated for the National Apprenticeship
Act, and the collaboration that goes into this type of work is
exactly what will get that done.
I will mention in terms of the broadening from the
industries where apprenticeship was born or is traditionally
associated with it part of the, President and Secretary's
agenda includes expanding on these pipelines, in IT,
healthcare.
I would mention that if you just look at the apprenticeable
occupations where registered apprenticeships have been coming
online in Florida, they are cybersecurity support tech, customs
broker, medical assistant, childcare development specialist,
surgical technologist.
The model is absolutely there. There is a lot of excitement
and interest around what we can do in apprenticeship. And, as I
said, I would be--if confirmed, it would be an honor and a
thrill to continue working on this.
Senator Hickenlooper. Thank you. And I agree. I enjoyed our
conversation very much. I ended that Zoom with a sense of
exhilaration and potential that we could really get something
done and really make real progress on this.
I have other questions that I will submit to paper, but I
want to make sure I ask Ms. Gomez a question, as well.
The Pugh Charitable Trusts highlighted a 2017 survey that
cost was the chief concern, the most significant concern, among
small business owners when they were setting up a retirement
plan.
How best can we streamline costs? How can we lower the
overall costs for plan administration for small businesses who,
in the end, are employing roughly half--creating half the
American jobs?
Ms. Gomez. Thank you, Senator, for that question.
As I mentioned in my testimony, both of my own parents, who
I hope are watching today, worked for small businesses for most
of their--most or if not all of their working lives and left
those jobs without the benefit of a pension. So, this issue is
very important to me personally.
If I am fortunate enough to be confirmed, I would want to
be briefed on EBSA's work in this area. But, I think that it is
really important to make sure that all small business owners
are educated and aware of the tools and the options that are
currently available to them; and to dispel any myths that might
be out there about the administrative and cost burdens in
offering such a plan; and to the extent that there are burdens,
to work together to offer cost-effective solutions that still
protect--that do not offer a reduced cost at the detriment of
not protecting the participants----
Senator Hickenlooper. Right.
Ms. Gomez [continuing]. And beneficiaries in that plan.
But, I thank you for that question and I look forward to
working with you if I am fortunate enough to be confirmed.
Senator Hickenlooper. Yes, me, too. I mean, there are so
many possibilities. Again, I have other questions I will
submit, but I am out of time, so I will yield back to the
Chair. Thanks.
Ms. Gomez. Thank you.
The Chair. Thank you.
Senator Braun.
Senator Braun. Thank you, Madam Chair.
We have had several conversations over the last few months,
and all of the journey we have come through in trying to keep
small businesses healthy and alive. And I do not know how
closely we are paying attention to how the economy was working
pre-COVID, but it was heading on many cylinders in the right
direction. We were raising wages in some of the toughest places
that we could not do before. We had lowered certain regulations
that seemed to impede the health of small businesses. And the
proof was in the pudding. It was working.
Now, through COVID, it seems like we are trying to pile
more and more onto the agenda of small businesses. It is going
to make it tougher rather than easier. And my observation is
small businesses, medium-size businesses, large businesses,
have put protocols in place that have finally given them the
rhythm to come through what was a devastating national health
issue, but also, that was probably as devastating, if not more
so, to certain parts of the economy--small businesses being
one.
A lot of what I see coming down the pike looks like it is
trying to get the Federal Government more and more involved in
what almost any business owner would say that is one of their
biggest challenges to begin with, is to run a good business,
try to raise wages, compete. And things seemed to be working.
There are not many here that actually have been small
business owners in the Senate, and especially that have grown a
business into a national company over a period of nearly 4
decades. And, so much of what I see, and when I am in Indiana,
which is the biggest manufacturing state per capita in the
Country, great business climate, much of what we are doing
here, or proposing to do through the Biden administration,
makes absolutely no sense. Generally speaking, it looks to me
like it is a way to Federalize what we do on Main Street well,
and where it was working better than it ever was.
I know so much of what comes from here is done with good
intentions. Everything I see--you can call it Build Back
Better--it looks like it is building back government better.
And it is coming with all of this stuff that we have had to
contend with over year--over the years, including competition,
trying to make a better living for our employees. And it was
working because the proof was in the results, pre-COVID.
I want to ask each of you a simple question. Do you think--
and I asked the Secretary of Education, do you think parents
should be the primary stakeholders in their own kids'
education?
Who should be the primary driver in small business? Should
it be the states in the business climate that they try to
nurture, or should it be the Federal Government, which appears
to be the Biden agenda?
What should be more important, directives from the top
down, from the Federal Government to Main Street, or should
that be the business of local and state governments primarily?
Which, it is clear there, too. The report card is out. You have
got half the states that got good business climates, had low
unemployment rates, did not need a Federal bailout.
I would just like your--each of you to give an opinion on
that basic question. Should it be driven from the top down,
Federal Government, or should local and state governments be
the drivers behind what works for small business?
Mr. Rodriguez, you can go first.
Mr. Rodriguez. Thank you, Senator. I appreciated our
conversation a few weeks ago. I know that Main Street small
businesses are very important to you. As I mentioned in my
opening, I was raised by a small business owner.
If you look at the workforce programs that the ETA
administers, fundamentally, it is a partnership. It is a
partnership between the public and private sector. It is a
partnership between local, state, and Federal. And that is how
our system really works best.
If you look at the investments that the President is
proposing and that the system already makes, the data-driven
effective investments in meeting the challenges that, it helps
small business compete more effectively.
Small businesses tend to be the beneficiaries of the labor
exchange services that ETA manages, as well as the on-the-job
training. But, the system is designed as a--to have dual
customers--businesses that need talent, and workers that need
quality jobs or the training they need to get them.
It is not simply about helping small businesses compete,
but these targeted investments based on data to make sure that
we are getting a good return on investment are also about the
self-sufficiency of our workers.
Senator Braun. Thank you. Ms. Gomez.
Ms. Gomez. Thank you, Senator Braun. And again, thank you
for the--taking the time to speak with me a week or so ago and
talking to me about your own experiences as a small business
owner.
I will just use a few words from Senator Burr earlier today
that I think the most important thing is to tackle these
challenges together; and that there are a number of different
parts that will work toward that.
If I am fortunate enough to be confirmed, my role would be
working as the Assistant Secretary with respect to EBSA, and I
would do everything within my control to work to make sure that
EBSA is doing its part in reaching all of the goals that you
have talked about. And I look forward to working with you.
Senator Braun. Thank you.
The Chair. Thank you.
Senator Kaine.
Senator Kaine. Thank you, Madam Chair.
A couple of my colleagues have used this as an opportunity
to kind of poke at Build Back Better, so let me tell you why I
am such a strong supporter of it. I do not think it is about
growing government at all. The----
We are doing an infrastructure bill that is bipartisan,
that is fantastic. Both of you in your capacities with DOL will
have work to do. Who is going to build the infrastructure? I
mean, I am looking at an awful lot of newspaper articles right
now that say we cannot hire school bus drivers; we cannot hire
truck drivers. There is incredibly tight labor markets right
now.
Who is going to build the infrastructure? If we make an
infrastructure investment like this once in a generation and we
do not have the workforce to do it, we will have really missed
this huge opportunity.
Let's look at Build Back Better. It is significant in terms
of training today and tomorrow's workforce.
The investments in childcare help people get back into the
workforce.
The investments in pre-K help get people back into the
workforce.
The investments in community college and career and
technical education and workforce development programs help
expand a workforce that can do what we want to do with the
bipartisan infrastructure bill.
The immigration reform components of Build Back Better help
us with the workforce.
Child tax credit does not grow government. It puts dollars
in the hands of families who have children. It does not grow
government at all. It is about helping families.
Funding for childcare and pre-K does not grow government
because this is a mixed-delivery model. If church-based
childcare is high quality, they are going to be able to get
assistance to do an even better job, or educate more kids.
I look at the Build Back Better bill as a necessary
component to the infrastructure bill to create the workforce of
today and tomorrow that will enable us to do it. And
overwhelmingly, overwhelmingly, the Build Back Better
components are support directly to families, and especially
families with children; not growing agencies. And that is why I
am so excited about it.
Look, it is going to undergo some sandpapering and changing
and all of that, but at the core, this is about having the
workforce that we need to be competitive, to help people get
good jobs, be competitive globally.
I want to ask you, Ms. Gomez. You have had an interesting
experience because you were a legislator, a state legislator.
Your position at ETA will require you to work with a lot of
stakeholders. So, talk to me about your work as a legislator
and what you did in a partisan environment in your state
legislature to build bridges across partisan aisles and involve
stakeholders in the work that you were doing.
Ms. Gomez. I think I will turn that over to Mr. Rodriguez.
Senator Kaine. Oh, he was the legislature--legislator.
Sorry about that.
Ms. Gomez. No worries.
Mr. Rodriguez. Yes, sir. No. Thank you.
Thank you for the question, Senator. And as Ms. Gomez also
mentioned the Ranking Member did talk about working together on
economic relief, on infrastructure, as you mentioned.
I think that, if confirmed, I would be looking at my record
of service in Florida, I believe that I would bring a track
record of working across party and ideological lines. Those of
us who do so, do so out of a commitment to those who entrusted
us to serve.
I would mention that on--I mentioned the reform of our jobs
programs, other economic issues that required bipartisan
collaboration. At the local level, working with our local
workforce board and local Chambers of Commerce, especially
during the early days of the pandemic to help promote layoff-
aversion programs that really work.
I am proud of some of the letters of support that were
submitted to this Committee include both labor and industry.
And I think that, to me, I am very honored by that because,
that type of collaboration and work is what the American people
demand and I think will move the agenda forward.
As you mentioned, fundamentally, Building Back Better is
about a more competitive, more fair, and more resilient
economy, post-pandemic. And, again, if confirmed, I would be
honored to join that mission.
Senator Kaine. Just one last comment that is something that
we have to grapple with, and some of my colleagues have
mentioned this. When Congress did this dramatic expansion of
the UI program, enhanced benefits, extra weeks of benefits, but
especially the expanded universe of people who could qualify
for UI, there was fraud in the program in most states. And most
of the fraud came in that third category when we, as Congress,
demanded that states expand to cover the self-employed and the
independent contractor and the part-time gig worker. We needed
to do that during COVID, but sadly, a lot of people, tried to
get over on us and we need to enforce against them.
However, I do think we do have significant reforms to do
going forward to make sure our UI universe extends to cover the
way people work today. My colleague, Senator Warner, always
points out that the traditional UI system only covers about
one-third or 35 percent of people who work today because they
work in different ways. And with appropriate safeguards and
with appropriate financing mechanisms, we need to figure out a
way to have a UI system that is designed for the way people
work today, not for the way people worked 50 years ago.
I would look forward to working together with both of you
on that important and challenging project should you be
confirmed. Thank you.
The Chair. Thank you.
Senator Marshall.
Senator Marshall. Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair.
I want to start by echoing Ranking Member Burr's comments,
concern that for all practical purposes, this Committee is
going to spend a trillion dollars over the next 10 years, and
there has been no input from the minority.
I was sent here to save Medicare, and I am afraid what I am
seeing could destroy Medicare; that already, Medicare is on its
way to a financial crisis. I am concerned that when we expand
Medicare, it is going to dilute it for those senior citizens
that we have already.
I want to turn now and talk about unemployment and vaccine
mandates. As you all know, we had record unemployment through
the COVID epidemic, partially, mainly because of government
shutdown. And Kansas, like many states, just did horrible
trying to filter through the unemployment issues. Our office
got more calls and complaints about trying to access the
unemployment program than any other issue. It dominated our
phones and our emails for over a year.
Probably the biggest fraud we are going to see from the
trillions of dollars we have appropriated for COVID will be
unemployment fraud. Kansas is estimated to have $700 million of
fraud. I am going to guess that nationwide it will be $70
billion. Seventy billion dollars that could have went toward
hard-working Americans who needed the help.
On top of this, now, the White House has issued a vaccine
mandate, which is going to--so many people are going to lose
their jobs and going to go back to unemployment now. My phone
again, blowing up from small businesses, from big businesses.
They are telling me maybe 30 to 50 percent of their line
workers, the blue collar workers, are not vaccinated. They do
not plan on getting vaccinated. This is a personal choice they
have made.
This vaccine mandate is a slap in the face of so many
people that ran to the battle--the nurses, the doctors, the
ambulance drivers, our police officers. They developed natural
immunity because there was no vaccine--the natural immunity
well proven to be better than vaccines--but the CDC and this
White House will not acknowledge natural immunity.
You can see that we are on the path to more record numbers
of people becoming unemployed because of Joe Biden's vaccine
mandate.
My question, obviously, is for Mr. Rodriguez. You have
little, if any, experience dealing with unemployment. How will
this experience, when we see unemployment rates spike again
here in the next several months due to this vaccine mandate,
what is your plan to help Kansas and other states be able to
handle the problem better?
Mr. Rodriguez. Senator, thank you for your question, and
thank you for the concern you have for your constituents during
very difficult times.
The President and the Administration are so committed to
making sure and reducing the number of unvaccinated Americans,
decreasing hospitalization, making sure--and it is primarily
because they are trying to protect life, but also because it
allows us to make sure schools can remain open, to make sure--
--
Senator Marshall. That is not my question. I think--look, I
am in favor of the vaccine. I have been vaccinated. My parents
vaccinated. I hope they get the booster shot this week. But,
there is a group of people, no matter how much you pontificate,
no matter how much Dr. Fauci pontificates, that is not going to
get the vaccine. There is going to be a spike in unemployment.
What are you going to do to help prevent this fraud from
reoccurring and help Kansans get their unemployment insurance
in a timely fashion?
Mr. Rodriguez. Absolutely the strength of the unemployment
system is not where it needs to be, still. Prior to the
pandemic, we know that there were long-standing challenges----
Senator Marshall. What is your solution? Why do we--we do
not need to describe the problem again. I have described the
problem. What are your solutions to the problem?
Mr. Rodriguez. If confirmed, my goal would be to carefully
monitor the 53 unemployment systems to make sure the right
people are getting the right benefits on time.
It would be to support the Administration's ongoing efforts
to provide assistance to states. I described a little earlier,
particularly with security and identify verification issues,
but also to help states streamline their systems. A lot of
these systems are outdated. In some states, they were outdated
when they came online. We are talking about 1980's technology
in some states.
Also, to enforce the laws regarding unemployment to make
sure that they are fairly administering the programs.
I share your commitment to making sure that these systems
work. We hope that we do not have another crisis, but the
Administration has been committed--and you see it in the
President's budget proposal--to making sure that we--the 21st
Century unemployment system also has mechanisms to
automatically ramp up, and currently, our systems are not able
to do that. But, they should be able to. It is an
Administration's priority.
They have also said that they want to adjust the funding
mechanisms to make sure that our unemployment systems are more
nimble when it comes to staffing and resources, et cetera.
If confirmed, I would be honored to work with you in making
sure that our systems are strong, secure, and accessible.
Senator Marshall. Thank you. I yield back.
The Chair. Okay.
Senator Baldwin.
Senator Baldwin. Thank you, Chair Murray.
I hope to also get one question each for you, but starting
with Ms. Gomez.
Employee retirement savings have become increasingly
concentrated into one of three large index funds. These big
three manage money for over 63 percent of all employee-
sponsored retirement plans. As a result, one of the big three
funds is the largest shareholder in nine out of 10 publicly
traded companies in the United States, giving these funds the
power to swing votes at almost every annual meeting in America,
and they use workers' retirement savings to do it.
Analysis of these voting records reflect that many funds
vote to advance their own business interests at the expense of
workers' retirements and efforts to address long-term risks,
like climate.
I have proposed legislation in the form of the EMPOWERS Act
to allow workers to nominate and elect trustees to represent
them and set proxy voting guidelines that align with their
values and their inherently long-term investment strategies.
Ms. Gomez, if confirmed, would you work with me to give
workers more power, more say, over their retirement savings to
ensure that their fiduciaries are investing for the long term
and not in their own short-term business interests?
Ms. Gomez. Yes. Thank you, Senator, and I really enjoyed
our conversation and the various things that we discussed. And
I appreciate your commitment, and I share in your commitment to
support workers and their families both in the short term with
respect to health benefits, and then the longer term with
respect to their retirement benefits.
I am understanding of the EMPOWERS Act and how you are
working toward--through that act to allow workers to have
representatives at the table, working alongside with the plan
sponsor to try to manage the plan--those plans and the
decisions that are made by those plans.
If I am confirmed, fortunate enough to be confirmed, I
would commit to working with you and with Congress to better
understand the implications of the existing rules and how the
EMPOWERS Act could play a part. And with, again, my main focus
being protecting the interests of the participants and
beneficiaries and making sure that we are acting in their
interests with respect to all decisions, including decisions
made with respect to investments.
Thank you for that question.
Senator Baldwin. Thank you.
Mr. Rodriguez, the Senate passed the bipartisan
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and it makes historic
investment in building and rebuilding American roads, bridges,
ports, drinking water systems, broadband, and more. In
Wisconsin, and elsewhere, we will need a fully trained
workforce if we are going to reap the full benefits of this
investment.
I am going to associate myself with the eloquent words of
Senator Kaine about how the Build Back Better budget works hand
in glove with that infrastructure bill. And, I would also add
to that the USICA, which is the U.S. Innovation and
Competitiveness Act, which I think will bring more
manufacturing jobs back to the United States.
I have introduced legislation called the America's College
Promise Act that creates a new Federal-state partnership to
provide 2 years tuition-free at a community or technical
college, helping students get a certificate or a credential, a
2-year degree, or transferable credits toward a 4-year degree.
Community and technical colleges are a cornerstone of the
job training ecosystem in America, and I believe that we need
to include tuition-free community and technical college in the
Build Back Better Act so that we can train the workers that we
need to fill the jobs created by USICA and the bipartisan
infrastructure bill.
The Employment and Training Agency provides high-quality
training to American workers through several programs. How do
you view the role of community and technical colleges in this
training system? And how important is it that we invest in
these institutions so that they can prepare workers for the
historic investments that we are planning in infrastructure and
manufacturing?
Mr. Rodrigues. Senator, thank you for your question and for
your commitment to not just infrastructure, but our workforce
needs that is going to help us get there.
Our public workforce system is set up as a partnership
between Federal, state, and local, and our 1,200 community
college systems, our career and technical institutions, as
well, are critical partners in that.
I come from a community where there are strong
partnerships, public, private, across institutions. I had a
close working relationship with my community college when I was
in the legislature. They play a critical role in tackling our
local workforce needs, including apprenticeship. And, I guess
they will be happy that I am on their mailing list because, on
my way out the door to catch the plane, the newsletter from my
local community college was sitting right there where I have
all the mail and featured was one of the many auto tech
apprenticeships coming online.
Our community college--colleges, plural, have been really
central partners in deploying all of the workforce strategies
now and in the past, whether it is a trade adjustment
assistance, apprenticeship.
I do look forward to, if confirmed, working with you on
those critical priorities.
The Chair. Senator Murphy.
Senator Murphy. Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
I caught the end of Senator Marshall's remarks. I
appreciate that he shares a view on vaccines with many other
Republicans. I will just say my constituents see it differently
in Connecticut. They see the lack of our ability to get over
this pandemic because of our inability to get people
vaccinated, as a barrier to folks going back to work. Folks--
people do not feel safe in settings in which they do not feel
fully protected.
Vaccine mandates, whether they be public sector or private
sector mandates that is a way to get people back into the
workforce; a way to get people off the sidelines.
Ms. Gomez, two questions for you, the first on the issue of
mental health parity. This is something that Senator Cassidy
and I have worked together on over the years. At the end of
last year, we included in the end-of-year spending bill some
additional authorities for the Department of Labor and other
Departments to use in order to assess whether insurers are
complying with the Mental Health Parity Act of 2008.
What we have seen over the years is that there are all
sorts of what we call non-quantitative treatment limitations,
red tape and bureaucracy, that gets put in front of families
that are trying to access substance abuse treatment, mental
health treatment, that frankly you do not run into when you are
trying to get reimbursement for an orthopedic procedure, right,
or treatment for heart disease.
You have got staff limitations while you are trying to
oversee 2.5 million health plans. I just want to get a sense
from you as to whether this is a priority for you, using these
new authorities to try to make sure that plans are in
compliance with the mental health parity law and how to make
sure that you maximize oversight given the staff limitations
that you have.
Ms. Gomez. Yes, and thank you, Senator, for that question.
If I am fortunate enough to be confirmed, I would expect
that this would be one of the first briefings that I receive,
and I would hope that it would be that because it is something
that is a huge priority for the Administration, as well as for
the Secretary of Labor. He and many Congresspeople have spoken
about their own personal experiences with respect to both
mental health and substance use disorder issues.
This is a top focus for me, as well. I cannot think of any
one family, including my own, who has not been personally
touched by the--by issues involving mental health and substance
use disorder. And particularly in light of the pandemic, it has
just become a more challenging issue.
Once I can better understand the current opportunities that
the Department has, as well as the challenges that they are
facing that you refer to, I would look forward to working with
folks in the Department and Congress on what would be most
helpful, where they need additional assistance in being able to
make the promise of mental health parity a reality since it has
been a while coming.
I do think that many plans do want to make good on those
promises, and that EBSA has been working with them to try to
give them the tools to be able to do so. At this point, we are
seeing the need for more enforcement in that area.
Senator Murphy. Yes.
Ms. Gomez. I would commit to working with them on that.
Senator Murphy. Great. Thank you very much. An opportunity
for bipartisan engagement here. The Trump administration
requested some additional authorities that I hope you would
look into, as well, and I hope this Committee will take
seriously.
Last, I just wanted to get into the weeds on an issue that
I am learning about, and this is the pension risk transfer
industry. This is this growing practice by which private equity
firms, led by Apollo Global Management, essentially buy up the
pension liabilities and transfer them into annuities. But,
these entities are sort of seeking to profit off of the spread
between the investment returns and the benefits that are paid,
and they often end up moving the assets away from traditional,
secure investments into much riskier investments. Some of the
companies that do this were amongst those that we had to bail
out in 2008 and 2009.
As I said, I am learning about this, but I have heard a lot
of concern about this growing practice, about the risk that it
puts many pension benefits in, especially since you lose ERISA
and PBGC protection when they get moved into these annuities.
I just wanted to know if you are familiar at all with this
practice and whether you might commit to working with Members
of the Committee to look into this market, and to figure out if
it does provide a benefit or a real downside risk to pension
holders.
Ms. Gomez. Yes. And thank you, Senator, for that follow-up
question.
I am familiar with the issue. I do think that, as with
everything on every issue, I commit to support workers and
their families and making sure that we are acting in their
interests. And I would look forward to working with you and
other Members of Congress, as well as with the Department, to
look into this issue and see what needs to be done to make sure
that we are working in the interests of these--the workers and
their families.
Senator Murphy. Great. Thank you to both of you for your
willingness to serve.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
The Chair. Thank you.
Senator Rosen.
Senator Rosen. Thank you, Chair Murray, Ranking Member
Burr, for, of course, holding this hearing; and, for you
nominees, for being here today, your willingness to serve. We
thank you.
Mr. Rodriguez, I want to start with you and talk about
expanding registered apprenticeships in STEM and cybersecurity
because, as a former computer programmer and systems analyst, I
really understand the need for robust and diverse STEM and
cyber workforce. We have so many challenging demands in these
sectors.
Like you said, some of those programs were written in the
1980's when I was a young programmer myself. And, so, we
understand the rise in crippling cyberattacks against our small
businesses, our healthcare systems, the workforce shortages.
And these are great jobs, high-paying jobs, and I think really
creative jobs.
I have introduced a lot of bipartisan bills to expand these
registered apprenticeships in cybersecurity, increase the
number of STEM educators, of course not just in Nevada, but
across the Country, and to improve interest in STEM and
cybersecurity among young students and training the next
generation.
As you know, the Employment and Training administration,
they have jurisdiction over registered apprenticeships. So, if
confirmed, how do you plan to tackle the workforce shortages in
STEM and cybersecurity? And will you commit to working with me
to expand those registered apprenticeships and worker training
opportunities?
Mr. Rodriguez. Senator, thank you so much for your question
and for your commitment to an expansion of the registered
apprenticeship model.
As I had mentioned earlier, I enjoyed watching the
Subcommittee hearing on employment and workforce safety, and I
did note that you mentioned cybersecurity and advanced
manufacturing apprenticeships.
The registered apprenticeship model really is a fountain of
innovation in terms of branching out from those industries
where traditionally apprenticeship has been, and the reason for
that is that it is the benchmark earn-as-you-learn training
strategy. Not just the track record, but the fact that it
responds more quickly and more effectively to workforce needs
than other strategies. It is also an important tool to help
increase access to good jobs for underrepresented populations.
There are many things that the Administration has proposed
and is doing that I am committed to that would increase the
apprenticeship and on-the-job training in on-demand--in in-
demand areas, including STEM professions, as well.
I would note that our--where apprenticeships are
traditional--in the construction trades, for example--that if
you ask--if you look at earning potential, lifetime earning
potential for apprentices going through a joint labor
management construction apprenticeship, it is comparable to a
college education.
I think that the Administration is very committed, as we
Build Back Better, to high-quality jobs. And the types of
strategies that you are talking about in growth industries are
absolutely important for us to meet the needs of employers and
be competitive, but also deliver on those quality jobs to make
sure that, when workers are getting credentials, that those are
credentials that are portable across the labor market, which is
one of the hallmarks of a registered apprenticeship.
Senator Rosen. Well, I am glad that you brought up regular
apprenticeships because when we Build Back Better and we pass
the Investment Infrastructure--Infrastructure Investment and
Jobs Act, we are going to be doing a lot of building, so we
need construction. And, so, Job Corps, we have our Job Corps,
our construction and renovation--it is a huge backlog we have
going on.
According to 2019 data issued by Employment and Training
Administration, there is a $700 million backlog in facilities
maintenance projects at Job Corps centers across the Country,
including more than a $6 million backlog for much-needed
repairs for us at the Sierra Nevada Job Corps center in Reno,
Nevada.
This backlog, it not just limits our physical building
infrastructure, but our ability to train and prepare and get
more and more students in these really important programs, high
sector--in demand--jobs that are in high demand--advanced
manufacturing, healthcare, and labor.
How do you plan, if confirmed, Mr. Rodriguez, to approach
this problematic backlog and repairs at our Job Corps centers
in Nevada and across the Country? And will you commit to
working with me to expand these--also these important
resources?
Mr. Rodriguez. Senator, thank you for your question about
Job Corps. Job Corps is a priority for the Administration, as
well as the Secretary. If confirmed, I would look forward to
getting fully briefed on the status of the unfunded backlog. I
know that it is a priority for the Administration and, as I
said, the Secretary.
I would also look forward to moving forward on the
priorities that the Administration has in terms of rebranding
and expanding access to Job Corps programs. There are 121 Job
Corps centers in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, DC, and I know
that everybody probably has a--several stories that they can
bring to mind of individuals that have been impacted. They are
life-changing experiences for those who go through the program.
If you speak to the president of the Miami-Dade Chapter of
the NAACP, who is a workforce professional in our school
system, she will tell--she is a 1999 graduate of the
Gainesville program, and she will tell you, it accounts--she
accredits it with the guidance that she needed to be
successful.
It is absolutely a priority, and I would be honored to work
with you if confirmed.
Senator Rosen. Well, thank you very much.
I see my time is over. Thank you, Madam Chair.
The Chair. Thank you.
Senator Burr, do you have any additional remarks?
He does not.
I just want to make a couple comments. I want to--Senator
Kaine mentioned the UI system and that it--that, as we saw last
year, saw unprecedented use of that system, and we need to--it
is not perfect. We need to update that. And Mr. Rodriguez, I
look forward to working with you on that.
Finally, I just want to say, we have had a lot of, as
Senator Kaine said, pokes at the Build Back Better agenda. We
heard a lot of comments about getting back to normal, or
somehow normal was better, and I just do not feel that. I feel
like normal was not great before the pandemic.
The pandemic really exacerbated many of the issues families
face today, and we have a responsibility as a Country to make
sure that our workforce can go to work, and that is why
childcare is such an important piece of this. If you do not
have anywhere to send your kids, and we have childcare deserts
across this Country, you cannot go to work. Or, if you do go to
work, you worry about what is happening to your child rather
than being competent at work.
We have--we do not have a family leave--paid family leave
in this Country, so many family members go to work when they
are sick. We saw what happened during this pandemic when that
occurred.
Senator Baldwin, who is here, has been a champion of making
sure that our community college and technological--technical
colleges are there for people to get the kinds of skills they
need to be at work.
That is why this is such a critical time for us to address
this as a Nation, and I look forward to working with all of our
colleagues as we continue to put that package together and move
it through the Senate.
That will end our hearing today. And I want to thank my
colleagues, as well as our witnesses today--Ms. Gomez and Mr.
Rodriguez--for your thoughtful answers. I look forward to
working with both of you once you are confirmed to help our
families and our workers and our retirees across the Country.
For any Senator who wishes to ask additional questions,
questions for the record will be due tomorrow, on October 8th,
at 5 p.m. The hearing record will remain open until then for
Members who wish to submit additional material for the record.
With that, the Committee stands adjourned.
[Whereupon, the hearing was adjourned at 11:37 a.m.]
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