Who'll Fill Labor Secretary Hilda Solis' Congressional Seat? (updated--see end of post)

There's a lumpy, jarring, unnecessary speed bump on the road to the Senate confirmation of Congresswoman Hilda Solis (D-CA32) for the position President Obama has appointed her to: Secretary of Labor.

As you might expect, that oxygen-sucking bit of obstruction is an unnamed, anonymous Republican senator who placed a one-week hold on the confirmation. So what's the problem he (or less likely, she) has with Congresswoman Solis?

Like many progressive women of color, I'm particularly delighted with Solis' appointment. It's her solid and lived-in support for labor: as a daughter of a father who was a Teamster and a mother who worked in a toy factory, Solis has been known to walk picket lines with her constituents. And it's her ground breaking career in public service. According to her hometown paper, The Pasadena Star-News:

Solis was the first person in her family to go to college, the first Latina elected to the California state Senate, the first woman to represent the San Gabriel Valley in the state Senate, the first woman to receive the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, and the first Latina appointed to the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Those attributes are wonderful and her pro-choice/pro-labor/pro-environment voting record is one I'm happy with. Digby even noted that there are important potential parallels between Solis' position as Secretary of Labor in an Obama administration and the work Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins (also a ground-breaking female cabinet member) did under FDR. But what's icing on the cake is Solis' work in representing the eastern part of San Gabriel Valley, a largely Latino and Asian Pacific Islander district. (In fact my API mother-in-law is Solis' constituent and voted for her.)

It thrills me to see the cities and towns well east of Los Angeles--far from the glitter of Hollywood--consistently re-elect such a talented progressive politico. The 32d is a solidly middle class/working class district, with a beer factory and quite a few tool and die shops and a large cement works smack in the center of it. I love that identity politics and a seeming one-to-one correlation between one's race and one's interest isn't really relevant. APIs represented by a Latina? Why not? It's obvious that Solis is a Democratic Party rising star, a capable legislator, and fairly principled for a politician. And I think this kind of authentic multiculturalism is here to stay. Just look a who's most likely to fill Solis' congressional seat. State Board of Equalization member Dr. Judy Chu and California State Senator Gil Cedillo are frontrunners by virtue of experience; 26-year old rising political talent Emanuel Pleitez has also declared an interest in Solis' seat.

Regardless of who replaces Solis, it's a win for a working/solidly middle class district and it may extend among minorities the ground-breaking mindset that allows white majorities to support African American candidates for public office (documented by Gwen Ifill in her book, The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama). Not only can mostly white districts or states elect African American governors, for example, but people of color can support other people of color across ethnic and linguistic lines.

So, all those bright, shiny things that are positives to me? Total negatives to Republicans, apparently. They're holding Solis' prior co-sponsorship of the stalled Employee Free Choice Act, which would allow for unions to organize more easily in workplaces, against her.

So this post, which was going to be mostly about how to fill Solis' seat, has metamorphosed into speculation about who the "anonymous" GOP Senator is.

The Pasadena Star-News also recently had this to say:

If Republican senators have questions about Solis and her position on a bill she sponsored in 2007, the Employment Free Choice Act, then they should ask those questions in an open hearing, with the American people watching.

Also, when Solis returns to the hot seat, she should put away her previous script, which consisted of far too many non responses to senators' legitimate questions. Yes, she co-sponsored the bill, which would allow non-organized workers to form a union with only a majority of names on a petition, rather than the usual secret-ballot vote. And yes, Obama has supported the bill when he was in the Senate and on the campaign trail as well. Yes as well to the fact that is no secret - unlike the vast majority of Obama nominees, Solis is a liberal instead of a moderate.

Would Solis be in favor of its provisions today? Does she believe that private-sector workers should have the same rights as federal workers to negotiate flex time with their employers? Instead of dodging these pertinent questions as she did on Jan. 9, Solis should answer them.

There is one very important caveat. The labor secretary does not set policy; she implements policies set by Congress and the president. So it is not up to Solis but to the Congress to craft and debate new labor laws. [Emphasis mine.] But it would become a more open, more honest process if Solis were to tell the senators her view on these issues just the same.

I totally agree. Moreover, rules governing unionization issue from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and that entity is NOT part of the Department of Labor but is instead overseen by a senate committee and a handful of presidential appointees who serve 5-year terms.

These secret holds need to stop, and Republicans need to stop abusing procedural quirks that are in turn overly indulged by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Why isn't there more sunshine as part of the process?

The NYT has weighed in with its own editorial on the unusual delay in confirming Solis and argued for speed and transparency in filling the seat in Obama's cabinet.

DailyKos has had at least three diaries attempt to identify the Senator who placed the hold: here, here, and here. A more action-oriented diary, here, summarizes efforts by various constituents to call their senators and ask them whether or not they placed the hold.

They're down to the following suspects Republican Senators (list from thereisnospoon's diary:

Christopher Bond (MO)
(202) 224-5721

Michael Enzi (WY)** has publicly questioned Solis' qualifications & pro-labor positions
(202) 224-3424

Jim Bunning (KY)
(202) 224-4343

Thad Cochran (MS)
(202) 224-5054

Mike Crapo (ID)
(202) 224-6142

Jim DeMint (SC)** from a "right-to-work" state that benefits from an anti-union climate
(202) 224-6121

John Ensign (NV)
(202) 224-6244

Judd Gregg (NH)
(202) 224-3324

Orrin Hatch (UT)
(202) 224-5251

Richard Lugar (IN)
(202) 224-4814

Mitch McConnell (KY)**wife Elaine Chao was Secty of Labor in Bush administration
(202) 224-2541

Lisa Murkowski (AK)
(202) 224-6665

James Risch (ID)
(202) 224-2752

Pat Roberts (KS)
(202) 224-4774

Jeff Sessions (AL)
(202) 224-4124

Richard Shelby (AL)
(202) 224-5744

John Thune (SD)
(202) 224-2321

Roger Wicker (MS)
(202) 224-6253

What You Can Do
If you live in a state which might be harboring the senator who placed the anonymous hold, call and ask if your senator is the one, and ask outright if the senator will support Solis' nomination. Let us know what you were told in comments to this post.

If I understand correctly, holds expire approximately a week after they're placed, at which time we can find out who placed the hold--or if it's withdrawn and another hold is placed by another anonymous senator (for another week), the first anonymous senator would remain anonymous. You see what a daisy-chain of obstructionist do-nothingism this is. The list above is potentially 18 weeks of delay, TIME ENOUGH FOR SENATE REPUBLICANS TO CRAFT A CONCERTED ATTACK on not only Solis, but the Employee Free Choice Act. (Membership in unions is rising--another reason for the GOP to run scared. And another reason for us to act quickly to confirm a pro-labor appointee.)

So please call. If you need a script, use one here. While you have your senator's aide on the line, make sure they know you want Solis confirmed, or at least some sunshine on the process--NO FUNNY BUSINESS.

If you find it annoying that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is respecting the anonymous hold placed by a Republican colleague but hasn't had any such difficulties with holds placed by Democratic colleague Chris Dodd (on the FISA bill), you can call Reid here:

Senator Harry Reid, DC office
528 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-3542 / Fax: 202-224-7327

Solis, while obviously a strong voice for labor and in favor of easing the ability of workers to join unions, will also be an important part of whatever future economic recovery we're able to achieve. If we get the infrastructure spending that's been put forth in the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act that Democrats passed in the House yesterday, we'll have private sector job creation *and* a need to protect workers in those jobs.

Comments

You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.

*Anonymous* Senator? WTF? I didn't know they could raise objections anonymously during these Cabinet appointment hearings. Is this a national security issue or something?

I'm puzzled. And annoyed - as this seems to be more than your usual GOP obstructionism.

Posted by: Donna | January 29, 2009 at 12:20 PM

It's all symbolic... she'll get confirmed.

I hope that the Momocrats won't be upset with me for saying that I think that Solis is HAWT!

Posted by: Gunfighter | January 29, 2009 at 05:20 PM

Gunfighter,
Of course Solis is hawt! :)

SocalMom,
I think they pull these tricks all the time. Why they think it makes them more relevant (instead of less) to gum up the works is a mystery to me.

Posted by: cynematic | January 29, 2009 at 06:47 PM

Cyn, totally stoked you linked to that piece by the all-wise Digby - it's genius. (As is this.)

Gunfighter, you're only human. She's got gorgeous brains, so I can't blame you one iota.

(Gorgeous brains do it for me every time.)

Posted by: lildb | January 30, 2009 at 09:53 AM