May 9, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 77 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page S2766]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              NOMINATIONS

  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, today I wish to express my opposition 
to recent nominees who have come before the Senate.
  First, I would like to express my opposition to the nomination of 
Janet Dhillon, who was confirmed to serve as Chair of the Equal 
Employment Opportunity Commission, EEOC, by a party line vote 
yesterday. The EEOC has a critical mission to enforce the Federal laws 
that make it illegal to discriminate against workers on the basis of 
their race, religion, national origin, or disability, and it was the 
first Federal agency to take the position that title VII of the Civil 
Rights Act protects employees from workplace discrimination based on 
their sexual orientation. Like many of my colleagues, I am concerned 
that Ms. Dhillon has refused to commit to uphold the EEOC's current 
interpretation of title VII as covering LGBTQ workers. I am also 
concerned by arguments that were made in legal briefs by the Retail 
Litigation Center under Ms. Dhillon's leadership, including arguments 
in support of policies to make it more difficult for employers to be 
held liable for harassment. It is for these reasons that I would not 
have voted in support of Ms. Dhillon' s nomination.
  I also want to comment on my opposition to Cheryl Stanton's 
nomination to serve as Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division at 
the Department of Labor. Before Ms. Stanton's nomination, she served as 
executive director of the South Carolina Department of Employment and 
Workforce, in which capacity she garnished wages to collect 
unemployment insurance overpayments and had a public dispute with a 
staff member who refused to institute a personnel action after raising 
ethical objections. I voted against invoking cloture on Ms. Stanton's 
nomination and would have voted against her confirmation.
  Finally, I want to address the nomination of Joseph Bianco for the 
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which I opposed 
in the Judiciary Committee due to concerns regarding his record on such 
critical issues as privacy and civil liberties. I am also concerned 
that the Senate advanced Judge Bianco's nomination even though neither 
home State Senator returned a positive blue slip.
  Thank you.

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