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[Pages S4578-S4579]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NOMINATIONS
Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, workers right now are dealing with
unprecedented challenges and are making great personal sacrifices to
keep the country running during this crisis.
And the nominees under consideration today for the National Labor
Relations Board will play a critical role in safeguarding their rights
and protections.
That is why I voted for Lauren McFerran to serve another term on the
NLRB.
She is a dedicated, qualified, and well-respected public servant who
had a proven track record of fighting for workers before she joined the
Board and has stood by workers in enforcing these fundamental
protections during her time on the NLRB.
But unfortunately, the opposite is true for Marvin Kaplan, the
Republican nominee to the NLRB.
Mr. Kaplan spent his career working to further corporations'
interests and gut workers' rights instead of protecting them. That is
why Democrats opposed his nomination in 2017, and that is exactly what
he has done since joining the NLRB.
He is exactly wrong to serve another term on the NLRB, and that is
why I voted against his confirmation.
I am also extremely disappointed we do not have the nomination of
another highly qualified Democrat to the NLRB, Jennifer Abruzzo, to
consider today.
Years of Republican obstruction of highly qualified Democratic
nominees to critical worker protection agencies like the NLRB and the
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission shows a blatant disregard for
longstanding deference to the minority party and is a significant
departure from the customs of this institution. It is unacceptable, and
I will not stop pushing for Democratic nominees.
I urge my colleagues to vote today to stand up for workers and their
rights.
I would also like to say that, after months of delay from my
Republican colleagues, the COVID relief proposal Republicans put
forward this week is incredibly late, profoundly inadequate, and can't
credibly be considered a starting point for negotiations.
It gives corporations a ``get out of jail free'' card to prevent
employers from being held accountable for keeping their workers safe
and a license to discriminate including on the basis of age, race, sex,
and disability status.
And instead of expanding unemployment benefits that have been a
lifeline for workers in my home State and across the country--which by
the way, are due to expire tomorrow--Republicans have slashed them.
This bill doesn't get us anywhere near where we need to be on
developing a vaccine that is accessible and affordable to every person
and is completely
[[Page S4579]]
inadequate in addressing our testing and contract tracing shortfalls.
And while Democrats want schools to reopen for in-person learning if
it can be done safely, the partisan Republican proposal would put
students, educators, and communities at risk.
Republicans need to abandon this dangerous one-size-fits all approach
to reopening schools in-person and pass our Child Care Education and
Relief Act, which would provide $430 billion to address the national
child care and education crises during this pandemic.
My question to Republican leaders is why, when things are already so
hard, are you determined to make them harder for people who are already
struggling so much?
It is shameful, and we are going to keep calling you to account for
it until workers, families, and communities get the support they need.
Thank you.
____________________
