WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) today released the following statement on her opposition to President Joe Biden’s nomination of Julie Su to be the next secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor.
“When determining how a person would lead an organization, it’s standard practice to look back at how they have led in the past. As Secretary of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency, Julie Su presided over tens of billions of dollars in fraudulent unemployment insurance payments during the COVID-19 pandemic. An initial estimate of the cost indicated it was $10 billion in fraud, a number that soon grew with more reporting to $20 billion, and now has surpassed $30 billion. That is a staggering amount of irresponsibility.
“When the Biden administration nominated Julie Su to be Deputy Secretary of Labor, I and every one of my Republican colleagues opposed her nomination. However, she was confirmed on a party line vote. Now, the president wants to give her a promotion to become the Secretary of Labor. At a time of increasing bureaucratic overreach, putting someone with Julie Su’s policy background and record of neglect would not serve our country and our economy well.
“Julie Su believes in taking away choices from workers and more regulations for businesses, adversely impacting both employers and employees. It is one thing to be so staunchly pro-regulation, but coupled with the fact that her previous track record demonstrates she can’t even manage them makes for a dangerous combination for our fragile economy. The last thing West Virginia’s economy needs is for Washington to regulate our state to become more like California’s economy. Ms. Su’s testimony today before the Senate HELP Committee confirms her commitment to those ineffective, inefficient, burdensome, and expensive policies that are anti-business and anti-worker. Therefore, she should not be confirmed as the next Secretary of Labor.”
BACKGROUND:
A number of West Virginia groups have also expressed opposition to Julie Su’s nomination, including: Associated Builders & Contractors West Virginia Chapter, Independent Electrical Contractors Chesapeake, West Virginia Franchise Action Network, West Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association, West Virginia Manufacturers Association, West Virginia Retailers Association, West Virginia Trucking Association, and the West Virginia Oil Marketers and Grocers Association.
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