US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions

Enzi Asks President to Withdraw Labor Solicitor’s Nomination White House Nominee Ill Suited for Position

Tuesday, August 25, 2009Craig Orfield (202) 224-6770

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, yesterday requested President Obama withdraw the nomination of Patricia Smith for Solicitor of the U.S. Labor Department based on inconsistent statements and testimony before the HELP Committee.

“The Solicitor of Labor must accurately and candidly interact with the Congress. Patricia Smith has unfortunately fallen short in her interactions with our Committee,” remarked Enzi.

During a HELP Committee confirmation hearing and again in subsequent questions for the record, Smith, who is currently the Commissioner of the New York State Labor Department, made at least four significant statements while testifying about a program called Wage and Hour Watch that contradict documents supplied to the Committee.

“The Department of Labor and the American people deserve to have a Solicitor of Labor that can be counted on to fairly enforce the law and who has the full confidence of the Congress. Unfortunately, Smith is not the right candidate for the job.” Enzi concluded.

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