Senator Kennedy Approves posted by John Nichols on 01/09/2009 @ 12:31pm

Edward Kennedy, the liberal lion of the Senate who for so long has struggled against the reactionary Republicans and disappointing Democrats to defend the rights of working Americans, opened Friday's hearing on President-elect Obama's nominee to serve as Secretary of Labor with the enthusiasm of a man who has passed through the wilderness of the Bush-Cheney years and arrived anew on the high ground of civil society.

"This is not an ordinary hearing, because we do not live in ordinary times," the senator from Massachusetts told members of the ,a href="http://help.senate.gov/"> Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions who had gathered for the confirmation hearing of California Congresswoman Hilda Solis. "American families are suffering in ways we haven't seen in many years. And the crisis is growing worse every day."

In remarks prepared for the Solis hearing, which the ailing senator went out of his way to chair, Kennedy said:

Every morning working families wake up to more bad news. More jobs lost. More pensions gone. More dreams that disappear.

Just this morning, we learned that we lost another 524,000 jobs last month. That is not just a number. It is families like Paula Stein's. Paula worked hard for 30 years. A year ago, she lost her job. Now she can't find work.

She struggles to pay her bills. She stopped taking her medication because she can't afford it. She almost lost her home. Paula played by the rules. She took care of her family. And now everything is gone. Her dignity. Her pride. Her life savings. All gone.

The sad fact is that Paula is not alone. There are millions more Americans just like her. Men and women who can't sleep at night. Parents who look into their children's eyes wondering if they can make it through another day.

They wonder how can we afford health care? How can we pay the rent? How can we put food on the table?

Throughout our history, Americans have come together in times of crisis. Our neighbors, our families, our communities, our churches all pitching in.

But we need leadership in our government, too. We need leaders who understand what working families are facing in today's economy.

I believe that Hilda Solis is just such a leader. She comes from a working family. Her parents sacrificed to give her greater opportunity.

Throughout her career, Hilda has given back to her community and to her nation. She has fought for working families all her life.

In the California Senate and now in Congress, she has been a voice for the voiceless with a true passion for fairness and justice. For her dedication and leadership, she received the Profile in Courage Award. No one could be more deserving of that great honor.

The task before us is great. But Hilda Solis has overcome great challenges all her life. I have no doubt that she can do it again to help our families reclaim the American dream.

Hilda, I thank you for answering the President-Elect's call to serve our country.

Solis and Kennedy are familiar with one another. In 2000, shortly after her election to Congress - in a primary where she beat a Democratic incumbent who had sided with the Clinton administration on trade issues - the senior senator was there when the junior congresswoman was presented with that John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for her pioneering work on environmental justice issues in California.

On Friday, Solis offered every indication that Kennedy - and working Americans -- would finally have an ally at the Department of Labor. Pledging to change the department so that it would - to paraphrase Obama - "once again stand up for working families," Solis told the committee that: "We need to restore the respect and integrity of those individuals in the workplace."

To do that, she told the senators, she would fight job discrimination and assure that employees "get the pay they have earned working in safe, healthy and fair workplaces."

The congresswoman's commitment to step up oversight of wage and hour laws, job safety regulations and rules covering overtime pay and pay discrimination - and her long support for legislation to remove barriers to union organizing - have made her the target for criticism from pro-business groups and the Republican National Committee.

But even Republican senators on the committee generally treated Solis with respect Friday. And Kennedy - still the master at making things happen on Capitol Hill - has left no doubt that her confirmation process will move toward a smooth and swift approval by the committee and the full Senate.

Labor unions are already celebrating.

"Hilda Solis has proven she is more than qualified to serve as Secretary of Labor," says Change to Win coalition executive director Chris Chafe. "We are confident that she will restore the U.S. Labor Department to fulfilling its original purpose -- fighting to protect workers' rights and open the door of opportunity for all Americans to achieve the American Dream."

"UNITE HERE is very proud of its history with Congresswoman Solis. At our events, she is known as an honorary shop steward--a symbol of the respect she has earned throughout our decades-long working relationship. She has walked numerous picket lines with us in Southern California. Our members have worked on every single Solis campaign. And, when she ran for Congress, UNITE HERE was the first union to endorse her," adds Raynor. "Congresswoman Solis' deep understanding of workers' issues comes from years of personal and professional experience. Her commitment to addressing those issues will help expand economic opportunity and protect workers' rights across this country."

Teamsters President James Hoffa noted with delight that the nominee is "the daughter of a Teamster" and added: "Solis' commitment to America's workers comes from her roots growing up in a middle-class home, and she has made it her mission to improve the lives of working men and women who are fighting for the American Dream. Now more than ever, workers in this country need a friend like Solis at the Labor Department, an agency that has been a greater friend to corporations in the last eight years than the workers it was founded to protect. The Teamsters Union is confident that Solis will restore the agency to its original mission."