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Enzi Wants Obama to Withdraw Labor Pick
By: Susan Ferrechio
Chief Congressional Correspondent
08/25/09 10:21 AM EDT
Sen. Mike Enzi wants the Obama administration to withdraw its nominee for Solicitor of the Department of Labor.
Enzi sent a letter to President Obama accusing nominee Patricia Smith of giving "inconsistent statement and testimony" to the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Enzi, of Wyoming, is the top Republican on the panel.
Smith currently serves as commissioner for the New York Department of Labor and started a program in the city called "Wage Watch," which utilizes community groups to "participate in a range of activities aimed at improving labor law compliance, including holding know-your-rights training, providing employers with information about compliance, and distributing literature to workers in supermarkets, laundromats, nail salons, and other community settings," according to literature on the program.
"When they encounter workers facing serious violations of the law or employers with detailed questions about compliance, New York Wage Watch groups will have a designated point person for referrals in the Labor Department's Division of Labor Standards, which enforces wage and hour laws," according to literature on the program.
Enzi said when Smith testified before his panel in May, she made four statements about Wage Watch "that contradict documents supplied to the Committee."
If confirmed, Smith would serve as the top law enforcement agent at Labor.
"If it was her intention to mislead the Senate, then I oppose her nomination," Enzi said in the letter to Obama "If she unintentionally gave inaccurate statements to the Senate , then I question her ability to manage a large operation since she does not have a clear understanding of what is taking place in her own department in New York."
Enzi also questioned Smith's ability to work with small businesses, pointing out that the Wage Watch program was designed to target small businesses but Smith did not talk to small business owners about the program before implementing it.
UPDATE:
Enzi's letter, an aide said, signals that if Obama does not withdraw Smith, he will put a "hold" on her nomination which will prevent the Senate from taking an up or down vote on whether she should get the job. But the Senate has no immediate plans to take up Smith's nomination because she has yet to clear the Health and Education panel.
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