Senator Murray: “We have important work ahead to protect workers’ rights, raise wages, ensure decent, safe, and fair working conditions and deliver high-quality workforce development opportunities. And the increased funding for the Labor Department in this budget will help us get it done with many, much-needed investments.”
***WATCH: SENATOR MURRAY’S OPENING REMARKS***
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS), led a hearing with Labor Secretary Marty Walsh on President Biden’s annual budget request for the Department of Labor. During the hearing, Senator Murray pushed the administration to continue working to build a stronger, fairer economy that works for all workers—not just the largest corporations and those at the top.
“It’s clear to me, and I think it’s clear to everyone listening, that we have more work to do to support workers and families. So I am going to keep pushing to make sure families have a little less stress on their shoulders, and a little more money in their pockets,” said Senator Murray. “That means bringing down costs—across the board—on things like groceries, gas, health care, child care, and other everyday essentials. It means ensuring workers get paid a fair, living wage—and are not cheated out of it, and go to work confident they will be coming home safely. It means making sure they can choose to care for themselves and their loved ones without losing the paycheck they need, and can learn new skills if they want to pursue a new career in a higher-paying field. And it absolutely means ensuring we protect workers’ rights—especially the right to join or form a union—to collectively bargain for better benefits, better health care, better retirement plans—and higher wages.”
Specifically, Senator Murray pushed Secretary Walsh to finally finalize a permanent COVID-19 standard for health care workers and a permanent infectious disease standard to keep workers safe on the job, which she has been pushing to get done for months—and for years, since the previous administration.
“It’s critical this budget bolsters support for OSHA’s mission to keep workers safe on the job, and protected from retaliation for calling out safety and health issues in the workplace. It’s also why I am continuing to push OSHA to move quickly to finally issue a permanent COVID-19 standard for health care workers, and work on a permanent infectious disease standard as well,” said Senator Murray. “Health care workers have been on the frontlines of this pandemic. They have worked tirelessly to save the lives of countless patients. But they have faced grave danger during this pandemic just trying to do their jobs. COVID-19 has killed over five thousand nurses and health care professionals. We owe it to each and every one of our health care heroes to keep them safe. So Mr. Secretary, I expect to see the permanent COVID safety standard from the Department soon. We should’ve had one already—and workers cannot keep waiting.”
During the hearing, Senator Murray highlighted how the President’s budget request will invest in programs to connect people to good, high-paying jobs and will provide the Labor Department with sorely-needed resources to better enforce our nation’s labor laws and ensure every worker is paid the wages they have earned. Senator Murray noted, for example, that the Wage and Hour Division lacks the resources it needs to investigate and hold the nation’s largest, well-resourced corporations accountable—but that the President’s budget proposal will help ensure Wage and Hour can crack down on wage theft and get money back in workers’ pockets.
“This budget will also help people who are working to find good, high-paying jobs by increasing support for registered apprenticeships and other high-quality workforce development programs,” said Senator Murray. “Because you shouldn’t have to have a college degree to make a decent living in this country.”
“We need to level the playing field for workers to make sure they’re getting a fair shake,” added Senator Murray. “And these resources will allow us to crack down on employers who don’t pay employees the overtime pay they are owed, pay workers less than the prevailing wages required under law, and otherwise cheat employees out of the pay they have earned. These investments won’t just provide accountability to businesses. They will put money directly back in workers’ pockets—where it belongs.”
Senator Murray’s opening remarks, as prepared for delivery, are below:
“This is the last of the hearings we have scheduled for this subcommittee to discuss the President’s budget for fiscal year 2023.
“And of course, the last hearing with Senator Blunt on the other side of the dais.
“After all the issues we’ve worked through together, I can’t think of a more fitting tribute to that partnership, than a bill that continues that legacy of making meaningful, bipartisan investments to help families back in Washington state, Missouri, and across the country.
“So my hope is, that after today, we’ll be able to come together quickly, in a bipartisan way, as we have so many times in the past to turn to the hard work of writing our FY23 appropriations bills, and getting in a good position to pass everything before the end of the year. Because families are counting on us to get this done.
“I hope we can all agree it’s critical to continue strengthening our economy, and building off the progress we made thanks to the American Rescue Plan and last year’s appropriations bills.
“Under President Biden we have added around 8.7 million jobs—an all-time high—and unemployment is near all-time lows at 3.6 percent.
“Meanwhile, the pension relief we passed has already given a lifeline to struggling businesses, and saved the pensions of ten of thousands of workers and retirees who were at risk of having their financial situations turned upside-down.
“But while that progress is good, we still have a lot of work ahead to build a stronger, fairer economy that truly works for workers—not just those at the very top and giant corporations.
“And right now, inflation is a serious challenge we need to get our arms around.
“So we need to bring down everyday costs—for the basics like groceries, gas, and more—that so many families are struggling with.
“That’s why Democrats are working to lower the cost of prescription drugs and health coverage. And why we need to lower child care costs for families and fix our broken child care system that’s on the verge of collapse.
“We’ve got to get it done through reconciliation, before it’s too late.
“Because it is plain as day the child care crisis is holding our economy back.
“It’s keeping so many parents, and especially moms, out of the workforce, and making it so much harder for businesses to find the workers they need.
“I’ve put forward a plan that will lower child care costs for families all across the country by thousands of dollars a year, reach more than a million new children and their families, raise wages for child care workers and stabilize the sector—keeping providers’ doors open and making more options available to families, and ultimately strengthen our entire economy.
“And I’m going to keep pushing with everything I have to get that done.
“Now, Secretary Walsh, I’m glad you were able to hear directly from workers in Washington state about the challenges they are facing when you visited a few months ago, and especially glad to see President Biden’s budget takes to heart so much of what the people in my state had to share with you.
“We have important work ahead to protect workers’ rights, raise wages, ensure decent, safe, and fair working conditions and deliver high-quality workforce development opportunities.
“And the increased funding for the Labor Department in this budget will help us get it done with many, much-needed investments.
“First, it would provide resources to help fix and strengthen our unemployment insurance systems which so many people rely on when they hit hard times and are looking for their next job, and which this pandemic has shown is broken in far too many ways.
“This should be a reliable lifeline for people so they can get back on their feet, but back in my state, and in several others—our unemployment programs have been undermined by fraud, outdated technology, and massive data hacks.
“We have to do better for families—and that starts with providing the resources that we need to actually update I.T. programs, and fix the system.
“This budget will also help people who are working to find good, high-paying jobs by increasing support for registered apprenticeships and other high-quality workforce development programs so they can provide quality opportunities in even more industries and occupations, and reach more women, people of color, formerly incarcerated individuals, people with disabilities, and others who are too often left out.
“Because you shouldn’t have to have a college degree to make a decent living in this country.
“Of course, the Department must do more than provide workers new opportunities—we need to be bold in protecting their rights too.
“That’s why it’s so important this budget invests in the worker protection agencies charged with ensuring employers respect workers’ rights and follow federal laws.
“Better enforcing these laws will help ensure workers are paid the wages they have earned—not shortchanged on overtime or denied minimum wage; get the family and medical leave they are eligible for; and go to work in a safe and healthy workplace.
“For too long the number of investigators in the Wage and Hour Division has been declining—and we just hit a 50-year low.
“Too often, the Division simply can’t investigate wage theft at huge—very well resourced—corporations.
“So I think we need to level the playing field for workers to make sure they’re getting a fair shake.
“And these resources will allow us to crack down on employers who don’t pay employees the overtime pay they are owed, pay workers less than the prevailing wages required under law, and otherwise cheat employees out of the pay they have earned.
“These investments won’t just provide accountability to businesses. They will put money directly back in workers’ pockets—where it belongs.
“Meanwhile, increased resources for the International Labor Affairs Bureau will protect workers here at home from unfair competition when foreign companies don’t play by the rules, ensure our trading partners follow through on their commitment to workers’ rights, and keep our nation competitive on the world stage.
“And increased investments in the Office of Federal Contract Compliance will help ensure employers working for the government follow the law—including protecting against workplace discrimination and harassment.
“And when it comes to enforcing labor laws, this pandemic has put a harsh spotlight on how critical workplace health and safety laws are.
“We need the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to do more to live up to its responsibility here.
“In 2020, our country lost an average of 15 people to workplace injuries every day. Every day, 15 loved ones never made it home—and workplace deaths like these are disproportionately workers of color. That is heartbreaking. We have to do better.
“Which is why it’s critical this budget bolsters support for OSHA’s mission to keep workers safe on the job, and protected from retaliation for calling out safety and health issues in the workplace.
“It’s also why I am continuing to push OSHA to move quickly to finally issue a permanent COVID-19 standard for health care workers, and work on a permanent infectious disease standard as well.
“Health care workers have been on the frontlines of this pandemic. They have worked tirelessly to save the lives of countless patients. But they have faced grave danger during this pandemic just trying to do their jobs. COVID-19 has killed over five thousand nurses and health care professionals.
“We owe it to each and every one of our health care heroes to keep them safe.
“So Mr. Secretary, I expect to see the permanent COVID safety standard from the Department soon. We should’ve had one already—and workers cannot keep waiting.
“It’s clear to me, and I think it’s clear to everyone listening, that we have more work to do to support workers and families.
“So I am going to keep pushing to make sure families have a little less stress on their shoulders, and a little more money in their pockets.
“That means bringing down costs—across the board—on things like groceries, gas, health care, child care, and other everyday essentials.
“It means ensuring workers get paid a fair, living wage—and are not cheated out of it, and go to work confident they will be coming home safely.
“It means making sure they can choose to care for themselves and their loved ones without losing the paycheck they need, and can learn new skills if they want to pursue a new career in a higher-paying field.
“And it absolutely means ensuring we protect workers’ rights—especially the right to join or form a union—to collectively bargain for better benefits, better health care, better retirement plans—and higher wages.
“I’m glad to say this budget makes clear the Biden Administration is also committed to these goals, and that President Biden understands as well as anyone that working families are the heart of our country, and the backbone of our economy.
“Democrats are focused on the economy, Mr. Secretary. We are focused on tackling inflation, on lowering costs, and making sure working people get a fair shake and their fair share.
“And I look forward to working with you and the President to keep building an economy that puts working people first.
“Now I’ll turn it over to Senator Blunt for his remarks.”
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