Julia Su, the nominee that President Joe Biden has put forward to serve as labor secretary, has been asked to appear before the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.
That request was made by North Carolina Republican Representative Virginia Foxx, who asked that the appearance be before June so that there won’t be any “undue delay” that might prevent the committee “from conducting its oversight work.”
On April 18, Foxx sent a letter to Su reminding her that in her current role as the acting labor secretary, she has an “obligation to be accountable” to the House committee when it’s conducting “needed oversight on federal departments and high-ranking officials.”
Foxx also serves as the chair of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
As the letter reads:
“As Chairwoman of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, I am conducting needed oversight on federal departments and high-ranking officials. In so doing, I am holding hearings with agency heads in a timely and expeditious manner. The purpose of this letter is to remind you – as the acting head of the Department of Labor and as the President’s nominee to be the next Secretary of Labor – of your obligation to be accountable and to invite you to appear before the Committee.”
Foxx further wrote that the intention of Su to appear in front of the committee no later than summertime was “unacceptable,” and that it goes to show that she’s much more concerned with how she looks than she is at actually doing her job.
The North Carolina representative wrote that even though Su was offered multiple dates where she could appear that would have given her up to two months’ work of preparation for the meeting, she still decided not to be available until almost halfway through the 118th Congress’ first session.
To that point, Foxx wrote:
“This is unacceptable, and it is an undue delay preventing the Committee from conducting its oversight work. Furthermore, it suggests that you are more concerned about protecting your record and your prospects as a nominee than fulfilling your obligation to respond to oversight and be accountable.”
Su holds a unique position in her nomination. She is simultaneously serving as the acting labor secretary while being nominated to serve as the permanent labor secretary. This means that, in her current position, she is subject to certain congressional scrutiny, while also being subject to other congressional scrutiny as part of her coming confirmation hearings.
Foxx attacked not just Su but also the Biden administration in her letter, saying the Department of Labor has a record that’s “destructive” and also in “critical” need of some congressional oversight.
She wrote:
“[The department] has pursued a destructive agenda that stifled economic growth with more regulations and red tape, produced fewer results for workers and employers, and ballooned costs at the expense of the American taxpayer. [The department] has also been unresponsive to the committee’s oversight requests.
“It is critical for Committee Members to question you about this alarming record.”
