Today, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) and the Center for Worker Freedom (CWF) released a letter to the U.S. Senate, urging Senators to vote for Patrick Pizzella for Deputy Secretary of the Department of Labor and John Ring for Board Member of the National Labor Relations Board.

[The letter can be found here]

As the letter says, both men have extensive experience and are strong advocates for worker freedom. Because they are strong nominees, the U.S. Senate should confirm both men.

The full letter is below:

Dear U.S. Senator,

I am writing to urge you to vote for Patrick Pizzella for Deputy Secretary of the Department of Labor and John Ring for Board Member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Senator Mitch McConnell filed cloture on both nominees on March 22^nd.

Both men are highly qualified for these positions and should be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

President Donald Trump nominated Mr. Pizzella on June 19, 2017. While awaiting his confirmation, Pizzella has served as Acting Chairman of the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA).

Pizzella’s distinguished career includes prominent positions at the Department of Labor, the Federal Labor Relations Authority, the General Services Administration, the Small Business Administration, the Department of Education, the Federal Housing Finance Board, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, among others. Some of these positions have already required Senate confirmation.

Americans for Tax Reform and the Center for Worker Freedom strongly support Patrick Pizzella as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Labor because of his extensive experience in labor policy and strong commitment to worker freedom.

President Obama’s Department of Labor unfortunately imposed burdensome regulations, like the joint employer rule and fiduciary rule. These regulations cost jobs and hurt small businesses. Under Secretary Acosta’s strong leadership though, the Department of Labor has successfully limited the harm of these regulations, and businesses have responded by hiring more people. In fact, February 2018 saw the largest monthly job growth since July 2016. Confirming Mr. Pizzella would further support President Trump’s pro-worker policies.

Similarly, John Ring is strongly qualified. Mr. Ring was a partner in Washington, D.C. at the prestigious law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius prior to his nomination by President Trump on January 12, 2018. Ring began his career as a staff assistant for the International Brotherhood of the Teamsters.

Like the Department of Labor, the National Labor Relations Board is also overruling a number of decisions by the Obama administration. Unfortunately, the current Board only has two worker freedom advocates and is deadlocked. Confirming Mr. Ring will allow the Board to examine current cases and vote in favor of freedom.

Because both men have extensive experience and are strong advocates of worker freedom, Americans for Tax Reform and the Center for Worker Freedom strongly urge the U.S. Senate to confirm them.

Onward,

Grover Norquist
President, Americans for Tax Reform

Olivia Grady
Senior Fellow, Center for Worker Freedom