The U.S. Senate will soon have the opportunity to confirm two of President Donald Trump’s terrific nominees since Senator McConnell filed cloture on these two on March 22^nd. Because of their experience and commitment to worker freedom, Americans for Tax Reform and the Center for Worker Freedom strongly urge the U.S. Senate to vote for these men.

The first nominee is Patrick Pizzella. President Trump nominated Pizzella for Deputy Secretary at the Department of Labor on June 19, 2017. Prior to this nomination, Pizzella was designated as Acting Chairman of the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) on January 23, 2017.

Patrick Pizzella began his distinguished career as a political field staffer for President Ronald Reagan’s 1976 Presidential nomination campaign. He then worked at the National Right to Work Committee. In 1981, he joined the staff of the General Services Administration (GSA) and later became special assistant to the Administrator of the GSA in 1983.  Pizzella was named special assistant to the Associate Deputy Administrator for Management and Administration at the Small Business Administration (SBA) in 1985 and was promoted to the Director of Intergovernmental and Regional Affairs at the SBA in 1986.

Later in 1986, he joined the Department of Education as Administrator for Management Services. He was then nominated in September 1988 as the Deputy Under Secretary for Management at the Department. Pizzella next served at the Federal Housing Finance Board and later became the Board’s Director of the Office of Administration. From 1996 to 2001, he worked at Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds LLP, first as Director of Coalitions and then as Government Affairs Counselor.

During the George W. Bush presidential transition, Patrick Pizzella was Acting Chief of Staff at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. President Bush then nominated him as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Administration and Management at the Department of Labor (DOL) on March 6, 2001. During his time at DOL, he also served as a member of the board of directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation in 2004 and 2005. From 2009 to 2013, Pizzella ran his own consulting firm, Patrick Pizzella LLC. Finally, President Barack Obama nominated him as a member of the FLRA in August 2013 and again in 2016. Patrick Pizzella received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of South Carolina.

Patrick Pizzella would bring tremendous experience to the Department of Labor and would support President Trump’s pro-worker mission. Currently, the Department of Labor is reviewing and limiting the regulations that President Obama’s Department enacted. These regulations led to workers leaving the workforce.

With the change in policy, however, more workers have re-entered the workforce, and there are more jobs. In addition, small businesses have been helped. Patrick Pizzella would add greatly to promoting jobs and worker freedom at the Department of Labor.

Similarly, John Ring is strongly qualified. Mr. Ring was a partner in Washington, D.C. at the well-known law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius prior to his nomination by President Trump on January 12, 2018. He was a “co-leader of the firm’s labor/management relations practice, office practice leader for the labor and employment practice, and hiring partner.” In addition, he co-authored the law firm’s ADA Resource Manual.

Prior to working at Morgan Lewis, Ring was a staff assistant for the International Brotherhood of the Teamsters. Ring earned both his Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor from the Catholic University of America.

The National Labor Relations Board is currently deadlocked because only two of the four members are worker freedom advocates. This means that very few important cases will be decided until there is a third worker freedom advocate on the Board. It is, therefore, extremely important that the U.S. Senate confirm John Ring so that the Board can continue to work again.

Because these nominees are strong supporters for worker freedom, Americans for Tax Reform and the Center for Worker Freedom urge U.S. Senators to vote for Patrick Pizzella and John Ring.