President
Barack Obama
Remarks
on
the
Nomination
of
Thomas
Perez for Secretary of Labor
East
Room
The
White House
March
18,
2013
[White House Transcript]
11:47 A.M. EDT
THE
PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.) Everybody have a
seat. Have a
seat. As I’ve said before, my top priority as President is doing
everything we need to do to make sure that we’re growing our economy
and that we’re strengthening our middle class. And as I said in
my
State of the Union address last month, every day we should be asking
ourselves three questions. One -- how do we make sure America is
a
magnet for good jobs? Number two -- how do we equip
people with the skills they need to get those jobs? And number
three
-- how do we make sure that hard work actually pays off in a decent
living?
These are
the challenges that I’ve instructed my team here at the White House and
in my entire Cabinet to focus on. And a position that’s
instrumental
to tackling these challenges is having an outstanding
Secretary of Labor.
So I want to
begin by thanking Hilda Solis and her entire team -- (applause) --
including Acting Secretary Seth Harris -- (applause) -- for the
outstanding work that they’ve been doing over the past four
years. Their efforts at the Department of Labor have given more
young
people a chance to earn new skills, more returning vets the chance to
find a job. They’ve looked out for worker safety from
construction
sites to coal mines. They’ve stood up for workers’
rights to organize, women’s rights to get paid equally for the work
that they do. They’ve done an extraordinary job fighting on
behalf of
working families across the board.
And today,
I’m proud to nominate a leader to carry on those efforts as America’s
next Secretary of Labor -- Tom Perez. (Applause.)
Like so many
Americans, Tom knows what it’s like to climb the ladder of
opportunity. He is the son of Dominican immigrants. He
helped pay his
way through college as a garbage collector and working at
a warehouse. He went on to become the first lawyer in his
family. So
his story reminds us of this country’s promise, that if you’re willing
to work hard, it doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, what
your last name is -- you can make it if you
try.
And
Tom has made protecting that promise -- for everybody -- the
cause of
his life. As a civil rights attorney, an aide to Senator Ted
Kennedy, a member of the Montgomery, Maryland County Council, Tom
fought for a level playing field where hard work and responsibility are
rewarded and working families can get ahead.
And
this is not the first time that he’s chosen to be a labor secretary,
either. We’ve got here today Governor Martin O’Malley, and Martin
appointed Tom as Secretary of Maryland’s Department of Labor, where he
helped implement the country’s first statewide living-wage law, because
he understood that a minimum wage should be a wage that you can live
on.
In his current role as
the head of the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights
Division, Tom has fought to open pathways into the workforce for
everyone willing to contribute, including people with disabilities,
LGBT Americans, and immigrants. And he has
helped settle some of the largest cases ever on behalf of families
targeted by unfair mortgage lending.
Now,
while he’s tackled plenty of tough issues, Tom has also spent a career
as a consensus-builder. He’s worked with CEOs, he's worked
with labor leaders. He's worked at federal, state, and local
government levels.
And throughout, he understands that our economy works best when
the middle class and those working to get into the middle class have
the security they need on the job, a democratic voice in the workplace,
everybody playing by the same set of rules.
So Tom’s
knowledge and experience will make him an outstanding Secretary of
Labor. And there’s plenty of work to do. We're going to
have to work
very hard to make sure that folks find jobs with good
wages and good benefits. We've got to make sure that our veterans
who
are returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan have a chance to put their
incredible skills and leadership to work at home. We need to
build an
immigration system that works for every employee
and every family and every business. I'm confident that Tom is
going
to be able to work to promote economic growth, but also make sure that
that growth is broad-based. And he's going to be an integral part
of
our overall economic team.
So these are
just a few of the many challenges working families out there are facing
and where they need an advocate, and Tom is the right person for that
job. So I hope that the Senate will act swiftly
to confirm Tom so we can work together to address all these
concerns.
I want to thank not only Tom but his wonderful family for agreeing to
take on this new role. I just heard that Tom has been coaching
basketball and baseball. He doesn’t claim to be a
great coach -- (laughter) -- but he brings passion to it. He may
end
up missing a few of the games over the next several months, but it's
going to be for a good cause. And I appreciate his family being
willing to make these sacrifices as well.
So with
that, I would like to introduce my nominee to be our next Secretary of
Labor, give him a chance to say a few words. And, again, I'd urge
the
Senate to confirm him as quickly as possible.
Mr. Tom Perez. (Applause.)
MR. PEREZ: Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you very
much. Thank you,
Mr. President, for your confidence in me. (Speaks in
Spanish.) It is
a remarkably
humbling and exciting phenomenon to be here today.
My parents taught my four siblings and me to work hard, to give back to
our community, and to make sure that the ladder of opportunity was
there for
those coming after us. Over my career, I’ve learned that true
progress
is possible if you keep an open mind, listen to all sides, and focus on
results. I look forward to taking these lessons with me, if
confirmed,
to my new role as Secretary of the Department
of Labor.
As
you well know, our nation still faces critical economic challenges, and
the Department’s mission is as important as ever. I am confident
that together with our partners in organized labor, the business
community, grassroots communities, Republicans, Democrats, and
independents alike, we can keep making progress for all working
families.
In
the coming weeks, as the confirmation process unfolds, I look forward
to meeting with senators of both parties to discuss the Labor
Department’s key role -- protecting and growing the middle class.
I’ll close again, Mr. President, by thanking you once again for this
tremendous opportunity. (Speaks in Spanish.) I look forward
to this
opportunity
to continue serving our nation.
Thank you so much. (Applause.)
END 11:55 A.M.
EDT