PHOTOS/B-ROLL: Kaine Meets With, Announces Support for Julie Su as Department of Labor Secretary

PHOTOS/REMARKS FROM KAINE AVAILABLE HERE

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, announced he will vote to confirm President Biden’s Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary nominee, Julie Su, following his meeting with her. Su currently serves as DOL Deputy Secretary and will appear before the HELP Committee for her nomination hearing on Thursday. If confirmed by the Senate, Su will be the first Asian American secretary in Biden’s cabinet.

After the meeting, Kaine expressed his support for Su, saying, “[Marty Walsh had] the right person right there who has been working on all these issues. As we’ve seen, the unemployment rate [has] come down—unemployment rates for people without high school degrees, or high school nor college, for African Americans and Latinos have come down—in a really dramatic way. The job creation stats since the beginning of the Biden Administration have been very positive, and Julie has been there for all of it.”

“The principal concern that I have right now about the American economy … is the workforce. Every last employer in Virginia … is saying they can’t hire people. What are we going to do about the workforce? DOL’s work is as important as it’s ever been,” Kaine continued. “I’m very happy to support Julie’s nomination, and I’m just looking forward to her hearing on Thursday.”

Kaine previously voted to confirm Su as DOL Deputy Secretary on July 13, 2021. As Deputy Secretary, Su has led key initiatives at DOL that have helped create a record 12.4 million jobs, and she has worked to expand job training and apprenticeship programs to more Americans in high-demand industries.

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