Press Releases
Accountability is Rep. Virginia Foxx’s Middle Name
WASHINGTON, D.C.,
August 26, 2022
Education and Labor Committee Republican Leader Virginia Foxx (R-NC) has wasted no time in holding the Biden administration accountable, particularly when she sees agencies like the Department of Labor (DOL) or the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) tipping the scales in favor of union bosses at the expense of American workers. Republican Leader Foxx has now sent 58 oversight letters to the Biden administration demanding accountability and transparency regarding labor and employment policies.
In Case You Missed It via Politico, Representative Virginia Foxx isn’t afraid to hold the administration accountable for its policies that harm workers and job creators.
Eleanor Mueller August 20, 2022 For nearly two years, control of both congressional chambers and the White House cleared the way for Democrats to unilaterally enact more pro-union policies than most had thought possible — and do so with little to no resistance. This fall could change everything. Republicans are heavily favored to win back the House in the midterm election — and if they do, cracking down on anything they see as tilting the scales toward organized labor will be one of their first orders of business. Already, GOP members are laying the groundwork for intense scrutiny of the Labor Department, the National Labor Relations Board and the administration itself. “I've joked with my colleagues that we will probably be holding two oversight hearings a day, because we're going to be so busy with oversight,” Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, the top Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee, said with a laugh. “We're going to hold the NLRB and DOL accountable.” … Foxx said the 57 letters she and her colleagues already have sent to various agencies seeking a range of information about labor policy decisions since President Joe Biden took office are guideposts for some of what they will focus on — thought not all. There will be "a lot more," she said. On the agenda: potential conflicts of interest at the NLRB; the task force the White House formed to encourage organized labor; and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh’s involvement in labor disputes, as well as a wide array of union-related regulations from DOL and memos penned by NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo. … Agencies are already bracing for impact. Abruzzo said she is well aware of the heightened scrutiny she will face and prepared to “address inquiries as they arise.” “My expectations are that I will get more oversight” than previous general counsels, Abruzzo said. “Virginia Foxx has certainly been very vocal about me, and about the agency, and so presumably if the Republicans win, then I would expect — since she's so focused on it — that I would get more oversight from her.” Republicans’ microscope on the NLRB will focus on the agency’s composition, among other things. Biden’s nomination of two union officials — CWA veteran Abruzzo and SEIU alum David Prouty — shortly after his inauguration quickly drew the ire of Foxx and others. “Right now, every office that President Biden has been able to fill, he filled them with union bosses,” Foxx, a former member of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, said. “We will not ignore union corruption when we see it, and we believe there's a fair amount of it.” GOP lawmakers also plan to scrutinize Abruzzo’s broad interpretation of the National Labor Relations Act. Abruzzo has moved quickly to issue guidance encouraging heftier penalties for employers who violate the law; more court injunctions in response to allegations of union-busting; and bans on so-called captive audience meetings, where employers mandate worker attendance to discuss the downsides of unionization. All of these directives, Republicans and employers claim, overstep the bounds of current law. Read the full article here. |
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