Iowa: New York Wage Watch

Party of "No" (no leaders/no ideas/no morals) Blocks Obama's Department of Labor Appointee

by Tracy Kurowski

Nine months has passed since the start of the Obama administration, and Republicans continue to block the appointment of M. Patricia Smith as Labor Department Solicitor, the nation’s top cop prosecuting labor law violations.

M. Patricia Smith was nominated for Labor Department Solicitor in the spring, and her confirmation hearing was held last May. Yet, after the Senate HELP Committee finally voted to approve her nomination on October 7, Republican Senator Mike Enzi of Wyoming (the country’s least populous state) filed a procedural motion to put a hold on her nomination and delay the appointment.