President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of labor, former Representative Lori Chavez-DeRemer, faced questions from members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions during Wednesday’s confirmation hearing.

While retirement issues were not at the forefront of the hearing, Chavez-DeRemer did offer her support of the Butch Lewis Act, passed as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which allows the Department of the Treasury and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation to provide grants to multiemployer defined benefit pension plans.

The ranking member of the Senate HELP Committee, Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, said the Butch Lewis Act prevented the earned pension benefits of some 2 million union workers and retirees from being cut by as much as 65% and said there are members of Congress who seek to undo the law.

As of January 15, the PBGC reported providing $70.9 billion in special financial assistance to 109 pension funds covering more than 1.3 million retirees.

The committee’s chairman, Senator Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, also asked Chavez-DeRemer about her support for helping independent contractors and small business owners gain access to more affordable health and retirement benefits. Chavez-DeRemer said she would commit to working with the committee on this issue.

The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022—the most expansive retirement-related legislation in more than a decade—was not discussed during the hearing, despite employers still awaiting further guidance on how to implement some of its provisions.

Cassidy and many other committee members questioned Chavez-DeRemer—whose father was a member of the Teamsters Union—on her support and sponsorship, while she was in Congress, of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2023, which sought to make it easier for workers to unionize. Chavez-DeRemer largely walked back her support for the legislation, saying that as a representative for Oregon’s 5th congressional district, she “wanted to be at the table” and did not want to be “left out of the conversation” when discussing issues related to the American worker.

While the PRO Act sought to override “right-to-work” laws, which exist in 27 U.S. states, Chavez-DeRemer said, when questioned by Senator Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, that she no longer supports the aspect of the PRO Act that would have overturned state right-to-work laws.

“I recognize that that bill was imperfect, and I also recognize that I am no longer representing Oregon as a lawmaker,” Chavez-DeRemer said during her opening statement. “If confirmed, my job will be to implement President Trump’s policy vision … ensuring a level playing field for businesses and, most importantly, the American worker.”

When asked if she would support raising the minimum wage, Chavez-DeRemer said she could not weigh in on this issue because it would be up to Congress to determine.

“I do recognize that the minimum wage hasn’t been raised since 2009, and the cost of living has gone up,” she said. “But again, I cannot sit here and determine that what that wage will be fully and fairly.”

Sanders also brought up the issue of Trump firing Gwynne Wilcox, a Senate-confirmed member of the National Labor Relations Board, during his second week in office, leaving the NLRB without a quorum. When asked whether she thought Wilcox’s termination was illegal, Chavez-DeRemer said Trump has the right to exercise his executive power how he sees fit. She said the functioning of the NLRB is important but did not express any concerns about its current lack of a quorum.

Senator Patty Murray, D-Washington, as well as many other Democratic committee members, expressed concerns about Elon Musk’s role in the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency Service Temporary Service Organization’s attempt to gain access to sensitive Department of Labor data and systems.

When asked if she would protect the private information of people whose records she would be overseeing as labor secretary and if she would allow others to access to that information, Chavez-DeRemer said she would protect the private information but reiterated that she has not been privy to these conversations with the president.

Several senators also brought up the rise of child labor law violations, as the department’s Wage and Hour Division has found a 31% increase in minors employed in violation of child labor laws since 2019.

“Child labor is abhorrent, and nobody should stand for child labor exploitation,” Chavez-DeRemer said on the issue. “I will do everything in my power within the Department of Labor to double down on the safety of all American workers that are exploited, but especially child labor.”

This discussion came on the same day the Trump administration ordered legal service providers working with unaccompanied migrant children to stop their government-funded work.

Senator Jon Husted, R-Ohio, asked Chavez-DeRemer about her view on the impact of illegal immigration on American workers’ ability to earn higher wages, to which she reaffirmed her support of an “America-first” agenda and agreed that “mass immigration has hurt the American worker.”

Chavez-DeRemer must be cleared by the Senate panel before the full Senate can consider her nomination.

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