After weeks of delays, the Senate voted Tuesday afternoon 80-17 to confirm Hilda Solis as the secretary of Labor. Republicans were concerned about Solis’ public advocacy of the Employee Free Choice Act, also known as card-check legislation, a bill labor unions are pushing as a way for employees to more easily unionize. The bill is unpopular with Republicans and critics who say the bill takes away the secret ballot for unions. Solis, a Democratic representative from California, had also faced scruitiny after tax discrepancies showed up in her husband’s tax returns.
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After weeks of delay, Rep. Hilda Solis is one step closer to being confirmed as labor secretary. Members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee met quickly between floor votes Wednesday afternoon to vote to approve Solis’ nomination. In a statement after the vote, Chairman Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., said, “Hilda Solis comes from a working family herself so she understands how the troubled economy is hurting average Americans. American workers deserve to have her voice and her leadership as their Secretary of Labor, and I’m pleased that our committee approved her.†Republicans were concerned about Solis’ public advocacy…
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee unexpectedly canceled Thursday’s confirmation vote for Labor secretary nominee Rep. Hilda Solis, D-Calif. The committee had been scheduled to vote on Solis at 2 p.m., but media and spectators arrived to find a committee staffer taping up signs saying that the hearing had been postponed indefinitely. Chairman Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and ranking member Michael Enzi, R-Wyo., issued a joint statement saying the hearing will be scheduled at at later date. Today’s executive session was postponed to allow members additional time to review the documentation submitted in support of Rep. Solis’ nomination to…