Statement Of Raul Yzaguirre, NCLR President on Bush Cabinet Appointments

We welcome two of the Cabinet appointments announced today. Commerce Secretary Norman Mineta, who served in the House as Chairman of the Transportation Committee, is a wise choice to be the next Secretary of Transportation. We also know that Secretary Mineta will be a strong advocate for the interests of all minorities in the Bush Administration.

Senator Spencer Abraham (R-MI) has demonstrated an ability to confront complex, difficult issues and forge bipartisan compromises, as he did so often on immigration policy. We are confident that he’ll bring these same qualities to the new Administration as Secretary of Energy.

The third appointment announced today, however, is disturbing. Linda Chavez is smart and talented, and she has been a forceful and effective advocate for her often controversial views. Unfortunately, many of her views are largely out of step with the interests of American workers, and her record in public service does not encourage confidence in her ability to lead the U.S. Department of Labor. She was a polarizing figure, especially in the civil rights community, during her tenure as staff director of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. There, she attacked long-standing principles of affirmative action, troubling behavior in someone who as Labor Secretary would oversee the Office of Federal Contract Compliance (OFCCP), which is charged with monitoring the affirmative action plans of federal contractors.

She has consistently opposed increased federal investments and involvement in education and training, worker protection, and civil rights - ironically the principal functions of the department she is being nominated to head. And, on virtually every policy issue of the day, her views are out of step with those of the vast majority of Hispanic Americans. For these reasons, we question the wisdom of this appointment, and urge a vigorous and thorough exploration of these and other issues by the Senate during the confirmation process.

Statement On The Withdrawal of the Chavez Nomination

[Washington D.C. - Raul Yzaguirre, President of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the nation’s largest Latino civil rights organization, issued the following statement upon the withdrawal of Linda Chavez’ nomination as Secretary of Labor.]

While I cannot say that NCLR regrets that Linda Chavez has withdrawn her nomination, I can say with absolute conviction that this is not the way in which we would have wished her nomination to end. Rather than an intensive focus on a brief and ambiguous incident in Ms. Chavez’ life, we would much rather have had a vigorous debate on the real issues which made this nomination controversial. There was substantial reason to doubt her capacity to enforce critical civil and labor rights laws with which she has strong, visceral disagreement. These include the minimum wage, affirmative action, pay equity, worker training and sexual harassment. In addition, she has a longstanding record as a divisive and polarizing figure, mitigating against her likely effectiveness as Secretary of Labor. NCLR hopes and expects that any future nominee for Secretary of Labor – and the debate over that person’s nomination – will focus on the impact of the candidate on America’s workforce rather than on aspects of his or her personal life.

Despite our many public policy disagreements with Ms. Chavez, we have to agree with her statements today that the role the media played in highlighting this particular aspect of her life was distracting and unfortunate. We hope that we will soon see the day in which an association with an undocumented immigrant is regarded for what it is – a common occurrence in a country whose immigration laws are often unnecessarily harsh and inhumane.

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