Julie Su, who was nominated to serve as Deputy Secretary of Labor, spent much of her nomination hearing defending her record as California’s labor secretary, but she did field a couple of questions about retirement policy.
Su, who currently serves as Secretary of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency, appeared March 16 before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, where she pledged to make defending retirement plans against cybersecurity threats a high priority.
When asked about potential threats and what policies she would focus on to help ensure the security of retirement plans, Su explained that, if confirmed, she would seek a briefing from Labor Department officials on steps that are already in place and assess what else needs to be done. “I definitely consider this a very high priority especially, as you know, that the president has actually called for providing almost all workers with access to a 401(k) of some sort, so I think that it actually will be a priority for me and for the Department,” Su emphasized.
The Deputy Secretary nominee was asked this question by Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), who referenced a new Government Accountability Office report confirming that cyberthreats put private DC retirement plans at risk for millions of Americans and recommending that the Department of Labor (DOL) take action to address this issue. Sen. Hassan, who also noted that this is a high priority of hers, further suggested that addressing this issue is going to take convening, not only government experts, but the private sector as well, contending that it must be a joint effort.
Overall, retirement policy appeared to not necessarily be an area of expertise for Su, as her responses to questions about what she would do to help people save for retirement fell back on getting briefed by DOL officials. She gave a similar response when asked earlier by Sen. Hassan, who observed that many Americans are in trouble of outliving their retirement savings, what policies she would work on to help people save for retirement.
“I would say the issue you’re raising is why the multiemployer pension relief that was part of the American rescue plan was so important; just making sure that employees who have been paying into the retirement and relying on their pensions get them is very critical,” Su explained. “And then, I think that retirement savers also need to get the kind of advice that they need to make sure that they’re investing their retirement in the best way possible for themselves. And if confirmed, I look forward to being briefed on the rulemaking process at the Department of Labor on this issue and understanding what we can do to better protect retirees, which is a basic part of the fundamental mission of the Department,” Su further noted.
While not unexpected, the Deputy Labor Secretary nominee faces an uphill battle among Senate Republicans, who repeatedly questioned her track record after reports surfaced about the billions of dollars in unemployment fraud claims that were disbursed during her time as head of California’s labor department.
The Senate HELP Committee’s ranking Republican, Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), set the tone early during his opening statement, where he told Su that her nomination faces challenges. “So, while you may not be personally responsible for every case of fraud that happened, the fraud did happen on your watch. Please help this Committee understand why that is an experience the Senate should reward with a promotion,” Sen. Burr stated.
Sen. Burr pointed out that California suffered from some of the largest fraud in the nation’s history during the pandemic, with over $11 billion and perhaps as much as $30 billion in fraud occurring in California’s unemployment system.
Responding to Sen. Burr and other senators, Su argued, among other things, that the state’s unemployment system was attacked by a criminal enterprise that cost every state, and that if confirmed, she would use her experience to battle that fraud at the federal level.
Sen. Patty Murray, who chairs the Senate HELP Committee, commended Su “as a champion for workers” and urged her quick confirmation. “We need a Deputy Secretary of Labor like Julie Su who is committed to ensuring workers have a fair and just workplace, a livable wage, a secure retirement, safe working conditions, access to accommodations, the right to join together and collectively bargain, and are treated with dignity and respect,” Murray stated. “I urge my colleagues to work with me on a bipartisan basis to confirm her without delay.”
The DOL under the Biden administration has, so far, been without a Senate confirmed head of the department, but that could finally change this week, as the Senate looks to consider the nomination of Boston mayor Marty Walsh to be Labor Secretary.
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