President-elect Barack Obama’s Labor Secretary nominee Representative Hilda Solis (D-CA) may be confirmed as early as today. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee recommended that she be confirmed by a voice vote this week, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Solis’ confirmation was held up first by a lone Republican Senator’s hold and then by a minor local/state tax dispute on her husband’s small business. She has no ownership in this small business and her taxes are in order.
Solis is a tireless fighter for women’s rights, minority rights, and worker’s rights. In the House, Solis is a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, the Natural Resources Committees, and the House Select Committee of Independence and Global Warming. She is also a former chair of the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues.
In her eight years in the California state legislature, Solis authored a record 17 anti-domestic violence laws. She also led the battle to increase the state’s minimum wage and has been vital in the struggle to close the wage gap for women.
