ATR Urges Swift Passage of the DOL Succession Act

A bill to prevent Julie Su from serving indefinitely as Acting Secretary of Labor passed through a key labor committee and now awaits a floor vote. Americans for Tax Reform urges members of Congress to support the bill.

H.R. 4957, the Department of Labor Succession Act, was introduced by Congressman Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) and cosponsored by Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), Chair of the House Education & Workforce Committee. The bill would amend 29 U.S. Code § 552 to make clear that the Deputy Secretary of Labor cannot serve as Acting Secretary indefinitely and that the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 should apply to Department of Labor officials.

H.R. 4957 passed in the House Education & Workforce Committee last week and will next be brought to the floor of the House of Representatives for a vote.

Traditionally, under the Federal Vacancies Act, a deputy cannot serve as the Acting Secretary of a department for longer than 210 days without congressional approval. Due to Julie Su’s inability to earn enough votes from either political party to achieve formal confirmation as Secretary of Labor, the Biden administration plans to allow Su to serve indefinitely as an acting officer, long past the 210-day mark.

Julie Su, Biden’s current Deputy Secretary of Labor and a former Labor Commissioner of California, has been rejected by the Senate due to her radical beliefs and her track record of incompetence in office. Su supported efforts in California to force millions of independent contractors to reclassify as employees and to break the franchise model with government overreach. Under her watch, California also distributed more than $11 billion in fraudulent unemployment insurance claims, totaling 10 percent of all benefits paid out by the state during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As shown in a study commissioned by Americans for Tax Reform and the Tholos Foundation, Su’s proposal to reclassify millions of independent contractors would further result in nearly 8 million Americans being forced to pay higher taxes. Almost all of these workers earn less than $400,000 per year, violating President Biden’s pledge to not raise taxes on any American earning less than that amount.

As even Senate Democrats express disapproval of Julie Su’s radical record, the Biden administration plans to break precedent and keep her in office after she hits her 210th day as Acting Secretary in early October.

Congress should swiftly bring H.R. 4957 to the floor and all members should vote YES to prevent the Biden administration’s unprecedented overreach.