Amy Traub
A Middle-Class Cabinet?
Quite a few of President-elect Obama’s cabinet nominees are current or former members of the U.S. Congress. While they’ll now be serving at the pleasure of the President, their legislative records may cast some revealing light on the policy orientations and priorities they bring to their new posts. DMI’s TheMiddleClass.org grades legislators on their votes on legislation that would have a significant impact (positive or negative) on the squeezed middle class, as well as on the aspirations of low-income Americans who want to work their way into the middle class.
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-South Dakota
Tom Daschle served in the U.S. Senate until January 5, 2005. TheMiddleClass.org includes his 2003 and 2004 grades.
2004 Grade: B
2003 Grade: A
Click here for details on the votes and bills.
Votes with particular relevance to Health and Human Services include Daschle’s support for restoring funds cut from Medicaid in 2004 and his pro-middle-class vote against a bill to limit court damages awarded to victims of medical negligence and malpractice during obstetrical or gynecological care.
SECRETARY OF STATE: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-New York
2007 Grade: A+
2005 Grade: A
2004 Grade: B
2003 Grade: A
2008 Vote percentage so far: 85%
Click here for details on the votes and bills.
Since TheMiddleClass.org focuses on domestic policy legislation, few votes here are relevant to Clinton’s new position as Secretary of State. What’s more, the Senator was absent for many 2008 votes due to her campaign for the presidency. Still, Clinton’s solid middle-class record does her credit.
INTERIOR SECRETARY: Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colorado
2007 Grade: A
2005 Grade: C
2008 Vote Percentage So Far: 84%
Click here for details on the votes and bills.
Most relevant to Salazar’s new leadership position at the Department of the Interior are his votes on energy legislation. In 2008, the Senator supported a number of strong energy bills including the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act to set up a cap-and-trade system to limit emissions of greenhouse gases. Although TheMiddleClass.org argued that the bill should have been stronger, we considered the vote a positive one for middle-class Americans whose long-term standard of living is threatened by global warming. Senator Salazar also supported tax credits for renewable energy and a 2007 bill raising auto fuel economy standards, instituting energy efficiency standards, and training workers for green jobs. In 2005, however, the Senator supported a misguided bill providing $28 billion in tax breaks to the coal, nuclear, oil, gas, and electricity industries.
LABOR SECRETARY: Rep. Hilda Solis, D-California
2007 Grade: A+
2005 Grade: A
2004 Grade: A
2003 Grade: A
2008 Vote Percentage So Far: 96%
Click here for details on the votes and bills
Solis’ record on labor issues is impeccable. Most significantly, she supported and co-sponsored the Employee Free Choice Act to dramatically reform labor law, making it easier for working people to organize unions. In 2007, she voted against the Peru trade deal, arguing that it would harm both American and Peruvian workers. Over the years, she supported raising the minimum wage, extending unemployment benefits, restoring workers’ access to overtime pay and empowering workers to address pay equity.
TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Illinois
2007 Grade: C
2005 Grade: F
2004 Grade: F
2003 Grade: D
2008 Vote Percentage So Far: 85%
Click here for details on the votes and bills
Rep. Hood’s overall middle-class record is the weakest of the bunch by far, but on issues relevant to transportation the picture looks brighter. LaHood supported legislation to invest in public transit and a bill to increase auto fuel economy standards. He also supported the Accountability in Contracting Act, requiring large federal agencies to minimize the use of non-competitive contracts. This position will be relevant as the incoming head of a large federal agency.
Bill Richardson, Obama’s pick for Commerce Secretary, also served in Congress before becoming Governor of New Mexico, but his tenure predates DMI’s analysis.
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Posted at 4:22 PM, Dec 18, 2008 in
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