Hilda Solis will be Labor Secretary. She's the past chair of the CPC

[cali]

not that that will put a dent in the careful narratives of those here who have decided that Obama is a corporate stooge war monger homophobe.

Calif. Congresswoman Solis Tapped to Head Labor
Updated 3:01 p.m.
By Alec MacGillis
Barack Obama has selected Los Angeles congresswoman Hilda Solis to run his Labor Department, a labor source confirmed today.

Elected to Congress in 2000, she previously served two years in the California Assembly and six in the State Senate, where she was the first female Hispanic state senator. She attended California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and earned a Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California, beginning her career in the Carter White House Office of Hispanic Affairs. She later worked as a management analyst with the Office of Management and Budget.

Solis has pushed in Congress for more training for so-called green-collar jobs -- jobs that advance industries toward greater energy officials. In the California state Senate, she successfully advocated in 1996 to increase the state's minimum wage from $4.25 to $5.75 an hour. She the only member of Congress on the board of American Rights at Work, a pro-labor group helmed by David Bonior.

In Congress, Solis sits on the House Energy and Commerce committee, the Natural Resources committee, the select committee on energy independence and global warming and the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. She has also been outspoken against domestic violence.

<snip>
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/12/18/calif_congresswoman_solis_tapp.html

Here's Solis on the Congressional Progressive Caucus beliefs.

The members of the Progressive Caucus share a common belief in the principles of social and economic justice, non-discrimination, and tolerance in America and in our relationships with other countries. We also seek to embody and give voice to national priorities which reflect the interests and needs of all the American people, not just the wealthy and the powerful. Our purpose is to present thoughtful, positive, practical solutions to the problems confronting America and the world. In the post-Cold War era, we believe our nation’s priorities must change with the times and reflect new realities. Accordingly, we support curbs on wasteful, inefficient government spending at the Pentagon and elsewhere, a more progressive tax system in which wealthier taxpayers and corporations pay their fair share, adequate funding for social programs that are designed to extend help to low and middle-income Americans in need, and trade policies that increase the exports of more American products and encourage the creation of jobs and investment in America.
http://www.ontheissues.org/CA/Hilda_Solis_Principles_+_Values.htm

Here's the Wiki entry for Solis:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilda_Solis

DUers should be thrilled that working men and women will have such a strong voice in the administration, instead, this appointment is being ignored.

[John Q. Citizen]

1. Good. I hope this is true. One for the good guys. Now let me have another please.

[maxsolomon]

6. i concur. keep the progressive nominations coming.

let's see those scales balance.

[cali]

7. We already have another: Steven Chu at Energy.

I wish there were more, but those are two excellent choices.

[John Q. Citizen]

11. Chu is a technocrat. I like what I know about him. But I wouldn't call him a

progressive any more than i would call him a Blue Dog or DLC.

In fact i haven't read anything about his politics. Just his passion for science and alternative fuels.


Do you know what his position is on corn based ethanol? I'd like to know.

[cali]

12. He's a definite progressive when it comes to moving away from

an oil based economy, and yes it comes from his scientific background. A

He's a strong opponent of corn based ethanol.

New" ethanol to face crunch time under a Chu DOE
Thu Dec 11, 2008 9:48pm GMT Email | Print | Share| Single Page | Recommend (0) <-> Text <+>
By Timothy Gardner

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The next U.S. energy secretary, a long-standing champion of producing ethanol from non-food crops rather than corn, could face hurdles in moving the next-generation biofuel from the laboratory to the gasoline station.

Steven Chu, Obama's pick for the head of the Department of Energy, is a steadfast supporter of next-generation biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol, expected to be made from the tough woody bits of crops like grasses and fast growing trees as well as plant and timber waste.

A 2007 report co-chaired by Chu, and commissioned by the governments of China and Brazil, called for "intensive research" into production of cellulosic, which relies on technology like isolating microbes, or using large amounts of heat and steam, to break down the tough bits into fuel.

Chu, the head of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a Nobel physics laureate, also helped organize the Energy Biosciences Institute, a lab focusing on next-generation biofuels funded with $500 million from oil major BP Plc.

He has been a staunch opponent of the current U.S. corn-based ethanol system, which was widely blamed for spiking food and grain prices this summer, calling it "not the right crop for biofuels," at a conference this spring in the country's agriculture heartland.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUKTRE4BA72020081211

He's also an opponent of "clean" coal and coal in general.

[John Q. Citizen]

14. Thanks for the info. I'll be interested to see where he wants to go and how he wants to get there.

[Dennis Donovan]

2. Recommended - I'm quite happy with her appointment.

[The Magistrate]

3. An Excellent Appointment, Ma'am

Putting the Department of Labor on the side of unions and working people is essential to any improvement in our economy and our society.

[TahitiNut]

13. She's a damned near perfect choice, imho.

She's responsible, diligent, active and NOT some zany ideologue. At the same time, she's a conscientious LIBERAL ... a Roman Catholic Latina in favor of Pro-Choice WITHOUT any of that trimester shit. I might quibble with her immigration stances (exzpecially vis a vis labor) but her stances are appropriately nuanced.

I hope and pray Obama/Biden ELEVATE the prominance of the Labor Department in policy-making discussions.

She's the Yin to Elaine Chow's despicable Yang.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

4. If she is a strong advocate, we're going to need her. I was just listening to Thom Hartmann.

He predicts that Bush is going to push the Big Three into bankruptcy, which will destroy the UAW. At that point, all of the auto workers in southern plants, working for Toyota, etc will have their wages dropped dramatically. Hartmann said their good income was based on being competitive with the UAW and once the union is crushed, there will be no need to be competitive.

Hartmann made total sense.

[cali]

8. Very scary, and I think that's what's going on too.

She is indeed a strong advocate and has been for a very long time.

[JDPriestly]

9. This is yet another blow to seniors.

This whole economic wipe-out is mostly wiping out the savings of seniors. If you are 40 or under, you probably haven't had time to save for your retirement. But if you are 50 and over, you are probably either trying to save now or you have all the savings that you realistically can save in your entire life. Most Americans at 65 (or whenever they retire) do not have nearly enough they need to survive. Social Security does not even begin to pay enough. In most cases, Social Security pays around $1,000 per month. You can't pay rent and eat on that, much less pay medical costs and do anything. And nursing homes cost thousands and thousands every much.

Those who have a little money in cash are getting next to nothing in interest, and if they have stocks or mutual funds, they have lost a big chunk of the money they saved all their lives.

And where is the money -- safely sequestered off-shore. We see that from Goldman Sachs's statement about why they are only paying on average 1% in taxes. Some of my elderly friends have discussed their financial problems with me. Some of them are on pensions and have no idea that their pension funds will soon be forced to reduce their benefits.

Older people will not say much about these things. They feel ashamed about their financial problems. We are about to see a tragedy of unprecedented proportions.

[pinto]

5. Great choice. She's done well here in CA. Knows her stuff and how to get things done.

:thumbsup:

:thumbsup:

[bigtree]

10. nuts and bolts progressive

perfect for the job. such depth.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

15. Yes, but what are her stances on stem cell research and UFOs? n/t