The Honorable Marty Walsh

Secretary of Labor

U.S. Department of Labor

200 Constitution Ave NW

Washington, DC 20210

Dear Secretary Walsh,

Thank you for taking the time to speak with me prior to your confirmation. As the new Secretary of Labor, you have an important opportunity before you to foster a collaborative and efficient regulatory environment, which protects and creates American jobs. The Department of Labor must implement critical safeguards to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in our pension and unemployment insurance programs. I look forward to working with you to get these things done.

The Department of Labor is responsible for ensuring the welfare of America’s workers. There are few things more important to the success of a family than the ability to get a good job. A good job gives a family the opportunity to live the American dream. I am laser focused on growing the economy and making sure every Floridian, and every American, has the opportunity to get a good job and provide for their families. As Governor of Florida, I signed nearly 100 tax cuts into law and cut nearly 5,400 burdensome regulations to help spur economic growth. Over the course of my eight-year administration, Florida’s economy boomed and businesses created more than 1.7 million new private sector jobs – each helping a hardworking family live their dreams in my state. Burdensome, job-killing policies like a federal $15 minimum wage hurt small businesses and move our economy backward. I hope we can work together to protect American workers from any such harmful policies.

As Secretary, you have the responsibility of serving as the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC). A December report from PBGC indicates that the multiemployer pension plan will be insolvent by 2026, putting the financial futures of more than 10 million Americans at risk. I urge you to release a plan to sustainably address the multiemployer pension crisis, protect workers and restore the solvency of PBGC. As Governor of Florida, I worked hard to ensure that our state pension system was sustainable, both for employees and for the state, and I hope you will address this important issue as Secretary.

As President Biden continues to push for regulations impacting American businesses and families, I urge you to ensure that all laws are followed and any changes do not lead to unnecessary and burdensome reporting requirements or high compliance costs. Reducing and eliminating burdensome regulations helps create an environment in which American businesses will thrive, especially as they continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Finally, I hope that the Department of Labor will uphold the religious liberty protections, advanced by Secretary Scalia, to protect religious liberty for federal contractors, sub-contractors, and grant recipients. No organization should be treated differently in the federal contracting and grant-making process simply because of their religious identity.

The American economy is the world’s most important driver of innovation and global financial strength. I hope that we are able to work together to protect American jobs, grow our economy, and reduce burdensome regulations on our job creators.

Sincerely,

Rick Scott

United States Senator

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