Two Fierce Advocates for the Latino Community Need Your Help!
A group of senators has been holding up two important nominations for our country. But a vote may finally proceed this week!
Tom Perez, nominated by President Obama to be our next Secretary of Labor, is the son of Dominican immigrants. After losing his father at a young age, he put himself through college, working hard in a warehouse, as a garbage collector, and in school dining halls. Tom’s incredible work ethic helped him graduate with honors from Harvard Law School and the Kennedy School of Government.
From his early years at the Department of Justice, where he helped prosecute racially motivated hate crimes and chaired a task force to prevent worker exploitation, to his time at the Maryland Department of Labor, where he helped struggling families avoid foreclosure and revamped the state’s adult education system, Mr. Perez has demonstrated his unwavering commitment to protecting our civil rights and building opportunity for all Americans.
Tom is being opposed by some senators precisely because he has been such an effective public servant. They have seen his record of accomplishment in increasing the productivity of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, where he serves as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. They fear he will be just as effective at the Labor Department.
Tell your senators to confirm Tom Perez as our next Secretary of Labor!
Then there is Richard Cordray, re-nominated, following his recess appointment, to serve a full term as Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The CFPB is the only agency created solely to protect consumers; it was designed to combat abusive and deceptive lending practices that caused our epidemic of foreclosures and triggered our ongoing economic struggles. There is no dispute that Cordray and the CFPB have done an exceptional job. Cordray’s leadership has won praise from Republicans and Democrats alike, as well as from bankers and consumer advocates. This stalled nomination is a clear attempt of partisan leaders to weaken the Bureau. This cannot continue.
When he was Ohio Attorney General, Cordray took the banks and mortgage servicers to task and shed light on their extensive trail of fraudulent “robosigned” documents. As Director of the CFPB, he will continue to hold lenders accountable and serve as a critical ally for Latino families who are commonly targeted by harmful market players. Under Richard Cordray’s leadership, the CFPB has ably started fulfilling its mission by returning nearly half a billion dollars to consumers cheated by credit card companies, moving to end the era of destructive mortgages, standing up for students and families trapped in high-cost education loans, and protecting military families against illegal foreclosures and deceptive education-loan practices.
A group of senators has stalled these nominations for too long. Make sure your senators know that this delay is unacceptable and you expect their YES votes for cloture and confirmation of Tom Perez and Richard Cordray.
