WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congresswoman Lois Frankel (FL-21), Co-Chair of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, questioned Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Alex Acosta on President Trump’s budget proposal during the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee hearing.

Rep. Frankel pressed Sec. Acosta to support the Visa Transparency Anti-Trafficking Act, which Rep. Frankel plans to re-introduce this Congress, that would address our current nonimmigrant visa system’s lack of important transparency measures needed to prevent human trafficking abuses. Sec. Acosta agreed to assign a senior DOL official to look into the issue.

She also asked Sec. Acosta about Trump’s proposed six-week paid parental leave proposal, which uses the cash-strapped Unemployment Insurance program and fails to include the 75 percent of workers who need paid leave for caregiving and medical purposes. She urged him to consider supporting the FAMILY Act, which covers all workers with 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave.

Watch their exchange here.

Finally, Rep. Frankel grilled Sec. Acosta about his involvement in the plea deal that was cut with serial sexual abuser Jeffrey Epstein. The deal allowed Epstein to avoid federal charges, resulting in less than 13 months in jail, most of which was spent on work-release inside his West Palm Beach office. In February, a federal judge ruled that Sec. Acosta and other federal prosecutors had violated the Crime Victims’ Rights Act (CVRA) because they failed to notify the victims of this agreement.

Watch their exchange here.

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