NPC Speaker News Conference with Secretary Hilda Solis

U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis will sit down with NPC President Mark Hamrick for an hour-long interview to discuss the employment situation and job creation in the U.S. ahead of Labor Day and the election season on Tuesday, Aug. 30.

Sec. Solis was confirmed as Secretary of Labor in February 2009 and has helped implement major facets of the Obama administration’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, such as increasing and extending unemployment benefits, providing training for workers in need of new skills and helping to create jobs in clean energy and health IT. While the administration has created 2.2 million jobs, 14 million people remain unemployed with the unemployment rate at a lofty 9.2%.

Prior to becoming Labor Secretary, Solis represented the 32nd Congressional District of California where her initiatives included affordable healthcare, protecting the environment and improving the lives of working families. As a representative from California she authored the “Green Jobs Act,” which provided funding for job training for clean energy jobs for veterans, displaced workers and families in poverty. Solis was also the first Latina elected to the California State Senate. .

The interview will begin promptly at 1 p.m. and end at 2 p.m. Credentialed press may cover this event.

National Press Club Luncheons are webcast live on press.org. Follow the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #NPCLunch, or on Facebook at (facebook.com/PressClubDC) and Twitter (@PressClubDC). Submit questions for the speaker in advance and during the live event by sending them to @QNPCLunch on Twitter. To email a question in advance, type SOLIS in the subject line and send to [email protected] before 10 a.m. on the day of the interview.