October 6, 2009 - Posted by Tyler Lewis
LCCR President and CEO Wade Henderson chats with Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Tom Perez at LCCR's 33rd Annual Hubert H. Humphrey Civil Rights Award Dinner in May.
The Senate today voted 72-22 to confirm Tom Perez as assistant attorney general for civil rights.
Wade Henderson, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, said the vote on Perez "gives the nation a leader who is arguably the most well-qualified individual ever nominated for the position and one who is completely dedicated to enforcing the law and protecting all Americans from discrimination."
President Obama nominated Perez for the position on March 13. Perez will head the Civil Rights Division, the federal agency that enforces the Voting Rights Act, the Fair Housing Act, the Americans With Disabilities Act, and other federal laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, sex, disability, religion, and national origin.
Perez has spent the bulk of his career in public service, having worked for 12 years in the division and serving as a deputy assistant attorney general for civil rights under Attorney General Janet Reno. He has served as the Maryland Secretary of the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation since January 2007.
The Civil Rights Division was widely considered the premier civil rights enforcement agency, as it handled most federal anti-discrimination litigation. However, in recent years the division has been plagued with controversy over political interference in its hiring policies and its inadequate enforcement of civil rights laws, diminishing its impact as a federal enforcement agency.
As the new assistant attorney general for civil rights, Perez will take on the task of rebuilding the morale within division and renewing its commitment to working to enforce the civil rights of all Americans.
"We in the civil rights community have the utmost confidence in his ability and commitment to this mission, and we look forward to a revitalization of the Civil Rights Division that works to ensure that all Americans are protected under the law," Henderson said.
Categories: Civil Rights Enforcement Agencies
