Patrick Pizzella

Patrick Pizzella (born May 19, 1954)^[1] is an American government official. He is a member of the Federal Labor Relations Authority and has been nominated by Donald Trump to be the next United States Deputy Secretary of Labor.

Early life, education, and career

Pizzella was born on May 19, 1954.^[1] He is a native of New Rochelle, New York.^[2] Pizzella received a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from the University of South Carolina. He is a graduate of Iona Preparatory School.^[2] Pizzella worked as a political field staffer for Ronald Reagan's 1976 campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, then spent four years with the National Right to Work Committee during the Jimmy Carter administration.^[3]

Public service and private consulting, 1981-2000

From 1981 to 1982, Pizzella served on the staff of the General Services Administration (GSA), and from 1983 to 1985, he was the special assistant to the Administrator of the GSA.^[1] In 1985, he became special assistant to the Associate Deputy Administrator for Management and Administration at the Small Business Administration (SBA).^[1] In 1986, Pizzella served as Director of Intergovernmental and Regional Affairs at the SBA.

From 1988 to 1989, he was the Deputy Under Secretary for Management at the United States Department of Education (nominated in September 1988, then a recess appointment in November).^[4] Pizzella's stay at the Education Department was short-lived, as he and several other conservative Reagan appointees resigned in March 1989, in a move hailed by liberals as a return to "collaborative efforts between the special-interest groups and the Department of Education" following William J. Bennett's tenure.^[5] However, Pizzella was not replaced, and his Senate nomination withdrawn, until September 1989.^[6]

Next, Pizzella was recruited by HUD Director Jack F. Kemp to serve on the new Federal Housing Finance Board, created as part of the 1989 savings-and-loan bailout legislation, to oversee the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks and channel some of their profits (as much as $100 million in 1992) into housing programs. Pizzella served first as a consultant,^[7] then for five years (1990-95) as the FHFB's Director of the Office of Administration.^[8]

Pizzella worked at Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds LLP as director of coalitions from 1996 to 1997, and as government affairs counselor from 1998 to 2001. During this time, he contributed to Heritage Foundation policy development on civil service reform.^[9]

George W. Bush administration, 2001-09

After the election of George W. Bush in 2000, Pizzella assisted the presidential transition by serving for several months as Acting Chief of Staff at the United States Office of Personnel Management.^[10]

President Bush then nominated Pizzella to serve as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Administration and Management at the United States Department of Labor.^[11] His nomination was confirmed by the Senate in May 2001.^[12]

Four years later, he was designated by President George W. Bush to serve as a member of the board of directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation from January 18, 2004 to April 26, 2005.^[13] This did not require him to leave his Labor Department post.

Pizzella ran his own consulting firm and was principal at Patrick Pizzella LLC, a position he held from 2009 to 2013.

Federal Labor Relations Authority, 2013-17

Pizzella was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve as a member of the Federal Labor Relations Authority in August 2013, and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on October 16, 2013. It was Pizzella's first appointment by a Democratic president (although he had served for two years under President Bill Clinton at the FHFB). Pizzella was nominated again by Obama for the same position in 2016.

He currently serves as Acting Chairman of the FLRA, a position to which he was designated by President Trump on January 23, 2017.^[2]

Nomination as United States Deputy Secretary of Labor

On June 19, 2017, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Pizzella to be the next United States Deputy Secretary of Labor, replacing acting Deputy Secretary Nancy Rooney.^[2] On June 20, 2017, his nomination was sent to the United States Senate and is now pending before the United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.^[14]

Personal life

Pizzella is married to Mary Joy "M.J." Jameson, former senior business development executive for Google, and a senior public affairs aide in the Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush administrations.^[15] They live in Alexandria, Virginia and Pinehurst, North Carolina.

References