As the first Hispanic woman to ever lead a Cabinet-level agency, Hilda Solis has been a remarkable symbol of progress in this country. She has long been breaking down barriers at every level of government, and her steadfast guidance at the Department of Labor and extraordinary achievements in the House of Representatives have proven her a foremost leader in her generation. I am proud to call her my friend, and was honored to serve with her in the California Legislature and in the House of Representatives. I thank her for her efforts to help unemployed workers in my Silicon Valley/East Bay district retool for new careers and find new jobs, and her leadership in creating jobs during one of the most difficult economic eras in our nation’s history. I wish her well on the exciting next steps in her historic career.