Chairman Carper Statement on Confirmation of Katherine Archuleta to be Director of OPM

WASHINGTON – Today, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Carper (D-Del.) lauded the Senate’s confirmation of Katherine Archuleta to be Director of the Office of Personnel Management. President Obama nominated Ms. Archuleta for the position in May and the Senate voted to confirm her nomination by a vote of 62 to 35.

“Today’s vote to confirm Katherine Archuleta to be the next Director of the Office of Personnel Management is an important step in filling longstanding vacancies at the highest levels of government,” Chairman Carper said. “While I am glad the majority of my colleagues joined me in voting to confirm her nomination, it shouldn’t have taken this long. Despite being qualified and ready to begin working, Ms. Archuleta’s nomination was held up here in the Senate for months. It is critical that our agencies have leadership in place to help manage our federal government’s workforce and ensure taxpayer dollars are being spent as efficiently as possible.  Holding nominees for political purposes undermines these important efforts and is harmful to our nation.

“Fortunately, today, we finally took action and confirmed Ms. Archuleta, whose prior experiences have prepared her to hit the ground running when she begins leading this critical agency,” Chairman Carper continued. “As the former Chief of Staff at both the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Transportation, as well as a key figure in shaping the Denver we know today, I am confident that Ms. Archuleta has the skills needed to lead the Office of Personnel Management. In the words of my good friend Ken Salazar, she is ‘terrific’.  I now look forward to working closely with her to ensure that our government’s workforce is managed effectively.”

Earlier this week, Chairman Carper spoke on the Senate floor in support of Ms. Archuleta’s nomination. You can read a copy of his remarks, as prepared for delivery, here.

Katherine Archuleta most recently served as National Political Director for Obama for America, a position she held from 2011 to 2012. Prior to this, Ms. Archuleta served as Chief of Staff at the Department of Labor from 2009 to 2011. From October 2005 to May 2009, she served as a Senior Advisor on Policy and Initiatives for the City and County of Denver, Colorado and previously served as the Executive Director of the National Hispanic Cultural Center Foundation from 2002 to 2005. Ms. Archuleta was the Director of Professional Services for Davis, Graham and Stubbs, LLP from 2000 to 2002 and Co-Founder and Principal of the Center for Regional and Neighborhood Acton from 1997 to 2000. She served as Senior Policy Advisor at the U.S. Department of Energy in 1997. From 1993 to 1997, Ms. Archuleta served at the U.S. Department of Transportation, first as Deputy Chief of Staff and then as Chief of Staff. She received a B.A. from Metropolitan State College and a M.Ed. from the University of Northern Colorado.