WASHINGTON — Labor Secretary nominee Alexander Acosta says he will work with Congress to address the need for good, safe jobs and to provide American workers with the training they need to get them.

“Whether it is those who are working, those who still seek work, those who are discouraged or underemployed, or those who have retired, if confirmed as secretary of labor, I will advocate for them,” Acosta said in prepared remarks.

“We may not always agree on the ‘how,’ but at least let us agree on the need,” he said.

If confirmed, he would be the first Hispanic member of Trump’s Cabinet.

Senate Democrats want to know how he would enforce worker protections in an agency the president wants cut by 20 percent, including the deletion of a training program for jobless Americans age 55 and older.

In his prepared remarks to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Acosta did not address Democratic priorities, including a big hike in the minimum wage and tougher enforcement of federal overtime rules.

Democrats also were expected to press him on whether he can withstand political pressure from Trump. Acosta’s career was touched by a political hiring scandal when he led the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. An independent inspector general’s report said Acosta insufficiently supervised a subordinate who used political tests in hiring.