[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 17, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S1585]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                      Nomination of Xavier Becerra

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, the Senate will soon vote on the nomination 
of California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to lead the Department of 
Health and Human Services. Moving this nomination forward required an 
additional procedural step and more floor debate than others, so I will 
make just a few quick points this afternoon.
  First, in our lifetime, America has never faced a greater public 
health challenge than the pandemic we face today. The Department of 
Health and Human Services is our point Agency, the leading Agency to 
coordinate the effort to end the pandemic as soon as possible. Right 
now, for example, it is coordinating the distribution of vaccines. It 
is working to get PPE, the critical protective equipment, into the 
hands of nurses and doctors and all those providers who desperately 
need more of it. The Department supports rural hospitals to keep them 
afloat so that rural patients have access to care.
  The Department's work includes the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid 
Services, the Centers for Disease Control, the National Institutes of 
Health, the National Guard, all 50 States and the District of Columbia, 
as well as private healthcare systems, doctors, and many individuals 
across the country.
  The American people, we all know, are ready for this pandemic to end. 
They certainly understand that having a person to coordinate the 
critical efforts of the Department of Health and Human Services 
confirmed and on the job is part of that effort. There simply is no 
argument for delaying this confirmation any longer.
  Attorney General Becerra has the right leadership experience and the 
right health policy experience to succeed in this critical job. He 
currently heads the Nation's second largest department of justice. He 
is in charge of a billion-dollar budget and more than 4,000 employees. 
He is the top law enforcement official in what would be the fifth 
largest economy in the world.
  In terms of health policy, which is in the area I try to specialize 
in, I can tell Senators that Xavier Becerra has spent years and years 
on these issues at the Ways and Means Committee, the key committee in 
the other body with jurisdiction over healthcare. He has been through 
major policy debates, including the Affordable Care Act. As 
California's attorney general, he defended the act in court.
  When the pandemic hit, he fought to protect the health and well-being 
of all Californians, particularly nurses and doctors and those workers 
who found themselves in harm's way.
  Attorney General Becerra has the health policy savvy and the 
leadership savvy and the experience in both areas to run this 
Department, no question about it.
  Attorney General Becerra made it clear to members of the Finance 
Committee that he will follow the law. Quaint idea. He said it again 
and again in response to a barrage of questions. He is going to be 
accessible to Senators. He is going to work to find common ground on 
key healthcare issues. I was glad he said it because that is heavy 
lifting. Most of the time, that is really all you can ask of nominees 
of the other party.
  Healthcare is oftentimes a divisive subject. I think every Senator 
understands that. It is particularly true when it comes to women's 
healthcare. But it is clear to me that Attorney General Becerra wants 
to bring the two sides together. That is a great place to start after 
the last 4 years of knockdown, drag-out battles over healthcare issues 
that clearly took America in the wrong direction.
  I am going to close with just one thought about why this position is 
so important. I don't know of any prospect more unifying among 
Americans than ending the pandemic and getting life back to normal as 
quickly as possible. Parents want their kids back in school. 
Grandparents want to hug their grandkids. Everybody wants to feel safe 
and get out in their communities.
  Getting our country to that point is the essence of what this job is 
all about. Heading the Department of Health and Human Services focuses 
exactly on those things people want to have the country come together 
on. But we need to come together to beat the pandemic, and the 
Department needs its leader confirmed and on the job now.
  I was pleased that there was bipartisan support for discharging 
Attorney General Becerra's nomination from the Finance Committee. I 
hope the Senate gives his nomination bipartisan support once again when 
it is time to vote on his confirmation.
  I look forward to working with him in the months and years to come.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kansas.