[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 17, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1598-S1599]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                      Nomination of Xavier Becerra

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Madam President, I rise today in strong support for 
the confirmation of California's attorney general, Xavier Becerra, to 
be the next Secretary of Health and Human Services.
  I am absolutely confident that Mr. Becerra has the knowledge, the 
experience, the skills, and, just as importantly, the values and 
principles required of this job--a job that will play a key role in 
beating the coronavirus and tackling the urgent issues of equity and 
affordability now facing our healthcare system.
  I am especially confident in my assessment of Xavier Becerra because 
I have known him personally for years, both as a former colleague and 
as a

[[Page S1599]]

friend. I first met then-Congressman Becerra in the House of 
Representatives, where he served for over two decades with myself and 
the Presiding Officer and others, and where he was a champion for the 
healthcare rights of the American people, working overtime to make sure 
that every American had access to quality, affordable healthcare.
  We served together in the House Democratic leadership, and we served 
together on the House Ways and Means Committee. So I have had an 
opportunity to see his legislative talents up front and also to witness 
his love of service to our country.
  We worked together to halt a number of proposals that maybe some of 
our Republican colleagues here in the Senate were pushing for, 
including the proposal that continuously appeared in the House 
Republican budget to voucherize the Medicare Program. One of the former 
Speakers of the House wanted to essentially provide seniors on Medicare 
with a voucher and send them out into more of a private marketplace. It 
would have ended up putting our seniors more at risk. So together we 
did battle that idea.
  We served together on what was known as the Congressional Joint 
Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, also known as the 
``supercommittee,'' and known to some as the ``not-so-super 
committee.'' I saw him work to try to achieve agreements on some of the 
biggest challenges facing our country, but, like him, we both agreed 
that we weren't going to do that at the expense of protecting Medicare 
for seniors, protecting Medicaid as an absolutely essential healthcare 
safety net for tens of millions of Americans, and we were not prepared 
to provide more tax cuts to the very wealthiest of Americans.
  It is in that last effort where Xavier Becerra, I think, really 
distinguished himself in the House, when it came to the issue of equity 
and healthcare. I know the Presiding Officer knows well the battles we 
all went in together in the development and passage of the Affordable 
Care Act, and it was that that really defined Mr. Becerra's legacy in 
the House.
  He championed the Affordable Care Act from the very start. He helped 
both to write and to pass this landmark law that now helps tens of 
millions of our fellow Americans, and after leaving the Congress, he 
led the charge to defend the Affordable Care Act against the Texas case 
before the Supreme Court of the United States.
  Now, I know a lot of our Republican colleagues have also spent years 
fighting the Affordable Care Act. We have seen that play out here in 
the U.S. Senate within the last couple years. But the reality is the 
Affordable Care Act is very important to the overwhelming majority of 
the American people who support it and is an essential lifeline to 
quality, affordable healthcare for tens of millions of Americans. And 
it is that that Mr. Becerra fought to pass and which he has fought to 
defend against constant attacks in the courts.
  There is no question that Xavier Becerra fights for what he believes 
is right, as he should, but that has never prevented him from working 
across the aisle to get things done. As the attorney general in the 
State of California, he has repeatedly partnered with Republicans to 
solve the pressing issues facing our fellow citizens.
  He builds bridges every day and has worked across party lines to 
expand access to COVID-19 treatments, to confront the opioid crisis, 
and to address the dangers of vaping and smoking among our Nation's 
youth.
  His record shows that Attorney General Becerra fights for what is 
important to the people he represents, not the party he belongs to, and 
he has demonstrated it by example time and time again with his ability 
to bridge deep divisions, even during this time of division. I know 
that he will fight hard for each and every one of our fellow citizens 
and will not look to see whether somebody is a Democrat or a Republican 
or from some other party. What he cares about is making sure he is 
looking out for the healthcare of every American.
  And, at this moment, everyone in this country stands to benefit from 
an effective leader at the helm of the Department of Health and Human 
Services. Our most pressing task is to contain the spread of COVID-19 
and to defeat COVID-19. That requires clear messaging on public health 
measures. That requires accelerating the distribution of vaccines and 
treatment and testing and making sure we do all of that in an equitable 
way. That means safely guiding the opening of our schools, and we all 
want our students to get back to school as quickly as possible and as 
safely as possible.
  As the attorney general of California, he has led one of the largest 
departments of justice in the country, and, in that capacity, has stood 
up for strong consumer and worker protections throughout this pandemic 
and before, and I trust that he will continue to do so for all 
Americans as Secretary of HHS, if confirmed.
  We know that this public emergency and health crisis has been a blow 
to our country. It has also laid bare the fault lines in our healthcare 
system in terms of racial inequities, inaccessibility for underserved 
communities, and underinvestment in our public health infrastructure. 
These issues, of course, predated COVID-19, but we must tackle them 
with renewed urgency as we emerge from this crisis.
  Mr. Becerra is equipped to root out these disparities, both because 
of his knowledge and skill and expertise but also because of his lived 
experience. Xavier grew up in a working-class Latino family. He knows 
the communities that are hurting most because he has lived in those 
communities. He would bring to this important office not only his 
expertise and skill but the empathy and the compassion needed to help 
those most in need.
  Like most of us, Mr. Becerra is also guided and motivated by what 
makes him most proud: his family. At his confirmation hearing, he spoke 
movingly about his wife and his children, who are all a part of all 
that he does. And he spoke about his parents, who traveled to this 
country from Mexico seeking a better life, with nothing more than, in 
Xavier's words, ``their health and their hope.''
  It is that health and that hope that propelled Mr. Becerra into a 
life of public service, and it is that health and that hope that will 
animate his leadership at the Department of Health and Human Services, 
should he be confirmed by this Senate.
  He was brought up in a family that believed in and sought the 
American dream, and he has spent his life fighting to make that dream 
real for families across this Nation. He believes, as I believe, that 
that mission requires us to care for the health and safety of each and 
every one of our fellow citizens, and I have full confidence that he is 
up to the task.
  Colleagues, I urge us to confirm the nomination of Xavier Becerra to 
be the next Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Hassan). The Senator from Indiana.