[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 17, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1610-S1611]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NOMINATION OF XAVIER BECERRA
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today in support of Xavier
Becerra's nomination to be Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services.
I am proud to have known Xavier Becerra for many years as both a
friend and colleague. He has spent decades serving California,
including as the State's attorney general and as a 12-term Congressman
from Los Angeles.
Mr. Becerra was the first in his family to receive a 4-year college
degree, earning his bachelor of arts in economics from Stanford
University and, later, his juris doctorate from Stanford Law School. As
a member of the House of Representatives, he was a strong advocate for
the healthcare of his constituents and fought to make the Affordable
Care Act law. And as California attorney general he has been a staunch
defender of the Affordable Care Act, leading 20 States and the District
of Columbia in defense of the Affordable Care Act before the Supreme
Court.
As part of his focus on protecting the health of Americans, Mr.
Becerra has worked on a bipartisan basis with multistate coalitions of
attorneys general on issues still affecting our country today. These
include the need to reduce youth exposure to tobacco products like e-
cigarettes, increasing access to COVID-19 treatments, as well as
addressing the opioid epidemic and the considerable harm it has caused
families.
As our State's attorney general, Mr. Becerra has led the Nation's
second largest department of justice behind only the U.S. Department of
Justice. His experience leading large and diverse organizations will
position him to successfully lead the Department of Health and Human
Services, which is the Nation's largest Federal agency by budget.
As Secretary, he will lead the Nation's top health agency charged
with enhancing the health and well-being of all Americans. In this
global pandemic, he will play a lead role in overseeing the
implementation of President Biden's national strategy for COVID-19
response, which is vital to defeating the virus that has plagued our
country for far too long. His history-making nomination as the first
Latino to manage this Department comes at a time when this pandemic is
affecting communities of color at much higher rates than white
Americans. And those of us who know him personally know the level of
his concern and the strength of his dedication to protect the health
and safety of all hard-working Americans and their families.
In short, Xavier Becerra is the right candidate to lead the
Department of Health and Human Services at this time, and I strongly
urge the Senate to confirm his nomination. Thank you.
Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, today I rise to speak in support of
Xavier Becerra's nomination to serve s Secretary of Health and Human
Services, HHS.
Attorney General Becerra will bring a fresh perspective to HHS at a
critical time during this pandemic. While there is light at the end of
the tunnel with the distribution of the corona virus vaccines, there is
still work to do to end this pandemic and put our country on a road to
recovery, and that is where Attorney General Becerra's leadership will
be crucial.
Attorney General Becerra's 12 terms in the U.S. House of
Representatives gave him a solid foundation in knowing how to set
agendas and achieve results, which we saw deployed in his work as a key
leader on the Committee on Ways and Means ranking member of the
Subcommittee on Social Security, and chair of the House Democratic
caucus.
He helped to expand the Children's Health Insurance Program,
modernize and strengthen Medicare, and helped pass the Affordable Care
Act. His commitment to the letter and spirit of this law is something
he carried into his role as California attorney general, fighting to
maintain his State's ability to bring millions of previously uninsured
residents under the Affordable Care Act's umbrella.
Last November, he led the defense of the Affordable Care Act in the
U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of 20 States and the District of Columbia.
His tweet after the oral arguments concisely sums up the national
importance of his effort: ``The ACA saves lives. It is the law of the
land.'' He brings a strong commitment to using the law and regulatory
tools to make access to health care and other vital services
equitable--the very thing that makes our Nation strong.
I look forward to working with him on ensuring that everyone has
access to quality and affordable healthcare, and I know he will be a
partner in the fight against the corona virus and our goal of getting
all eligible Americans vaccinated, even in hard-to-reach areas.
Last week, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan
Act, which included major funding to address the--Nation's worsening
mental health and addiction crisis. This is a high priority of mine and
an issue which Attorney General Becerra has firsthand experience. He
started his career as a legal aid attorney in Massachusetts, supporting
clients contending with mental health issues. I am eager to work with
him on this issue.
Addressing the skyrocketing costs of prescription drugs is another
area where Attorney General Becerra has shown key leadership. He and I
share a belief that fairer competition means
[[Page S1611]]
increased access to affordable prescription drugs and better public
health. As California attorney general, he investigated and brought
enforcement actions against drug manufacturers' anti-competitive
business practices to help reduce drug prices and ensure that people
have access to the drugs they need. In March 2020, he led a bipartisan
group of 46 States attorneys general who successfully advocated before
the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the rights of States to regulate and
address the rising cost of prescription drugs.
The United States must do more to ensure that new technologies have
appropriate privacy and security protections for health data. At a
September 2020 hearing on the need for Federal data privacy
legislation, Attorney General Becerra told me and other members of the
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation that ``every
consumer should be able to own and control his or her data'' and that
``if we decide that we don't want anyone to use [our data], it's our
choosing.'' His testimony was reassuring, and I look forward to working
with him to ensure consumers can have a peace of mind when it comes to
the security of their personal health data.
Given the pandemic's spotlight on the vulnerability of our Nation's
seniors, I am eager to work with the Biden administration to improve
the safety and weTI-being of older Americans. When my 92-year-old dad
living in a memory care facility was diagnosed with COVID-19 last year,
I was only able to visit him through a window. He recognized me, but he
just didn't understand why we couldn't be in the same room together.
Tens of thousands of families have been through these wrenching
situations over the past year and want to see the Federal Government
doing more. Attorney General Becerra recently moved to make the
California Department of Justice Medicaid Fraud Control Unit a full-
fledged division, underscoring his commitment to protecting seniors and
people with disabilities. I know his leadership will place the needs of
seniors front and center.
Attorney General Becerra has the expertise and experience and the
enforcement and regulatory savvy to handle the job of protecting public
health, strengthening our hospitals and healthcare system, making sure
people have access to quality, affordable healthcare, and supporting
our healthcare workers. And as the first Latino to lead the Department
of Health and Human Services, he will bring a personal understanding of
the immediate need for equitable access to care.
With that, I ask my colleagues to support the nomination of Xavier
Becerra to be Secretary of Health and Human Services.
____________________