[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.

                          ____________________