[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 51 (Thursday, March 18, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S1624]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              NOMINATIONS

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, on nominations, today, the Senate will 
vote to confirm another member of President Biden's Cabinet, Xavier 
Becerra, to serve as Secretary of Health and Human Services.
  In truth, Attorney General Becerra's nomination should not have taken 
this long. From the moment the Attorney General Becerra was announced 
as President Biden's pick for HHS, Senate Republicans have tried to 
derail his nomination. Their arguments almost verge on the ridiculous. 
They complain loudly that he had no direct experience as a medical 
professional, even though Republicans voted in lockstep to install Alex 
Azar, a pharmaceutical executive, who raised drug prices and tried to 
undermine our Nation's health law as the previous HHS Secretary.
  Becerra, by contrast, has decades of standing up for working and 
middle-class Americans in Congress, fighting to protect and expand 
Medicare and Medicaid and working to safeguard our healthcare system 
from attacks by the Trump administration.
  As the Biden administration works to defeat this pandemic, the 
President deserves to have his Cabinet confirmed, especially a post as 
important as HHS Secretary. I look forward to completing his nomination 
today.
  A few days after Democrats gained control of the Senate, we had big 
tasks ahead of us right away. I said that we had three important 
priorities to do quickly: One, the impeachment trial of Donald Trump; 
two, big and bold COVID relief; and, three, President Biden's Cabinet. 
We have already finished the first two priorities, and very soon we are 
going to finish the third.
  I want to thank my colleagues, my Democratic colleagues, for working 
so quickly, so hard, and in such a unified team effort to allow all of 
this to happen. I am very proud of what we have done in these first few 
months.
  Later today, the Senate will take its first vote on the nomination of 
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to be our Nation's Labor Secretary. Early next 
week, after we confirm him, the Senate will have confirmed every 
available Cabinet Secretary and many more Cabinet-level appointments 
besides. That is excellent progress, and, again, I want to thank my 
colleagues in the Senate on both sides of the aisle for their votes in 
supporting these fine nominees.
  What does it mean? It means the Biden administration will have the 
personnel in place to implement the American Rescue Plan, finish the 
fight against COVID-19, and bring our country roaring back. In the 
meantime, the Senate must continue to work to get the rest of the 
President's team in place.

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