[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 80 (Monday, May 10, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2403-S2404]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                     Nomination of Andrea Joan Palm

  Mr. WYDEN. Madam President and colleagues, very shortly, the Senate 
will vote on whether or not to advance the nomination of Andrea Palm to 
serve as the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Health and Human 
Services. I strongly urge the Senate to support this nominee because 
Ms. Palm knows every nook and cranny at the Department. I will tell my 
colleagues, there is experience, and then there is Andrea Palm's 
experience.
  During the Obama administration, Ms. Palm served in multiple senior 
roles at the Department of Health and Human Services, including serving 
as the Department's Chief of Staff.
  She also served in the White House as a senior adviser on the 
Domestic Policy Council. Very importantly, she has played a 
particularly strong role in looking at policies to tackle the pandemic. 
She served recently as the head of the Wisconsin Department of Health 
Services. That put her on the frontlines against COVID-19. There she 
was a coalition builder. She brought together the State government, the 
healthcare sector, public health experts, and more to protect the 
people of Wisconsin and save lives.
  She led a collaborative effort to build the State's testing and 
contact tracing program. And thanks to her hard work, Wisconsin, on a 
number of particulars, has moved ahead in the country on vaccinations.
  Ms. Palm started her career in social work, helping vulnerable kids 
and their families during times of crisis. During her Finance Committee 
hearing, she talked about how that experience set her on a path toward 
public service and how it is going to help her when she returns to the 
Department of Health and Human Services.
  She also mentioned a story that I thought was particularly relevant 
in these days of polarized government. She mentioned that former 
Secretary Burwell put her in charge of what was called the common 
ground agenda. Secretary Burwell knew that Ms. Palm brought people 
together, Democrats and Republicans, to tackle big challenges.
  She said--and I note that there is a senior member of the Finance 
Committee here, our colleague from Texas. She said to our committee 
that the common ground agenda is the perspective she is going to bring 
to the Department. You can sure sign me up to that proposition because 
there is a lot that needs to be done, as my colleagues know, when it 
comes to big healthcare challenges.
  I mentioned Ms. Palm is going to have to hit the ground running when 
it comes to the pandemic response as one issue. And my colleague from 
Texas knows, we are in the middle of a transformation of Medicare.
  Back when I was director of the senior citizens--the Gray Panthers, 
Medicare was an acute care program. If you broke your ankle, Medicare 
was there for you. If you had a horrible case of flu, Medicare was 
there for you. Madam President and colleagues, that is not Medicare 
today.
  Today's Medicare is chronic disease, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, 
and strokes. Millions of seniors have two or more of these conditions. 
In 2017, the Finance Committee, on a bipartisan basis, led the passage 
of the Chronic Care Act, dealing with modernizing Medicare, and we are 
very much looking forward to working again on a bipartisan basis with 
Ms. Palm and Secretary Becerra because there is a lot to do here, 
particularly as it relates to traditional Medicare.
  My colleague and I know together, because we have worked on these 
issues, that Medicare Advantage has really moved forward on many of 
these particulars, and we have got a lot to do on traditional Medicare. 
Ms. Palm is going to be instrumental in that effort.
  We also know, on another issue the Finance Committee is dealing 
with--that millions of Americans feel that they are getting mugged when 
they walk up to the prescription drug counter at their pharmacy. It is 
long past time for the Congress to step up and act to bring down the 
cost of people's medicine. The Senate Finance Committee has worked in a 
bipartisan way on that. There are other approaches that I support, 
particularly giving Medicare the authority to negotiate and hold down 
prices. But we can work together in a bipartisan way on prescription 
drugs.
  Finally, there is an enormous agenda ahead of us in terms of major 
issues surrounding mental health care. I was given a report by the GAO 
just a few days ago that really highlights how we have seen so many 
people falling between the cracks in the mental healthcare system as a 
result of the pandemic; you know, rural seniors, for example, young 
people who perhaps are

[[Page S2404]]

facing learning challenges. They haven't taken to remote learning. The 
law says that mental healthcare and physical healthcare are supposed to 
be treated equally, but based on this GAO report that was just given to 
me a few days ago, that is not the case.
  So that is just a handful--a handful of the major issues that Ms. 
Palm will have on her plate. It is critically important that we have 
all hands on deck there. This is a person who knows the Department 
front to back.
  When we vote here in a bit, with respect to advancing her nomination, 
I hope that the U.S. Senate, on a bipartisan basis, will vote for a 
proven healthcare leader, somebody who is committed to expanding and 
improving healthcare, who really understands the nuts and bolts of 
building healthcare coalitions in America.
  I see the Presiding Officer of the Senate who has been involved in 
this work in her State, the State of Illinois. We need these top-notch 
individuals who have been willing to serve, who are experts in their 
fields. That is what makes Ms. Palm so qualified for this position.
  I support her nomination fully. I urge my colleagues, when we vote 
this afternoon at 5:30, to advance this important nomination
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.