[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 110 (Thursday, June 24, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4766-S4767]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     CONFIRMATION OF DAWN O'CONNELL

  Mr. BURR. Mr. President, I would like to talk about the HHS Assistant 
Secretary for Preparedness and Response. The HHS Assistant Secretary 
for Preparedness and Response, or ASPR, is in charge during a public 
health emergency and serves as the principal adviser to the Secretary 
on these matters. This is not a political or a personal choice for any 
administration; it is the law. I know because I helped write it. It is 
a national security position, responsible for keeping Americans safe 
from public health threats, like COVID-19. It is a role that we 
envisioned with two types of responsibilities. The ASPR serves an 
operational role. During an emergency, the ASPR coordinates the public 
health and medical response--whether that threat is a hurricane, a 
novel virus, or a chemical attack. The ASPR has the responsibility of 
overseeing the development, purchase, and deployment of lifesaving 
countermeasures, like the COVID-19 vaccine. The ASPR is also a policy 
job, assessing the threat landscape and adjusting our strategies to 
best position the United States for the threats we face today and in 
the future.
  I am glad that today the Senate was able to confirm, by unanimous 
consent, Dawn O'Connell to be the ASPR. During Ms. O'Connell's 
nomination process for the job, she repeatedly agreed that she is ready 
to serve both roles and that the ASPR is in charge during public health 
emergencies. I believe her current role as a Senior Counselor to the 
HHS Secretary for COVID Response and her previous roles at HHS and in 
Congress have provided her with the skills necessary to fulfill the 
role of the ASPR. I was disappointed that it took the administration so 
long to nominate someone for this critical role, but I am pleased that 
they picked someone of Ms. O'Connell's qualifications. The ASPR is 
critical to the Nation's response and recovery to the COVID pandemic 
and preparing us against whatever comes next.

[[Page S4767]]

  I helped orchestrate Ms. O'Connell's confirmation today when I am 
also releasing a white paper from my role as lead Republican on the 
Senate HELP Committee about the role of the ASPR. We have learned from 
two responses under two different administrations--Ebola under Obama 
and COVID under Trump--that despite Congress's bipartisan intent that 
the ASPR be in charge in an emergency, that hasn't worked quite the way 
we envisioned. So I have a series of recommendations to bolster the 
role of the ASPR and bring greater clarity to our government's response 
for future emergencies. The ASPR needs to have strong, effective 
leadership and play a key role in coordinating the Federal Government 
response. The ASPR needs to have the authority and resources to 
strengthen public-private partnerships in our medical countermeasures, 
medical supply chain, and healthcare system. And the ASPR needs to 
leverage innovation to expand our preparedness infrastructure. Senator 
Murray, the chair of our HELP Committee, and I are working together on 
bipartisan legislation to address the response to the pandemic, and 
these recommendations will see their way into that legislation this 
fall.

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