Nomination of Xavier Becerra

Floor Speech

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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 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.

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