Dodd Praises Senate Confirmation of Kathleen Sebelius to be Secretary of Health and Human Services

Press Release

Dodd Praises Senate Confirmation of Kathleen Sebelius to be Secretary of Health and Human Services

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), a senior member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and Chairman Edward Kennedy's (D-MA) chief deputy for health reform, praised today's Senate confirmation of Governor Kathleen Sebelius to be the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

"As our nation works to combat the swine flu public health emergency, we need Kathleen Sebelius at the helm of the Department of Health and Human Services. While her confirmation has been delayed because of unreasonable partisan bickering, tonight the Senate has shown great wisdom in approving the nomination of this talented and dedicated public servant," said Dodd.

"I cannot recall another time when the challenges facing the Secretary of Health and Human Services were so complex, but I am confident that Kathleen Sebelius is the right person to tackle them. I look forward to working closely with her in our continued efforts to reform our nation's health care system to ensure that Connecticut families and families all across America have access to quality, affordable health care when they need it most."

Earlier this afternoon, Dodd spoke on the Senate floor in support of her nomination. The full text of his remarks as delivered are below:

I rise in strong support of Governor Sebelius.

Let me thank the people of Kansas. This is a remarkable nominee. I know she has served the people of Kansas well during her tenure as Governor, insurance commissioner, State representative, and we are fortunate indeed that President Obama has asked the Governor of Kansas to come to our Nation's Capital to serve as the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

We owe her a debt of gratitude as well for being willing to accept this responsibility at a time that, with the exception of some 15 years ago, only the second time in more than half a century, this institution and this city will grapple with one of the compelling issues of our day; that is, to deal with a national health care crisis in America. Governor Sebelius has demonstrated a willingness to take on a very large issue which is highly complicated and brings out passionate responses from people across the political spectrum. So we are grateful. I am grateful to her for taking on this challenge. I am appreciative of the President for asking her to do so. I would hope our colleagues would come together.

There is always too much delay in a lot of nominations. I have been a Member of this body for many years. I think I can count on one or two hands the number of times, in more than two decades, that I have opposed nominees of either party. I have always been of the view that Presidents and elections mean things. If you are elected President of the United States, then a President ought to have an opportunity to carry out the mandates or the promises they have made as a candidate.

So those of us who are in the opposition from time to time, other than disagreeing with or deciding to vote against someone because maybe there is some serious problem that underlies that nomination -- but I have never felt the views of a nominee ought to necessarily decide my vote in favor of or against them; that Presidents ought to be able to have people they believe will help carry out their wishes and campaign promises; that if we in the opposition try to guarantee that people who share our views are going to be in the Cabinet, that seems to be contrary to the will of the American people who have made a different choice on election day. I know that is disappointing to people from time to time. I know that when I have supported various nominees of President Reagan, President Bush, No. 41, and George Bush, his son, No. 43, voted in support of those nominees, there were those who were disappointed that I would cast a ballot for the nominee. But my answer always was that they were elected -- obviously a very controversial election in the case of George W. Bush in 2000, but nonetheless ultimately he was the choice to be our President and as such deserved to be able to have the nominees in his Cabinet, the people he thought would best serve the country. There were occasions when I did vote against some nominees but never on the basis of what their views were. There may have been some other disqualifying factor, but there were very few over the years.

So at this hour, it has been since March 2 that the President nominated Kathleen Sebelius to be the Secretary of Health and Human Services. We are now ending the month of April and going into the month of May. We have been told as a nation over the last several days that we are now potentially facing a pandemic issue in the swine flu problem. Having a Secretary of Health and Human Services, which is the job that would necessarily coordinate and lead the efforts both at home and working with Secretary of State Clinton and others, coordinate the effort internationally on this matter -- it is time to move along.

While I know there are those who have very strongly held views about various matters that will come before the Department of Health and Human Services, elections have consequences. President Obama won the election. This is his choice to lead that agency and to deal with the myriad of other problems we must grapple with as a country. I think it is time for this body to discuss these matters over the appropriate period of time and then to move along and to not delay for as long a time as we have seen already a nomination of this importance.

The HELP Committee, on which I serve -- the Health Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee -- and the Finance Committee held hearings on Governor Sebelius back at the end of the last month, and the majority leader attempted to get unanimous consent to move her nomination almost a week ago. Those efforts have been blocked by the minority party here. Now we find ourselves in the midst of what appears to be a global crisis, as I mentioned, and for no apparent reason that I can determine, other than maybe some politics, we still do not have the Secretary of Health and Human Services confirmed.

I believe most Americans, regardless of political party, would like to see someone leading this agency and helping us grapple with these issues. I do not think they are going to be pleased, even if they disagree with the politics of the nominee, to have that spot vacant at a time when we need leadership, particularly someone as highly qualified as Governor Sebelius is.

Again, I commend the Obama administration for its handling of the swine flu threat so far. It is clear that the various agencies in Government are working closely and collaboratively. As a result of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and many of my colleagues in the Senate, both Democrats and Republicans, we were able to pass and fund what was called the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act and the predecessor bioterrorism legislation. The country as a whole has made great strides in surveillance, coordination, communications, and treatment capabilities.

Let me specifically thank several of our colleagues, because I was deeply involved in those negotiations on that legislation many years ago -- well, several years ago. They include Richard Burr of North Carolina, a Republican Member, our colleague, who is deeply involved in the issue; then-Majority Leader Frist of Tennessee was very involved; Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, and myself are the four, along with Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, involved from time to time in trying to craft that legislation dealing with the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act and some of the bioterrorism legislation. My colleagues, on a bipartisan basis, put that together. Richard Burr was very deeply involved in that question, and we ought to thank him for his insistence so many years ago. So we have been involved in these issues on a bipartisan basis, and I would hope, again, this nomination can go forward on a similar basis.

The U.S. response to this current global threat is evidence that those efforts taken some years ago are paying off. But the lead agency in all of this, and other possible health threats, is the Health and Human Services Department. That Department lacks a leader today, and that is the reason we are still here a week later debating whether this nominee of incredibly impeccable credentials is being held up for as long as she is.

Having served on the so-called HELP Committee for many years, I cannot recall another time when the challenges facing the Secretary of Health and Human Services were so complex. I have already addressed some of those issues. Our economy is in the worst shape it has been in for decades. We have a health care system that is broken, impacting families, businesses, and our competitiveness as a nation.

The Department of Health and Human Services and the agencies within its purview are in need of attention and leadership. It is critical that the Department once again base its decisions on the best available science, not the political ideology of the moment. President Obama has already made tremendous progress in this respect with the signing of an Executive order overturning the previous administration's harmful restrictions on embryonic stem cell research and the signing of a Presidential memorandum on scientific integrity. I commend him for it.

He has moved quickly to appoint highly qualified candidates such as Governor Sebelius to key positions within the Department, such as the FDA Commissioner and the head of the Human Health Resources and Services Administration.

Governor Sebelius brings a wealth of experience I have referenced already, working in a bipartisan fashion to improve the lives of families in her State. The outpouring of support, on a bipartisan basis, ought to be welcome and celebrated. Rarely do you see someone bring that much support across the political spectrum that Governor Sebelius has to this, the nomination to head this Department.

The knowledge and expertise she gained as Governor, the insurance commissioner of her State, and the State representative will be instrumental in achieving comprehensive health care reform -- reform that at long last will bring affordable quality health care, we hope, to all Americans.

The case for reform of our health care system has never been stronger or more urgent, and I happen to be one who is optimistic about the prospects of achieving health care reform this year under the leadership of Max Baucus, the chairman of the Finance Committee; Senator Ted Kennedy, the chairman of the HELP Committee; and the respective leadership on the House side along with, obviously, President Obama; the participation of other people -- our colleagues, such as Orrin Hatch, Mike Enzi of Wyoming, certainly Chuck Grassley, the Republican former chairman of the Finance Committee, now the Republican ranking member, and many others with whom we have had extensive meetings already trying to achieve what our majority leader has called for, and that is a strong, bipartisan effort here to put together a national health reform package. So a lot of good people are already buying in, trying to achieve that result. What we have been missing in all of this is the head of the Health and Human Services Department, to help pull that piece of the puzzle together for us as well.

We are in such a different place than we were 15 years ago on this issue. Then we had a host of opposition lined up. Today, those who organized to torpedo those efforts 15 years ago, frankly, are at the table today anxious for us to share and put together a proposal that would enjoy that kind of support I mentioned a moment ago.

The economics of our country are certainly in a much different place than they were in 1993 and 1994. Today, health care accounts for over 16 percent of the gross domestic product of our country -- health care costs. According to the Office of Management and Budget, by the year 2018 -- not that far away -- national health spending, if unabated, could account for a fifth, more than 20 percent of our gross domestic product. There are those who believe that within 10 years that figure of 16 percent could double to more than 30 percent of our gross domestic product. That is unacceptable.

If you are not motivated by the morality and ethics of having 45 million Americans without any health care, of which 9 million in that number are children, today we rank among the lowest scores or the worst scores of infant mortality among industrialized nations. There are 100,000 people a year who die in this country from avoidable medical errors. Those are not the kinds of statistics we want to associate with our great country. So, in addition to the moral, the health care issues, the ethical questions, the economics of this issue demand attention.

If you are not impressed by any other motivation on why we ought to achieve universal, quality, affordable health care, founded in the notion of prevention, than the economic justification ought to persuade you. The health care system we have today puts personal finances at risk, threatens our global competitiveness. General Motors, to give you one example, estimates that health care costs add over $1,500 to the selling price of each automobile it produces, and it paid $5.2 billion in health benefits in 2004. That is more than it paid for steel. That will give you an idea why that company is facing as much pressure as it is, as well as other automobile manufacturers.

Look at the foreclosure issue. There are 10,000 people today who will be at risk of losing their homes. That is true every day in our country in the midst of this major economic crisis. There are 20,000 people a day, on average, who are losing their jobs in the United States. So when you are losing your job, you may lose your home and retirement. Remember this: Almost half of all of those foreclosures that will occur today are partly caused by the financial crisis stemming from medical costs. I will repeat that. Almost half -- 50 percent of those 10,000 foreclosures that will occur today are partly caused by the financial crisis stemming from health care costs.

As chairman of the Banking Committee and a 26-year veteran on the HELP Committee, I share the President's belief that fixing the health care crisis is essential to fixing our economy.

We can talk about all the other issues dealing with availability of credit and what is happening to banks and to the financial stability of the Nation, but we cannot have a conversation about all that and disregard the issue of health care. Twenty-eight million Americans who work for small businesses are without health care. Premiums on average are 18 percent higher than they were a few years ago. In Connecticut, premium costs have gone up 42 percent in 8 years. Imagine what that has done at a time when wages and salaries have not increased anything remotely close to that. Premiums and out-of-pocket costs for health care and individuals continue to skyrocket.

Chairmen Kennedy and Baucus of the respective HELP and Finance Committees are working closely together on this process, trying to fashion a timeline and policy that will fit together. Both chairmen have stated a shared goal of marking up health care legislation in early June. I strongly believe that timetable is achievable. But we need to have a Secretary of Health and Human Services, if we are going to mark up a bill in June. We have had this nomination pending for more than a month, have spent a week debating it, and we are in the month of May. Most Americans want the petty politics put aside and the people in place we need to lead this effort. They care about health care. They understand what happens: When one loses their job, they lose their health care.

Last year one in three Americans, between 2007 and 2008, had a gap where they had no health care for one reason or another. Lord forbid someone is in that gap and something happens to them or their spouse or a child and they end up having to pay out-of-pocket expenses for the care of that individual. That is a fear everyone has who faces that possibility or is in that situation today.

I say this respectfully. It is time to get the people in place who can help us get this job done. Delaying this nomination because you don't agree with everything that Kathleen Sebelius says or supports is not justification for denying this administration and, more importantly, the American people a leader at the Department of HHS to move forward.

I wish to say a quick word about the comparative effectiveness research which has been mentioned as a reason for holding up the nomination. This effort is about expanding Americans' access to health care, not restricting it. We also want to give patients and their doctors the tools they need to make the right decisions about care. That is what comparative effectiveness research is all about, empowering patients and medical providers. It is not about rationing care. Comparative effectiveness research is about helping patients and providers figure out together which therapies and treatments work best for them. It is not about restricting or limiting health care options but, rather, about helping them understand their health care better and more accurately chart a course of treatment. The President has made such research a high priority by having invested in it through the recovery act's $10 billion for the National Institutes of Health and $1.1 billion for comparative effectiveness research.

I support the President and Governor Sebelius in this effort to inform patients and providers. This is the moment for health care reform. Failure is not an option for our Nation. I look forward to working with Governor Sebelius to make meaningful, lasting change to our Nation's health care system.

While health care reform is a top priority, I also wish to address quickly another vitally important issue to the responsibility of the department; that is, early childhood education and development. This is an issue that has long been near and dear to my heart, since 1981, when I started the children's caucus in the Senate almost 30 years ago with Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, who was a new Senator as well that year, along with people such as Patrick Moynihan, Bob Dole, and Bill Bradley. Each brought a deepening interest in what was happening to one out of four Americans who are children. As a result of our efforts over the years, we have made a difference.

I am encouraged by the commitment of President Obama to early childhood education. I look forward to working on new proposals as well as strengthening current programs such as Head Start and the CCDBG for childcare to benefit children and families. An investment in our youngest Americans pays off in their readiness for school, their health, and job creation now and in the future and the need for fewer social services later in the child's life.

Now is the time to put partisan politics aside, confirm Governor Sebelius so we can have the kind of leader most Americans are looking for and provide the guidance the Department of Health and Human Services will need if we are going to succeed in this effort.

I urge confirmation of this remarkable individual who has offered her services to the country, who is making the kind of sacrifice to come forward and serve our Nation at a critical moment. That is to be celebrated. That is patriotism. I hope my colleagues will quickly confirm this nominee and allow us to begin the critical work of fashioning a national health care reform package.

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