Senate panel deadlocks on advancing Biden's pick for health secretary

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Source: Politico

The Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday split evenly along party lines on whether to advance Xavier Becerra for Health and Human Services secretary, leaving it to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to bring the nomination up for a full Senate vote.

The 14-14 tally reflected the sharp partisan divisions around Becerra, now California's attorney general, who's drawn fire from conservatives eager to make his confirmation a political liability for Democrats facing reelection next year.

He is the first of President Joe Biden's Cabinet nominees not to be favorably reported out of committee. Still, barring any unexpected Democratic defections, Becerra is likely to be confirmed as early as next week.

The Finance Committee's ranking Republican, Mike Crapo of Idaho, vowed Wednesday to work with Becerra on less contentious issues, such as telehealth and securing Medicare's finances, if he's confirmed. But he and other Republicans criticized Becerra's lack of health policy expertise in arguing he was the wrong pick to lead the sprawling federal health department during a pandemic.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/senate-panel-deadlocks-on-advancing-biden-s-pick-for-health-secretary/ar-BB1ecLDA?li=BBnbcA1&ocid=DELLDHP

[Claire Oh Nette]

1. What could the problem be?

It's an administrative position--not a medical one. THis never stopped the GOP before.

What is it about Becerra? Could it be...bigotry? xenophobia? fear of a mocha planet?

[WA-03 Democrat]

2. Oh Hell's Bells

Did the last 4 years not happen? Betsy Fuckin Devos and all the other the judges who the ABA rejected? Do we have a global pandemic which was made exponentially worse by the Republicans? They have no leg to stand on. American lives or political games.

[SunSeeker]

3. GOP lies AGAIN. Becerra was one of the few in the House who WROTE THE ACA.

Never mind that the majority of Health and Human Services secretaries have not had medical backgrounds, Becerra does have extensive experience for this administrative position. He led the massive California Attorney General's (second only to USDOJ) and Becerra served on the committee that sets healthcare policy during his 24 years in the House. He was among the small group of lawmakers who helped write the Affordable Care Act. https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2021-03-03/becerra-nomination-to-lead-health-agency-committee


Not only are Republicans hypocrites, they are flat out wrong about Becerra!

[BumRushDaShow]

6. I was just thinking about this

given the department has jurisdiction over the very thing the GOP has tried to kill for the past 10 years - and here you have someone who was not only involved with the drafting of it, but who now has AG background/experience (in the largest state in the union) that could possibly be used when they try again to take the ACA to court again, for whatever other nonsense they may try to do sue for.

And when the have sued, they usually sue the head of HHS.

[Calista241]

7. I would prefer someone with experience in the field.

Attorney General of CA is not a position I think of that would naturally role up to this. And writing a single bill for Congress over 12 years ago isn't really relevant experience.

The Secretary of Health and Human Services is the principal advisor to the President on health matters. Shouldn't we, you know, put a Doctor in that role, someone that has some credentials in human health.

I'm sure Xavier Becerra is a fine person, and well positioned to run a bureaucracy. But he's not a Doctor, and I'd prefer our administrators have some experience in the field of the agency they're leading. He's going to be telling the President, and the American people, if they should stay home, wear a mask, avoid flying, or whatever. Conversely, if things get better, he's going to be the one on TV saying it's Spring in America again, and we can go to the beach, kiss, watch movies and whatnot.

Shouldn't the person that's going to be saying those things have some practical experience in health matters and give the American people confidence that he knows what he's talking about?

I mean, almost anyone is a vast improvement over Alex Azar, but I'm not a huge fan of this nomination.

[SunSeeker]

8. His experience in writing the ACA makes him uniquely qualified for this position.

His job is not to advise about mask wearing and other pandemic advice. That is the CDC's job, as well as the now robust Covid task force Biden assembled. His job is to take that advice and implement it.

This is an administrative position, not a medical position.

[cloudythescribbler]

4. GOP resistance all the more reason to confirm him ASAP

It's a good learning opportunity for Democrats to show some spine and drive home the point both to GOP and to mass of voters who put them in office

In 2016, once Hillary clinched nomination (I voted for Bernie in the primary), I was hoping she'd pick Becerra as running mate -- still think he would have energized ticket more than Kaine.

Democrats need to go on offense more seriously or (almost inevitably in any case) we'll see a repeat of 1994 and 2010 elections. GOP obviously can't wait, and are in lite of this making a point of not examining their losses of both Houses & White House in last 3 years.

[Lonestarblue]

5. And Ben Carson was highly qualified to head HUD?

And Ryan Zinke was such a great Secretary of the Interior! I guess if you’re a Republican, the only qualification you need is to be corrupt, like Zinke and Scott Pruitt and Pompeo with his taxpayer funded State Department dinners to court future donors for his presidential run.

Carson may not have been corrupt, but did he actually ever do anything? I think Wilbur Ross mostly slept through his four years.

Republicans have a strange notion of what qualifies a person to work for the government.

[White Fox]

9. Republicans acting like Republicans

dozens surprised

[riversedge]

10. damn repugs!! nothing but smelly sh**!