On the recordMarch 17, 2021
I rise to speak in favor of Xavier Becerra, as Senator Menendez just did. Like Senator Menendez, when Xavier and I came, we all were in the first class in 1992 together. I consider him a friend also and have admired the work that he did as a Member of Congress, as attorney general, and the work that he will do at HHS. In the middle of the worst health crisis of our lifetime, we need someone leading this Department who understands the importance of public health and who will work to build a stronger, more affordable healthcare system for the future. That is what Xavier Becerra will do. He has the experience for this job. As Senator Menendez pointed out, he ran the Nation's second largest law firm. He helped pass the Affordable Care Act, as a Member of the House, that expanded coverage to millions of Ohioans and tens of millions of Americans. I think the Republican opposition, all partisan opposition, to Attorney General Becerra for Secretary of HHS, as Senator Casey pointed out, is all about their opposition to the Affordable Care Act, their opposition to expansion of Medicaid. I heard one Senator after another say their State isn't treated right by Medicaid, but they didn't even expand Medicaid in many of those States. As State attorney general, he took on tobacco companies, drug companies, opioid manufacturers, and polluters.…





