Political Quotes

“I come to the floor today to oppose the nomination for Secretary of Health and Human Services of Xavier Becerra. As I stand here today, America is still fighting the worst pandemic in a century. More than half a million Americans, as we have just heard, have died of this coronavirus. Life expectancy in our country has actually dropped by a full year. Now, as a doctor, I will tell you that is a significant drop of life expectancy. In this time of crisis, our Secretary of Health and Human Services may be the single most important member in the President's Cabinet. There are many well-qualified Democrats, in my opinion, who could serve in this position. For example, I voted to confirm President Obama's last Secretary of Health and Human Services, Sylvia Burwell. She was confirmed by a large bipartisan majority. That is not the kind of nominee that we have this time. In the middle of a crisis, President Biden has chosen someone who is, in my opinion, both unqualified and unfit for this specific job. First, Attorney General Becerra is unqualified. Let me talk about that. As a doctor, I am deeply concerned that President Biden has nominated someone with no medical or public health experience. He is not a doctor, not a scientist, not a public health official. He is a trial lawyer and a career politician. A global pandemic is no time for on-the-job healthcare training. The Secretary must be ready on day one.…”