February 24, 2021 - Washington - Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on Tuesday introduced California Attorney General Xavier Becerra before his Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions confirmation hearing to serve as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

            Video of the remarks is available here. High-resolution video of the remarks is available here.

            “I’m very proud to have known Xavier Becerra for years as both a friend and colleague. He’s spent decades serving California. He is currently the state’s attorney general and previously served 12 terms as a congressman from Los Angeles. 

            Mr. Becerra was the first in his family to receive a four-year college degree, earning his bachelor of arts in economics from my alma mater, Stanford University, and later his J.D. from Stanford Law School.

            As a member of the House of Representatives, he was a strong advocate for the health care of his constituents and fought to make health care affordable.

            And as California attorney general, he’s been a staunch defender of the Affordable Care Act, leading 20 states and the District of Columbia in defense of the Affordable Care Act before the Supreme Court.

            As part of his focus on protecting the health of Americans, Mr. Becerra worked with Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson, a Republican, to lead a bipartisan coalition of 43 attorneys general to reduce youth exposure to tobacco products like e-cigarettes, which continue to pose significant health risks to children.

            He has also worked on a bipartisan basis with multistate coalitions of attorneys general on other health priorities that align with the work of this committee, which include increasing access to COVID-19 treatments, as well as addressing the opioid epidemic and the considerable harm it has done to families.

            As our state’s attorney general, Xavier Becerra leads the nation’s second largest department of justice and has major experience leading large and diverse organizations. We believe this positions him to successfully lead the Department of Health and Human Services, which is the nation’s largest federal agency by budget.

            As secretary, he’ll lead the nation’s top health agency charged with enhancing the health and well-being of all Americans. He comes well equipped to do an excellent job, and personally I’m very proud of him.

            So it’s with great pleasure that I am here to both endorse and support his candidacy.”
Source: Senator Dianne Feinstein