Sylvia Mathews Burwell meets with Senate
WASHINGTON – The first Senate nomination hearing for Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the prospective Health and Human Services secretary, offered no political fireworks or surprises Thursday.
President Barack Obama’s choice to replace outgoing department chief Kathleen Sebelius glided through nearly two hours of polite questioning from members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Gone was the hyperpartisan vitriol that characterized so many of Sebelius’ congressional appearances.
Burwell, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, received strong endorsements from committee Democrats and Republicans alike. But it was her introduction and opening statements of support from Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., that set the tone for the unusually cordial session.
Calling the post a thankless job, McCain said the department “needs competent leadership” and that he’d support Burwell’s nomination even though he opposed the Affordable Care Act. But he cautioned her not to become the new face of the health care law.
“After all, who would recommend their friend take over as captain of the Titanic after it hit the iceberg?” McCain joked.
Manchin described Burwell, a native of Hinton, West Virginia, as a “dear friend” whose career in public service was nurtured by her mother, Cleo Mathews, a schoolteacher who served as the town’s mayor, and her father, William Mathews, an optometrist.
“I recommend her wholeheartedly,” Manchin said.
Sebelius, who’s been in the Obama Cabinet since 2009, said last month that she was stepping down. She’d been a constant target of Republican attacks over the health care law, and she came in for considerable criticism last fall because of its rocky rollout.
Burwell, with her sister, brother-in-law, two friends and husband, Stephen, seated behind her, calmly fielded questions and told committee members of her formula for career success. Among other posts, the 49-year-old Burwell has served as the deputy chief of staff to President Bill Clinton, chief of staff to the treasury secretary and president of the Walmart Foundation.
“Whether in the public or private sector, working across a wide range of issues, I focus my work on three things: building strong relationships, building strong teams and delivering results,” she said.
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., questioned whether Burwell would be “the ambassador of Obamacare or whether you will be the secretary of Health and Human Services.”
Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., a longtime Sebelius family friend who eventually called for her resignation, asked whether Burwell supported expanding the law into a “single-payer” system, in which the federal government, rather than various insurers, pays for all health care costs.
“If I am confirmed, I will implement the law,” which supports a “market-based system,” Burwell replied. “I look forward to, if confirmed, making that system work as efficiently and effectively as possible.”