Senator Hassan Statement on President-Elect Biden’s Announcement to Nominate Xavier Becerra as Secretary of Health and Human Services

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and Senate Finance Committee, issued the following statement after President-elect Joe Biden announced today that he will nominate Xavier Becerra to be the next Secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services.

“Xavier Becerra has a proven record of fighting to protect Americans’ access to health care as both a member of Congress and as Attorney General of California. We have a lot of work ahead of us to address the unprecedented public health challenges amid this pandemic, including ensuring the widespread distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. Pre-dating the pandemic, the high cost of health care and the fentanyl, heroin, and opioid epidemic were some of the top challenges that Granite Staters faced, and the pandemic has only underscored the importance of continuing to tackle these issues. I look forward to talking to Attorney General Becerra about his approach to these challenges, and how we can continue to work together across the aisle to aisle to fight the pandemic, lower health care costs for hardworking families, and address the substance misuse epidemic.”

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