04.11.14

Chairwoman Mikulski Welcomes Nomination of Sylvia Burwell to Serve as HHS Secretary

Date: April 11, 2014

Contact: Vince Morris (202) 224-1010

WASHINGTON— U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), Chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today welcomed President Obama's nomination of Sylvia Burwell, Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as the next Secretary of Health and Human Services.

“I am pleased with President Obama's nomination of OMB Director Sylvia Burwell to serve as the next Secretary of Health and Human Services. She is a respected leader, a smart problem solver and a skilled negotiator. She is pragmatic rather than ideological.

"I first got to know Sylvia during the Clinton Administration, but I also worked with her during her time at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and at the Wal-Mart Foundation. She was very involved in health care, an issue that I have devoted much of my career to. We share the same passion and goal for improving health care for every single American. As a skilled negotiator, she will know how we can all work together to move a health care agenda forward that benefits everyone.

"More recently, her work running the Office of Management and Budget has prepared her to step up to the challenge of directing HHS, an agency that needs a leader ready from day one. She played a pivotal role in helping Congress come to agreement to a budget deal last December. During that time, I talked with Sylvia regularly and appreciated her outreach to Congress.

"Sylvia's leadership style and management experience make her just the person to bring HHS into the future by building on the momentum of the Affordable Care Act, which now has more than 7.5 million Americans enrolled and is making life better for countless families.

"I am confident that Sylvia will be an outstanding Secretary. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate towards her speedy confirmation."