Kathleen Sebelius is Barack Obama's second nominee for the post of Secretary of Health and Human Services. His first choice, former Senate leader Tom Daschle withdrew after it was revealed he owed more than $100,000 in back taxes. The HHS post will be very important in the Obama Administration as a large part of the 2008 election and preceding presidential primaries focused on the issue of health care.
Until nominated by President Obama, Sebelius served as Governor of the state of Kansas, a position she was elected to in 2003 and re-elected to in 2006. While her term is not yet up, Governor Sebelius is limited by term limits and could not have run for another term as Governor. Sebelius was widely speculated to be on Obama's short list of Vice Presidential nominees and, once passed over for that post and in the first round of cabinet nominations, was expected to be a contender for one of Kansas' senate seats in the upcoming election.
Sebelius has served on the Executive Committee of the National Governors Association and has worked nationwide on issues of clean energy and health care. She has been married to her husband, a federal judge, for 34 years and has two sons. Sebelius' father was Governor of Ohio in the 1970s.
The Department of Health and Human Services is primarily responsible for ensuring Americans are healthy and have access to essential human services--such as food safety. The Department includes the Food and Drug Administration, the Administration for Children and Families, the Indian Health Services, the National Institutes of Health and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, among others. During the Obama Administration, the Department will be a key player in the debate over reforming health care, which may lead to wide scale changes in the sector, perhaps even nationalized health care. Sebelius, if confirmed for the post, will be a major player in shaping Americans' health care for decades to come.
"Governor Kathleen Sebelius Biography." Office of the Governor of Kansas. Retreived March 2, 2009 from <
http://www.governor.ks.gov/ab
out/bio.htm>.
Gasoline Prices and Housing Crisis:
The most controversial position that Governor Sebelius has taken is regarding abortion. Aside from that issue, Sebelius does not hold any especially radical views and espouses the opinions of the Obama Administration. The Department of Health and Human Services provides financial assistance for low-income families in addition to aiding Native Americans and the elderly - fluctuations in gasoline prices affect not only transportation costs but also the levels of assistance required. In general, the Obama Administration is expected to implement more social responsibility programs, which will inevitably lead to higher amounts of expenditures by the Department. As the housing crisis has now evolved into a full-blown recession, Sebelius can be expected to represent a voice of advocacy for the disadvantaged.
Homeland Security:
Although the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense oversee most counterterrorism operations, the Department of Health and Human Services is reponsible for the medical response for potential future acts of terrorism. Sebelius will be responsible, both directly and through indirect delegation of power, for the Global Health Security Initiative, which is an international agreement designed to enhance medical responses to biological, chemical, nuclear, and other forms of terrorism.
"United States Department of Health and Human Services Official Website" Retrieved March 3, 2009 < www.hhs.gov >
