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Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the nominee to become the next secretary of the Department of Health & Human Services, got a warm reception from senators in her first confirmation hearing.
Ms. Burwell, who is the current director of the Office of Management and Budget, was widely praised for her competence, compassion, and willingness to work with lawmakers of both parties. She was endorsed by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who favors replacing the Affordable Care Act. He said that regardless of how senators feel about the health law, they should confirm Ms. Burwell, because she is well qualified to lead HHS and will be more responsive than the current secretary, Kathleen Sebelius.
Sen. McCain added that he tried to discourage her from accepting the "thankless" job. "Who would recommend their friend take over as captain of the Titanic after it hit the iceberg?" he said.
During the 2-hour hearing, lawmakers on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions took advantage of their first chance to question Ms. Burwell, querying her on a range of issues from the shortage of primary care providers to the speed of drug approvals at the Food and Drug Administration.
When asked about her approach to employing the controversial Independent Payment Advisory Board, Ms. Burwell said she hopes that it will never be triggered, because the government will keep health care costs under control.
And when it comes to the past failures of HHS in managing the healthcare.gov rollout, Ms. Burwell said she learned that there needs to be a different approach to handling information technology procurement and delivery. She pledged to ensure there was "ownership and accountability" in the IT operations in the future.
She also promised GOP senators that she would share information with them. "I am here to serve the American people," she said.
Ms. Burwell is not expected to have a tough confirmation battle. New Senate rules allow her to be confirmed with only a majority vote, and she received a unanimous confirmation vote for her current post last April. She will face questioning next from the Senate Finance Committee.
Ms. Burwell, a Rhodes Scholar from Hinton, W.Va., previously served as president of the Walmart Foundation and as president of the global development program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. During the Clinton administration, she worked as deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget.
mschneider@frontlinemedcom.com
On Twitter @maryellenny