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Revision as of 23:45, 6 June 2014 by Therequiembellishere (talk | contribs) (→Secretaries of Health and Human Services)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)| Secretary of Health and Human Services of the United States of America | |
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 Seal of the Department of Health and Human Services | |
 Flag of the Secretary of Health and Human Services | |
| U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | |
| Member of | Cabinet |
| Reports to | The president |
| Seat | Washington, D.C. |
| Appointer | The president with Senate advice and consent |
| Term length | No fixed term |
| Constituting instrument | Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1953 67 U.S.C. § 6301 42 U.S.C. § 3501 |
| Formation | August 3, 1979 |
| First holder | Patricia Roberts Harris |
| Succession | Twelfth (presidential line of succession) |
| Deputy | Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services |
| Salary | Executive Schedule, level 1 |
| Website | www |
The United States Secretary of Health and Human Services is the head of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, concerned with health matters. The Secretary is a member of the President's Cabinet. The office was formerly Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare.
In 1979, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was renamed the Department of Health and Human Services, and its education functions transferred to the new Department of Education. Patricia Roberts Harris headed the department before and after it was renamed.
Nominations to the office of Secretary of HHS are referred to the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over Medicare and Medicaid, before confirmation is considered by the full United States Senate.
Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act the role of the Secretary has been greatly expanded.
Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius was sworn in as Secretary of Health and Human Services by the United States Senate on April 29, 2009. On April 10, 2014, Sebelius announced that she would resign her position as Secretary of Health and Human Services. The date she is leaving has yet to be confirmed. Sylvia Mathews Burwell was nominated by President Obama on April 11, 2014, to be the next Secretary of Health and Human Services after the resignation of Kathleen Sebelius.
Duties
The duties of the secretary revolve around human conditions and concerns in the United States. This includes advising the president on matters of health, welfare, and income security programs. It strives to administer the Department of Health and Human Services to carry out approved programs and make the public aware of the objectives of the department.
Since the attacks of 9/11 and the subsequent anthrax attacks, the position has held a unique significance in the War on Terrorism. Upon his departure, then-Secretary Tommy Thompson remarked "I, for the life of me, cannot understand why the terrorists have not attacked our food supply, because it is so easy to do..." Scholars concur, arguing that an attack on food (particularly milk) could affect approximately 100,000 people.
The Department of Health and Human Services oversees 11 agencies including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Center for Disease Control (CDC), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
List of secretaries
- Parties
Living former secretaries
Health, education, and welfare
Health and human services
- Richard S. Schweiker
- Margaret M. Heckler
- Louis W. Sullivan
- Donna Shalala
- Tommy G. Thompson
- Michael O. Leavitt
- Kathleen Sebelius
References
- http://www.ropesgray.com/healthcarefraudabuse/
- Leavitt, Michael O. (February 18, 2011). "Health reform's central flaw: Too much power in one office". The Washington Post.
- United States Department of Health and Human Services-Secretary Kathleen Sebelius
- http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/hhs-secretary-kathleen-sebelius-resigning/
- Budget Chief Is Choice as New Health Secretary
- "The President's Cabinet". Ben's Guide. 2007-02-01. Retrieved 2007-11-15.
- Cox, Simon (2006-08-22). "US food supply 'vulnerable to attack'". BBC News. Retrieved 2007-11-15.
- http://www.hhs.gov/about/foa/opdivs/index.html Operating divisions of the HHS.
- ^ Harris was Secretary on May 4, 1980, when the office changed names from Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to Secretary of Health and Human Services. Because the department merely changed names, she did not need to be confirmed again, and her term continued uninterrupted.
External links
- United States Department of Health and Human Services Official Website
- Department Of Health And Human Services Meeting Notices and Rule Changes from The Federal Register RSS Feed
| U.S. presidential line of succession | ||
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| Preceded bySecretary of Labor Thomas Perez |
12th in line | Succeeded bySecretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan |
| United States secretaries of health and human services | ||
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| Secretaries of health, education, and welfare |   | |
| Secretaries of health and human services | ||
| United States Department of Health and Human Services | ||
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| Secretariat staff offices |
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| Public Health Service |
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| Human services agencies | ||
| Programs | ||
| Leaders of the United States federal executive departments | |
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