biography of xavier becerra

Xavier Becerra Biography

Birthday: January 26 , 1958 ( Aquarius )

Born In: Sacramento, California, United States

American lawyer and Democratic politician Xavier Becerra has been serving as the 25th US Secretary of Health and Human Services since March 2021 and is the first Latino to serve in the position. Becerra has previously been the Attorney General of California . Becerra has also served as a member of the US House of Representatives , representing the 30th, 31st, and 34th districts of California. A Stanford University and Stanford Law School alumnus, Becerra initially worked as a lawyer and then served as an administrative assistant for state senator Art Torres. In 1990, he took over as a Member of the California State Assembly from the 59th district, beginning his political journey. He has also been part of the Ways and Means Committee . His prime focus has been on laws related to public health. He has fought to save the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and has ensured affordable healthcare for senior citizens, low-income groups, women, and people of all races.

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Age: 66 Years , 66 Year Old Males

Spouse/Ex-: Carolina Reyes

father: Manuel Becerra

mother: Maria Becerra

children: Clarisa Reyes, Natalia Reyes, Olivia Reyes

Born Country: United States

Political Leaders American Men

U.S. State: California

education: Stanford University, University Of Salamanca

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Xavier Becerra was born on January 26, 1958, in Sacramento, California, US, to Mexican-origin working-class parents Maria Teresa and Manuel Guerrero Becerra. While his father was born in the US, his mother was from Mexico.

His father initially worked as a day laborer and then as a construction worker. Becerra grew up in a one-room apartment along with his three sisters. He initially attended the C.K. McClatchy High School , in Sacramento, from where he graduated in 1976.

From 1978 to 1979, Becerra studied at the University of Salamanca in Spain. In 1980, he obtained his BA degree in economics from Stanford University , becoming the first from his family to graduate college.

In 1984, Becerra earned his JD from Stanford Law School . The following year, he was admitted to the California state bar and started his legal practice.

In 1986, he began working for State Senator Art Torres as his Los Angeles administrative assistant. From 1987 to 1990, Becerra served the Office of the Attorney General of California as the Deputy Attorney General .

In December 1990, Xavier Becerra took over as a Member of the California State Assembly from the 59th district. In 1992, he won the election to the US House of Representatives , supported by Edward Roybal, his predecessor, who had retired after serving the Congress for 30 years.

Becerra won with 58% of the total votes. Thus, from 1993 to 2003, Becerra represented California's 30th Congressional District in the US House of Representatives . In the 1994 elections, Becerra was re-elected with 66 % of the total votes. From 2003 to 2013, he represented California's 31st Congressional District.

From 2013 to 2017, Becerra served as a Member of the US House , representing California's 34th Congressional District. In his capacity as a Congressman, he has supported social welfare legislation, especially laws associated with health-care issues.

He also worked as a superdelegate of the 2016 Democratic National Convention . One of 75 superdelegates from California, Becerra supported Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination.

From 2017 to 2021, he served as the 33rd Attorney General of California , after being appointed by California governor Jerry Brown. In December 2020, the Biden Transition declared that they would nominate Becerra for the position of the US Secretary of Health and Human Services .

In February 2021, both the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the Senate Finance Committee held confirmation hearings for Becerra. The Senate Finance Committee initially issued an unfavorable report on Becerra's nomination because of a tie vote of 14-14. However, the Senate eventually confirmed Becerra in March, 2021, by a vote of 50-49.

Thus, in 2021, Xavier Becerra was named the 25th US Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and thus scripted history as the first Latino to hold the office. Becerra assumed his duties on March 19, 2021, and his term ends on January 20, 2025.

Throughout his political career to date, he has been known for supporting civil rights. In the 103rd Congress , Becerra initiated a bill suggesting the creation of an independent civil commission for investigating civil rights violations on the US-Mexico border.

Becerra has also been a marked supporter of educational reforms and has worked to reduce the number of high-school dropouts. He has previously been part of committees on Education and Labor, Judiciary, and Science, Space and Technology .

He has supported campaign spending caps and has focused on immigration issues. In 1994, Becerra was part of a delegation sent to El Salvador to observe their elections.

He is also first Latino to be part of the Committee on Ways and Means and has chaired his party's caucus. He has also served as a Ranking Member of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security and as a Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Health .

As part of the Ways and Means Committee , Becerra has introduced legislation such as the 2007 Medicare Savings Programs Improvement Act . The act increased cost-sharing subsidies for low-income senior citizens who avail of both Medicare and Medicaid benefits, by increasing the resources they were eligible to receive.

He also supported the 2008 Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act , which required physicians performing imaging to be accredited and trained for better patient safety. Becerra also co-sponsored the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) , also known as Obamacare , which aligned with Medicare and lowered senior health costs.

As the Attorney General of California , Xavier Becerra promoted competition by countering various pharmaceutical companies that restricted competition. He also made such companies accountable for violations of laws regarding protection of the health and information of patients.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, he secured major safety precautions for frontline health care workers' rights. He also fought fraudsters tried taking advantage of people during the COVID-19 pandemic. He countered Medicare and Medicaid fraud, too.

Becerra combated the opioid crisis, made drug makers accountable, and won a $575 million antitrust settlement against one of California’s biggest health systems. He also fought a 3-year federal court battle to save the ACA and the benefits of about 133 million US citizens with pre-existing conditions.

Xavier Becerra is married to physician Carolina Reyes. A perinatologist (an obstetrician with expertise in high-risk pregnancy care), Reyes is a Stanford and Harvard Medical School alumna.

It is believed that Becerra had met Reyes at Stanford . Reyes has previously been part of the National Academy of Medicine and the board of directors of the California Health Care Foundation .

Reyes has also worked for equal access to healthcare for low-income people, women, and people of all races. The couple are parents to three daughters: Clarisa, Olivia, and Natalia.

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Who is Xavier Becerra? What his California record reveals about Biden’s top health pick

The Partisan Pugilist

As the GOP rushes to derail Becerra’s confirmation, expect to hear a lot about this Xavier Becerra.

“The famously partisan attorney general of California,” is how Republican Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell described him late last month. Indiana Sen. Mike Braun opted for “ringleader of the far-left’s resistance movement,” while Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton went with “partisan culture warrior” with a “zeal for lockdowns, radical politics and abuse of power.”

For evidence, Republicans point to Becerra’s courtroom record.

As California’s attorney general, Becerra sued the Trump administration more than twice as many times in four years as Texas sued the Obama White House in eight. That’s saying something. When Texas Gov. Greg Abbott was the state’s attorney general during the Obama years, he frequently, half-jokingly described his job this way: “I go into the office in the morning. I sue Barack Obama, and then I go home.”

Becerra’s 110 suits don’t include the flurry of Trump-unfriendly friends-of-court briefs and disapproving comment letters the state’s Department of Justice penned, nor other litigation it filed in opposition to the prior president. All of that has come with an estimated price tag of $41 million.

Attorney General Xavier Becerra gives a press conference at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area to announce the filing of a new lawsuit against the Trump administration for their rollback of the endangered species act on September 25, 2019. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Former Gov. Jerry Brown tapped Becerra to serve as state attorney general after Kamala Harris was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016. That was the same election that put Trump in the White House and California at odds with Washington. Brown said he was looking for a “ champion ” in Becerra to defend the state’s liberal policies and “aggressively combat climate change.”

Brown got one. More than half of the lawsuits Becerra’s filed against the Trump administration were about environmental policy.

As a bilingual son of Mexican immigrants and an aggressive, Stanford-educated litigator, Becerra also served as a symbolic response to the new Trump administration. In 2019, it was Becerra whom Democrats picked to give the Spanish-language rejoinder to the president’s State of the Union speech.

Other liberal bonafides: In 1996, he was one of only 67 members to vote against a bill defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman and in 2003, he voted against the Iraq War.

But it’s Becerra’s abortion record that most irks the right. As attorney general, he pursued criminal charges — first brought by his predessor, Harris — against anti-abortion activists who secretly recorded discussions with abortion providers.

His office sued the Trump administration for making it easier for doctors to opt out of providing certain medical procedures for reasons of conscience, for cutting funding to providers that offer abortions, and for allowing employers to exclude contraception from health insurance plans.

In that last case, the Catholic women’s institute Little Sisters of the Poor intervened. That put Becerra’s office in the awkward position of suing a bunch of nuns — something Republicans and conservative media outlets are gleefully touting.

The Secretive Top Cop

Becerra may be a hero to many on the left, but not to many police accountability and government transparency advocates.

At the heart of that mistrust has been the ongoing legal fight over a 2018 law requiring California law enforcement agencies to make certain misconduct and lethal force records publicly available.

When the First Amendment Coalition invoked that law in requesting such records about the California Department of Justice’s own law enforcement agents, Becerra’s office refused. The nonprofit sued and was soon joined by KQED . Legal tussling over which documents the department will release and when are ongoing.

And when investigative reporters used a routine public records request to obtain thousands of records detailing the criminal convictions of current and former police officers from across the state, the attorney general’s office threatened the reporters with criminal charges.

“I would have expected the Attorney General to set an example of transparency. To the contrary, the attorney general’s office was more resistant than many police agencies around the state.” david snyder, First Amendment Coalition

Becerra has long argued that his office was simply erring on the side of protecting officers’ privacy until the courts provided clarity on its legal obligation to release them.

Coalition executive director David Snyder said Becerra’s office “has really led the way in resisting police transparency.” Given his progressive reputation “I would have expected the Attorney General to set an example of transparency, within the bounds of the law, on an issue as crucial as this,” he said. “To the contrary, the attorney general’s office was more resistant than many police agencies around the state.”

Becerra has struggled to balance the demands of progressives with those of law enforcement members whose cooperation on the job — and support on the campaign trail — is valuable.

During his 2018 campaign to keep the job, Becerra refused to say whether his office should investigate police shootings or whether California should make it more difficult for police to justify using lethal force. The Legislature has since passed laws doing both without Becerra’s support.

During that same election, law enforcement unions spent nearly $300,000 supporting his campaign.

But in the wake of the anti-racist protests of 2020, Becerra stepped up his office’s police oversight efforts. He launched an external review of use-of-force guidelines at the long-troubled Vallejo Police Department and a civil rights investigation of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s office. He also supported legislation that would decertify police for certain types of serious, and a ban on chokeholds.

That’s been too little and too late for some critics: The editorial board of the San Jose Mercury News called Becerra “self-serving,” “hypocritical” and the state’s “top coddler of bad cops.”

The Health Care Wonk

Biden made revitalizing and expanding the Affordable Care Act a cornerstone of his presidential campaign. In Becerra — who was part of the House Democratic leadership while Obamacare was being written and who has filed more than half a dozen lawsuits in defense of the law — he has a subject-matter expert.

But as soon as Biden nominated Becerra, many reporters and political foes zeroed in on a different part of Becerra’s political resume.

As a freshman member of Congress in 1993, Becerra cosponsored a bill to create a federally-funded health insurance program for all Americans. “I’ve been a single-payer advocate all of my life,” he told Kaiser Health News in 2019.

That history makes Becerra a notable choice for Biden, whose opposition to a government-funded health insurance program for all Americans was the clearest divide between him and his more progressive Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Democratic Party’s presidential primary.

California’s single-payer advocates say they look forward to having an ally guiding national health policy.

“In his attorney general post, he was a fighter for the working class — for labor, for Dreamers,” said Stephanie Roberson, a lobbyist with the California Nurses Association, one of the most vocal supporters of implementing a single-payer health insurance system in California. “I imagine that he will take that fighting spirit to the federal level and to fight for all the things that he believes in, which includes health care.”

But some legal experts say Becerra’s most lasting impact on California health policy will be his use of antitrust laws to go after big hospital chains and pharmaceutical giants.

“What I really appreciated was he stuck to his guns and to his principles — in this political environment, that doesn’t always happen.” assemblymember jim wood, co-writer of the health industry merger bill

California law gives the state Department of Justice wide-ranging authority to block mergers between non-profit hospitals and to sue to ensure that providers aren’t abusing their market power to jack up prices.

One of Becerra’s first moves as attorney general was to consolidate the state Justice Department’s health care antitrust work. In 2018, the new unit sued Sutter Health, securing a $575 million settlement and an agreement from the Sacramento-based hospital chain to end “all-or-nothing” contracting practices that would force insurers to purchase coverage at all of the chain’s hospitals and clinics, even if they aren’t needed or if cheaper local alternatives exist. Becerra’s office also blocked the consolidation of two other northern California hospital groups and imposed strict conditions on a Southern California deal.

Said Glenn Melnick, a health economist at the University of Southern California: “He’s developed a good understanding of health care markets and the role of competition and so I’m hopeful he’ll get a chance to apply that on a national basis.”

Becerra also sponsored legislation to expand the state Justice Department’s power to police health industry mergers and to ban pharmaceutical companies from paying other drugmakers to delay producing generic versions of patented medication. The merger bill, fiercely opposed by lobbyists representing doctors and hospitals, died. But the anti-“pay-for-delay” legislation became law in 2019.

“What I really appreciated was he stuck to his guns and to his principles — in this political environment, that doesn’t always happen,” said Assemblymember Jim Wood, a Healdsburg Democrat who co-wrote the bill with Becerra’s office.

The Rising Star

When Michigan Rep. Sandy Levin stepped down as top Democrat on the influential Ways and Means Committee in 2016, he knew which up-and-coming congressman he wanted to take his spot.

“I was worried about Xavier not having a role,” said Levin, who retired from Congress in 2019. “Xavier needed to have a role…that’s how much I admired him.”

People have been predicting bigger things for Becerra much of his life. At McClatchy High School in Sacramento, a fellow student recalled a kid — the first in his family to go to college then on his way to Stanford — who was clearly “going somewhere.” After law school, Becerra worked in the east Los Angeles office of Demoratic state Sen. Art Torres before becoming a state deputy attorney general, legislator and then a member of Congress for a quarter-century.

When “The Hill” publication rated him the 13th hardest working member of Congress , Becerra humble-bragged his familiarity with the janitorial staff — so frequent were his late nights at work. “I have nothing to go back to at my condo, so I stay and work,” he said.

But with a gerontocracy holding on to top Demoratic leadership positions, Becerra was widely expected to be a cabinet pick in a Hillary Clinton White House. Alas.

Becerra returned to California to become the attorney general where he developed his reputation as a partisan brawler. But Levin, who calls Becerra a friend, said he does not remember him that way in Congress.

“He was a thoughtful activist. He didn’t thump the table, but he thought through issues and then he acted,” qualities were well suited to getting work done in Congress, he said. And if Becerra was a particularly aggressive partisan in Sacramento, it’s because those qualities suited that “different role as attorney general.”

“You have to put the two together,” said Levin. “That’s who Xavier is.”

more on becerra

Becerra sues Amazon to cooperate with California’s COVID-19 safety investigation

California’s attorney general sued to get Amazon to comply with investigative subpoenas into the e-commerce giant’s coronavirus prevention efforts.

AG Becerra takes ballot box fight to court

Becerra escalated a ballot box battle with the California Republican Party, asking the courts to force the GOP to hand over subpoenaed information.

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Xavier becerra.

Nonpartisan

2021 - Present

Compensation

(2012) $1,753,030

Stanford University, 1980

Stanford University, 1984

Personal Facebook

Xavier Becerra is the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. He assumed office on March 19, 2021. His current term ends on January 20, 2025.

Becerra ( Democratic Party ) ran for re-election for Attorney General of California . He won in the general election on November 6, 2018.

President Joe Biden (D) identified Becerra as his nominee for secretary of health and human services on December 7, 2020. [1] The Senate confirmed Becerra on March 18, 2021, by a vote of 50-49. [2] Click here for more information about his confirmation process .

Becerra was first appointed attorney general of California by Gov. Jerry Brown (D). State term limits require the attorney general to serve no more than two consecutive terms.

Becerra previously served as a Democratic member of the U.S. House , representing California's 34th Congressional District , from 2013 to 2017. He also represented California's 31st Congressional District from 2003 to 2013 and California's 30th Congressional District from 1993 to 2003. Prior to his career in the U.S. House, Becerra served in the California State Assembly from 1990 to 1992.

Becerra was a superdelegate to the 2016 Democratic National Convention from California. Becerra was one of 75 superdelegates from the state. Superdelegates to the 2016 Democratic National Convention were not bound by the results of their state’s primary or caucus to support a specific presidential candidate. Becerra supported Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination.

Below is an abbreviated outline of Becerra's academic, professional, and political career: [3]

2021-Present: U.S. secretary of health and human services
2017-2021: Attorney general of California
2013-2017: U.S. representative from California's 34th Congressional District
2003-2013: U.S. representative from California's 31st Congressional District
1993-2003: U.S. representative from California's 30th Congressional District
1990-1992: California State Assembly
1987-1990: Deputy attorney general of California
1986: Staff for California Sen. Art Torres (D)
1984: Graduated from Stanford University School of Law with J.D.
1980: Graduated from Stanford University with B.A.

Nomination for secretary of health and human services




a
a
a		and
a
a
a

The Biden Transition announced on December 7, 2020, that Becerra would be nominated for secretary of health and human services.

The Biden Transition said of Becerra in a press release, "A former member of Congress who helped drive passage of the Affordable Care Act, Becerra led the defense of the law in the Supreme Court last month. If confirmed, Becerra will be the first Latino to lead the Department of Health and Human Services." [4]

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions held a confirmation hearing for Becerra for February 23, 2021. The Senate Finance Committee also held a confirmation hearing on February 24, 2021.

The Senate Finance Committee did not issue a favorable report on Becerra's nomination due to a tie vote of 14-14 that ran along party lines. On March 11, 2021, the Senate agreed to discharge Becerra's nomination from the committee by a vote of 51-48. The Senate confirmed Becerra on March 18, 2021, by a vote of 50-49. [5] [6] [7]


Party	Votes for	Votes against	Not voting
	47	0	1
	1	49	0
	2	0	0
	50	49	1

Click on the following table to view the full roll call.


Alabama	Republican	No
Alabama	Republican	No
Alaska	Republican	No
Alaska	Republican	No
Arizona	Democrat	Yes
Arizona	Democrat	Yes
Arkansas	Republican	No
Arkansas	Republican	No
California	Democrat	Yes
California	Democrat	Yes
Colorado	Democrat	Yes
Colorado	Democrat	Yes
Connecticut	Democrat	Yes
Connecticut	Democrat	Yes
Delaware	Democrat	Yes
Delaware	Democrat	Yes
Florida	Republican	No
Florida	Republican	No
Georgia	Democrat	Yes
Georgia	Democrat	Yes
Hawaii	Democrat	Not voting
Hawaii	Democrat	Yes
Idaho	Republican	No
Idaho	Republican	No
Illinois	Democrat	Yes
Illinois	Democrat	Yes
Indiana	Republican	No
Indiana	Republican	No
Iowa	Republican	No
Iowa	Republican	No
Kansas	Republican	No
Kansas	Republican	No
Kentucky	Republican	No
Kentucky	Republican	No
Louisiana	Republican	No
Louisiana	Republican	No
Maine	Republican	Yes
Maine	Independent	Yes
Maryland	Democrat	Yes
Maryland	Democrat	Yes
Massachusetts	Democrat	Yes
Massachusetts	Democrat	Yes
Michigan	Democrat	Yes
Michigan	Democrat	Yes
Minnesota	Democrat	Yes
Minnesota	Democrat	Yes
Mississippi	Republican	No
Mississippi	Republican	No
Missouri	Republican	No
Missouri	Republican	No
Montana	Republican	No
Montana	Democrat	Yes
Nebraska	Republican	No
Nebraska	Republican	No
Nevada	Democrat	Yes
Nevada	Democrat	Yes
New Hampshire	Democrat	Yes
New Hampshire	Democrat	Yes
New Jersey	Democrat	Yes
New Jersey	Democrat	Yes
New Mexico	Democrat	Yes
New Mexico	Democrat	Yes
New York	Democrat	Yes
New York	Democrat	Yes
North Carolina	Republican	No
North Carolina	Republican	No
North Dakota	Republican	No
North Dakota	Republican	No
Ohio	Republican	No
Ohio	Democrat	Yes
Oklahoma	Republican	No
Oklahoma	Republican	No
Oregon	Democrat	Yes
Oregon	Democrat	Yes
Pennsylvania	Republican	No
Pennsylvania	Democrat	Yes
Rhode Island	Democrat	Yes
Rhode Island	Democrat	Yes
South Carolina	Republican	No
South Carolina	Republican	No
South Dakota	Republican	No
South Dakota	Republican	No
Tennessee	Republican	No
Tennessee	Republican	No
Texas	Republican	No
Texas	Republican	No
Utah	Republican	No
Utah	Republican	No
Vermont	Democrat	Yes
Vermont	Independent	Yes
Virginia	Democrat	Yes
Virginia	Democrat	Yes
Washington	Democrat	Yes
Washington	Democrat	Yes
West Virginia	Republican	No
West Virginia	Democrat	Yes
Wisconsin	Republican	No
Wisconsin	Democrat	Yes
Wyoming	Republican	No
Wyoming	Republican	No

General election

General election for attorney general of california.

Incumbent Xavier Becerra defeated Steven C. Bailey in the general election for Attorney General of California on November 6, 2018.


✔	(D)	7,790,743
	(R)	4,465,587

	are . The results have been certified.	Total votes: 12,256,330 (100.00% precincts reporting)
survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for attorney general of california.

Incumbent Xavier Becerra and Steven C. Bailey defeated Dave Jones and Eric Early in the primary for Attorney General of California on June 5, 2018.


✔	(D)	3,024,611
✔	(R)	1,615,859
	(D)	1,017,427
	(R)	943,071

	are . The results have been certified.	Total votes: 6,600,968
survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Democratic. Incumbent Xavier Becerra (D) defeated Adrienne Nicole Edwards (D) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Both candidates advanced past the top-two primary on June 7, 2016, by default. [8] [9]


	Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Democratic		77.2%	122,842
Democratic	Adrienne Nicole Edwards	22.8%	36,314


	Vote %	Votes
Democratic	78.6%	71,982
Democratic	21.4%	19,624

Becerra won re-election to the U.S. House in 2014. He and Adrienne Nicole Edwards (D) advanced past the blanket primary on June 3, 2014. [10] Becerra went on to defeat Edwards in the general election on November 4, 2014. [11]


	Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Democratic		72.5%	44,697
Democratic	Adrienne Nicole Edwards	27.5%	16,924


	Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Democratic		73.9%	22,878
Democratic		14.5%	4,474
Peace and Freedom	Howard Johnson	11.6%	3,587

Becerra won re-election in the 2012 election for the U.S. House , representing California's 34th District as a Democrat. [12] He was displaced from the 31st District by redistricting. He and Stephen Smith (R) advanced past the blanket primary on June 5, 2012, defeating Howard Johnson (Peace and Freedom). Becerra went on to defeat Smith in the general election on November 6, 2012. [13] [14]


Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic		85.6%	120,367
	Republican	Stephen Smith	14.4%	20,223

"Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"


Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	77.3%	27,939
	16%	5,793
Howard Johnson (P&F)	6.7%	2,407

Full history

On November 2, 2010, Xavier Becerra won re-election to the . He defeated Stephen Smith (R) and Sal Genovese (Write-in) in the general election.


Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic		83.8%	76,363
	Republican	Stephen Smith	16.2%	14,740
	Write-in	Sal Genovese	0%	3

On November 4, 2008, Xavier Becerra won re-election to the United States House . He ran unopposed in the general election. [16]


Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic		100%	110,955

On November 7, 2006, Xavier Becerra won re-election to the United States House . He ran unopposed in the general election. [17]


Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic		100%	64,952

On November 2, 2004, Xavier Becerra won re-election to the United States House . He defeated Luis Vega (R) in the general election. [18]


Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic		80.2%	89,363
	Republican	Luis Vega	19.8%	22,048

On November 5, 2002, Xavier Becerra won re-election to the United States House . He defeated Luis Vega (R) in the general election. [19]


Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic		81.2%	54,569
	Republican	Luis Vega	18.8%	12,674

On November 7, 2000, Xavier Becerra won re-election to the United States House . He defeated Tony Goss (R), Jason Heath (L) and Gary Hearne (Natural Law) in the general election. [20]


Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic		83.3%	83,223
	Republican	Tony Goss	11.8%	11,788
	Libertarian	Jason Heath	2.9%	2,858
	Natural Law	Gary Hearne	2.1%	2,051

On November 3, 1998, Xavier Becerra won re-election to the United States House . He defeated Patricia Parker (R) in the general election. [21]


Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic		81.2%	58,230
	Republican	Patricia Parker	18.8%	13,441

On November 5, 1996, Xavier Becerra won re-election to the United States House . He defeated Patricia Parker (R), Pam Probst (L), Shirley Mandel (P&F) and Rosemary Watson-Frith (Natural Law) in the general election. [22]


Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic		72.3%	58,283
	Republican	Patricia Parker	18.7%	15,078
	Libertarian	Pam Probst	3.4%	2,759
	Peace and Freedom	Shirley Mandel	3.1%	2,499
	Natural Law	Rosemary Watson-Frith	2.4%	1,971

On November 8, 1994, Xavier Becerra won re-election to the United States House . He defeated David Ramirez (R) and R. William Weilburg (L) in the general election. [23]


Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic		66.2%	43,943
	Republican	David Ramirez	28.2%	18,741
	Libertarian	R. William Weilburg	5.6%	3,741

On November 3, 1992, Xavier Becerra won election to the United States House . He defeated Morry Waksberg (R), Blase Bonpane (G), Elizabeth Nakano (P&F) and Andrew Consalvo (L) in the general election. [24]


Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic		58.4%	48,800
	Republican	Morry Waksberg	24%	20,034
	Green	Blase Bonpane	7.6%	6,315
	Peace and Freedom	Elizabeth Nakano	7.4%	6,173
	Libertarian	Andrew Consalvo	2.7%	2,221

Campaign finance summary

Xavier Becerra campaign contribution history
Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2016	U.S. House, California District 34	Won	$1,849,761	N/A**
2014	U.S. House (California, District 34)	Won	$1,852,781	N/A**
Grand total			$3,702,542	N/A**
Sources: ,

Congressional career

Committee assignments.

Becerra served on the following committees: [25]

Subcommittee on Social Security , Ranking Member

Becerra served on the following committees: [26]

Subcommittee on Social Security, Ranking Member

Becerra served on the following committees:

United States Congress Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction
Subcommittee on Oversight

Key votes

The first session of the enacted into law six out of the 2,616 introduced bills (0.2 percent). Comparatively, the had 1.3 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the first session. In the second session, the enacted 133 out of 3,159 introduced bills (4.2 percent). Comparatively, the had 7.0 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the second session. For more information pertaining to Becerra's voting record in the 114th Congress, please see the below sections.

On June 12, 2015, the rejected the measure in —by a vote of 126-302. is a federal program providing American workers displaced by foreign trade agreements with job training and services. The measure was packaged with , also known as fast-track authority. TPA is a legislative procedure that allows Congress to define "U.S. negotiating objectives and spells out a detailed oversight and consultation process for during trade negotiations. Under TPA, Congress retains the authority to review and decide whether any proposed U.S. trade agreement will be implemented," according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative. Becerra was one of 144 Democrats to vote against the bill.

On June 12, 2015, the passed the measure in —by a vote of 219-211. TPA gives the fast-track authority to negotiate trade agreements sent to without the opportunity for amendment or filibuster. Although the House approved TPA, it was a largely symbolic vote given the measure was part of a package trade bill including , which was rejected earlier the same day. Becerra was one of 157 to vote against the measure.

After the and did not pass the together on June 12, 2015, representatives voted to authorize TPA alone as an amendment to —on June 18, 2015. The amendment passed by a vote of 218-208, with all voting members of the House maintaining his or her original position on TPA except for (R-Fla.). Becerra was one of 158 to vote against the amendment.

The passed —on June 25, 2015, by a vote of 286-138. The packaged in this bill after the House rejected the TAA measure in . Along with , which passed as part of —TAA became law on June 29, 2015.

On May 15, 2015, the passed —by a vote of 269-151. The bill "authorizes FY2016 appropriations and sets forth policies for Department of Defense (DOD) programs and activities, including military personnel strengths. It does not provide budget authority, which is provided in subsequent appropriations legislation." Becerra voted with 142 other and eight against the bill. The Senate passed the bill on June 18, 2015, by a vote of 71-25. President on October 22, 2015.

On November 5, 2015, the passed —by a vote of 370-58. The second version of the $607 billion national defense bill included $5 billion in cuts to match what was approved in the budget and language preventing the closure of the Guantanamo Bay military prison. Becerra voted with 48 other and nine against the bill. On November 10, 2015, the passed the bill by a vote of 91-3, and President signed it into law on November 25, 2015.

On April 30, 2015, the voted to approve , a congressional budget proposal for fiscal year 2016, by a vote of 226-197. The non-binding resolution was designed to create 12 appropriations bills to fund the government. All 183 who voted, including Becerra, voted against the resolution.

On October 28, 2015, the passed —by a vote of 266-167. The bill increased military and domestic spending levels and suspended the debt ceiling until March 2017. Becerra voted with 186 and 79 in favor of the bill. It passed the on October 30, 2015. President signed it into law on November 2, 2015.

On May 14, 2015, the approved —by a vote of 400-25. The bill required President to submit the details of the nuclear deal with Iran for congressional review. had 60 days to review the deal and vote to approve, disapprove, or take no action on the deal. During the review period, sanctions on Iran could not be lifted. Becerra voted with 176 to approve the bill.

On September 11, 2015, the rejected —by a vote of 162-269. The legislation proposed approving . Becerra voted with 161 for the bill.

On September 11, 2015, the approved —by a vote of 247-186. HR 3460 prohibited "the President, prior to January 21, 2017, from: limiting the application of specified sanctions on Iran or refraining from applying any such sanctions; or removing a foreign person (including entities) listed in Attachments 3 or 4 to Annex II of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPA) from the list of designated nationals and blocked persons maintained by the Office of Foreign Asset Control of the Department of the Treasury." Becerra voted with 185 against the bill.

On September 10, 2015, the passed —by a vote of 245-186. Section 2 of the required the president to submit all materials related to the nuclear agreement for congressional review. House introduced the resolution because two agreements between the International Atomic Energy Agency and Iran were not submitted to Congress. Becerra voted with 185 against the resolution.

On October 27, 2015, the passed —by a vote of 313-118. The bill proposed reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank and allowing it to resume offering assistance in the form of loans and insurance to foreign companies that wanted to buy U.S. goods. Becerra voted with 185 and 127 in favor of the bill.

On May 13, 2015, the passed —by a vote of 338-88. The legislation revised —by ending the bulk collection of metadata under Sec. 215 of the act, requiring increased reporting from the , and requiring the use of "a specific selection term as the basis for national security letters that request information from wire or electronic communication service providers, financial institutions, or consumer reporting agencies." Becerra voted with 141 and 196 to approve the legislation. It became law on June 2, 2015.

On May 13, 2015, the passed —by a vote of 242-184. The bill proposed prohibiting abortions from being performed after a fetus was determined to be 20 weeks or older. The bill proposed exceptions in cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother. Becerra voted with 179 against the bill.

On April 23, 2015, the passed —by a vote of 355-63. The bill proposed creating an information sharing program that would allow federal agencies and private entities to share information about cyber threats. It also proposed including liability protections for companies. Becerra voted with 43 and 19 against the bill.

On April 22, 2015, the passed —by a vote of 307-116. The bill proposed procedures that would allow federal agencies and private entities to share information about cyber threats. Becerra voted with 78 and 37 against the bill.

On November 19, 2015, the passed —by a vote of 289-137. The bill proposed instituting additional screening processes for refugees from Iraq and Syria who applied for admission to the U.S. Becerra voted with 134 and two against the bill.

The second session of the enacted into law 224 out of the 3215 introduced bills (7 percent). Comparatively, the had 4.2 percent of introduced bills enacted into law in the second session. For more information pertaining to Becerra's voting record in the 113th Congress, please see the below sections.

Becerra voted against HR 1960 - the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014. The bill passed the House on June 14, 2013, with a vote of 315 - 108. Both parties were somewhat divided on the vote.

Becerra did not vote on HR 2217 - the DHS Appropriations Act of 2014. The bill passed the House on June 6, 2013, with a vote of 245 - 182 that was largely along party lines.

CISPA (2013)

Becerra voted against HR 624 - the CISPA (2013). The bill passed the House on April 18, 2013, with a vote of 288 - 127. The bill permitted federal intelligence agencies to share cybersecurity intelligence and information with private entities and utilities. The bill was largely supported by Republicans, but divided the Democratic Party.

On January 29, 2014, the approved the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013, , known as the . The bill passed by a vote of 251-166. The nearly 1,000-page bill provides for the reform and continuation of agricultural and other programs of the Department of Agriculture through 2018. The $1 trillion bill expanded crop insurance for farmers by $7 billion over the next decade and created new subsidies for rice and peanut growers that would kick in when prices drop. However, cuts to the food stamp program cut an average of $90 per month for 1.7 million people in 15 states. Becerra voted with 102 other against the bill.

On January 15, 2014, the -run approved , a $1.1 trillion spending bill to fund the government through September 30, 2014. The House voted 359-67 for the 1,582 page bill, with 64 and three voting against the bill. The omnibus package included 12 annual spending bills to fund federal operations. It included a 1 percent increase in the paychecks of federal workers and military personnel, a $1 billion increase in Head Start funding for early childhood education, reduced funding to the Internal Revenue Service and the Environmental Protection Agency, and the protection of the from any drastic cuts. Becerra joined with the majority of the party and voted in favor of the bill.

On September 30, 2013, the House passed a final stopgap spending bill before the shutdown went into effect. The bill included a one-year delay of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate and would have also stripped the bill of federal subsidies for congressional members and staff. It passed through the House with a vote of 228-201. At 1 a.m. on October 1, 2013, one hour after the shutdown officially began, the House voted to move forward with going to a conference. In short order, Sen. rejected the call to conference. Becerra voted against the stopgap spending bill that would have delayed the individual mandate.

The shutdown ended on October 16, 2013, when the House took a vote on HR 2775 after it was approved by the . The bill to reopen the government lifted the $16.7 trillion debt limit and funded the government through January 15, 2014. Federal employees also received retroactive pay for the shutdown period. The only concession made by was to require income verification for subsidies. The House passed the legislation shortly after the Senate, by a vote of 285-144, with all 144 votes against the legislation coming from members. Becerra voted for HR 2775.

Becerra voted against HR 273 - Eliminates the 2013 Statutory Pay Adjustment for Federal Employees. The bill passed the House on February 15, 2013, with a vote of 261 - 154. The bill called for stopping a 0.5 percent pay increase for all federal workers from taking effect. The raises were projected to cost $11 billion over 10 years.

Becerra did not vote on House Amendment 136 - Prohibits the Enforcement of the Immigration Executive Order. The amendment was adopted by the House on June 6, 2013, with a vote of 224 - 201. The purpose of the amendment as stated on the official text is to "prohibit the use of funds to finalize, implement, administer, or enforce the Morton Memos." These memos would have granted administrative amnesty to certain individuals residing in the United States without legal status. The vote largely followed party lines.

Becerra voted against House Amendment 450 - Requires Congressional Approval for Any Rules Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The amendment was adopted by the House on August 2, 2013, with a vote of 227-185. The amendment requires that all changes to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act be approved by Congress before taking effect. The vote was largely along party lines.

Becerra voted against HR 1797 - Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. The resolution passed the House on June 18, 2013, with a vote of 228 - 196 that largely followed party lines. The purpose of the bill was to ban abortions that would take place 20 or more weeks after fertilization.

Becerra voted against the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. He was one of 16 Democrats who voted against the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257 - 167 vote on January 1, 2013.

Personal Gain Index

The Personal Gain Index (U.S. Congress) is a two-part measurement that illustrates the extent to which members of the U.S. Congress have prospered during their tenure as public servants. It consists of two different metrics:

Changes in Net Worth
The Donation Concentration Metric

PGI: Change in net worth

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org , Becerra's net worth as of 2012 was estimated between $705,062 and $2,800,998. That averages to $1,753,030 , which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic representatives in 2012 of $5,700,168.36. Becerra ranked as the 160th most wealthy representative in 2012. [92] Between 2004 and 2012, Becerra's calculated net worth [93] increased by an average of 13 percent per year. Between 2004 and 2012, the average annual percentage increase for a member of Congress was 15.4 percent. [94]

Xavier Becerra Yearly Net Worth
Year	Average Net Worth
2004	$865,402
2012	$1,753,030


Comparatively, the experienced a median yearly in net worth of .

PGI: Donation Concentration Metric

Filings required by the Federal Election Commission report on the industries that give to each candidate. Using campaign filings and information calculated by OpenSecrets.org , Ballotpedia calculated the percentage of donations by industry received by each incumbent over the course of his or her career (or 1989 and later, if elected prior to 1988). Becerra received the most donations from individuals and PACs employed by the Health Professionals industry.

From 1991-2014, 28.05 percent of Becerra's career contributions came from the top five industries as listed below. [97]


	$10,976,878
	$9,644,928

	$1,018,090
	$557,800
	$543,604
	$521,417
	$437,900

Ideology and leadership

Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack , Becerra was a rank-and-file Democrat as of July 2014. This was the same rating Becerra received in June 2013. [98]

Like-minded colleagues

The website OpenCongress tracks the voting records of each member to determine with whom he or she votes most and least often. The results include a member from each party. [99]

Becerra most often votes with:

Becerra least often votes with:

Lifetime voting record

According to the website GovTrack, Becerra missed 1,010 of 15,140 roll call votes from January 1993 to September 2015. This amounted to 6.7 percent, which was higher than the median of 2.2 percent among representatives as of September 2015. [100]

Congressional staff salaries

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Becerra paid his congressional staff a total of $1,125,423 in 2011. He ranked 38th on the list of the highest paid Democratic representative staff salaries and ranked 46th overall of the highest paid representative staff salaries in 2011. Overall, California ranked 5th in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011. [101]

National Journal vote ratings

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted in the previous year. Click the link above for the full ratings of all members of Congress.

Becerra ranked 35th in the liberal rankings in 2013. [102]

Becerra ranked 20th in the liberal rankings in 2012. [103]

Becerra ranked 58th in the liberal rankings in 2011. [104]

Voting with party

The website OpenCongress tracks how often members of Congress vote with the majority of the chamber caucus.

Becerra voted with the Democratic Party 95.7 percent of the time, which ranked 12th among the 204 House Democratic members as of July 2014. [105]

Becerra voted with the Democratic Party 97.0 percent of the time, which ranked 27th among the 201 House Democratic members as of June 2013. [106]

2016 Democratic National Convention







Delegates to the DNC 2016
• • •

2 Nomination for secretary of health and human services
3.5 Full history
4 Campaign finance summary
5.1.1.1 2015-2016
5.1.1.2 2013-2014
5.1.1.3 2011-2012
5.2.1.1.1 Trade Act of 2015
5.2.1.1.2 Defense spending authorization
5.2.1.1.3 2016 Budget proposal
5.2.1.1.4 2015 budget
5.2.1.2.1 Iran nuclear deal
5.2.1.2.2 Export-Import Bank
5.2.1.3.1 USA FREEDOM Act of 2015
5.2.1.3.2 Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act
5.2.1.3.3 Cyber security
5.2.1.4 Immigration
5.2.2 113th Congress
5.2.3.1 NDAA
5.2.3.2 DHS Appropriations
5.2.3.3 CISPA (2013)
5.2.4.1 Farm bill
5.2.4.2 2014 Budget
5.2.4.3 Government shutdown
5.2.4.4 Federal Pay Adjustment Act
5.2.5.1 Morton Memos Prohibition
5.2.6.1 Healthcare Reform Rules
5.2.7.1 Abortion
5.2.8.1 Fiscal Cliff
5.3.1 PGI: Change in net worth
5.3.2 PGI: Donation Concentration Metric
5.4.1 Ideology and leadership
5.4.2 Like-minded colleagues
5.4.3 Lifetime voting record
5.4.4 Congressional staff salaries
5.4.5.1 2013
5.4.5.2 2012
5.4.5.3 2011
5.4.6.1 2014
5.4.6.2 2013
6.1 What is a superdelegate?
6.2 California primary results
6.3 Delegate allocation
9 External links
10 Footnotes

Becerra was a superdelegate to the 2016 Democratic National Convention from California . [107] Becerra was one of 75 superdelegates from California. Superdelegates to the 2016 Democratic National Convention were not bound by the results of their state’s primary or caucus to support a specific presidential candidate. Becerra supported Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. [108] Clinton formally won the Democratic nomination for president on July 26, 2016 . [109]

What is a superdelegate?

Superdelegates in 2016 were automatic delegates to the Democratic National Convention, meaning that, unlike regular delegates, they were not elected to this position. Also unlike regular delegates, they were not required to pledge their support to any presidential candidate, and they were not bound by the results of their state's presidential primary election or caucus. In 2016, superdelegates included members of the Democratic National Committee, Democratic members of Congress, Democratic governors, and distinguished party leaders, including former presidents and vice presidents. All superdelegates were free to support any presidential candidate of their choosing at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. [110]

California primary results

In California's Democratic primary— which took place on June 7, 2016 —475 pledged delegates were at stake, more than any other state in the 2016 Democratic nominating season. California's delegate haul represented almost 20 percent of the 2,383 delegates needed to secure the Democratic nomination and almost 12 percent of the 4,038 pledged delegates up for grabs in 2016. Polling from March and April showed Hillary Clinton with a lead in California over rival Bernie Sanders , ranging from six to 14 points. In 2008, Clinton won the state over Barack Obama 52 to 43 percent. California's pledged delegates were allocated on a proportional basis . California's 73 superdelegates were not required to adhere to the results of the June 7 primary election.


Candidate	Vote %	Votes	Delegates
	54.2%	2,580,865	269
Bernie Sanders	44.9%	2,135,718	206
Roque De La Fuente	0.2%	7,757	0
Henry Hewes	0.1%	6,997	0
Keith Judd	0.1%	6,771	0
Michael Steinberg	0.2%	10,247	0
Willie Wilson	0.2%	11,260	0

and

Delegate allocation

California had 551 delegates at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Of this total, 476 were pledged delegates . National party rules stipulated how Democratic delegates in all states were allocated. Pledged delegates were allocated to a candidate in proportion to the votes he or she received in a state's primary or caucus. A candidate was eligible to receive a share of the state's pledged delegates if he or she won at least 15 percent of the votes cast in the primary or caucus. There were three types of pledged Democratic delegates: congressional district delegates, at-large delegates, and party leaders and elected officials (PLEOs). Congressional district delegates were allocated proportionally based on the primary or caucus results in a given district. At-large and PLEO delegates were allocated proportionally based on statewide primary results. [111] [112]

Seventy-five party leaders and elected officials served as unpledged delegates . These delegates were not required to adhere to the results of a state's primary or caucus. [111] [113]

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.

Becerra and his wife, Carolina, have two children.



	• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

United States House of Representatives
United States congressional delegations from California
California's 34th Congressional District elections, 2014
California's 34th Congressional District

External links

Search Google News for this topic
U.S. Congress
CongressMerge
Project Vote Smart
FEC contributions
OpenSecrets.org
LegiStorm.com
On The Issues
Washington Post
↑ Biden-Harris Transition , "President-elect Joe Biden Announces Key Members of Health Team," December 7, 2020
↑ Los Angeles Times , "California’s Xavier Becerra confirmed as Health and Human Services secretary," March 18, 2021
↑ Biographical Directory of the United States Congress , "Xavier Becerra," accessed November 12, 2011
↑ 4President , "President-elect Joe Biden Announces Key Members of Health Team," December 7, 2020
↑ Senate Finance Committee , "Results of Executive Session to Consider Favorably Reporting Pending Nominations," March 3, 2021
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↑ California Secretary of State , "Certified List of Candidates for Voter-Nominated Offices June 7, 2016, Presidential Primary Election," accessed April 4, 2016
↑ The New York Times , "California Primary Results," June 7, 2016
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↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named huffpost14
↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named cnnr
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↑ Politico , "Trade turnaround: House backs new power for Obama," June 18, 2015
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↑ Project Vote Smart , "HR 273 - Eliminates the 2013 Statutory Pay Adjustment for Federal Employees - Voting Record," accessed September 16, 2013
↑ The Library of Congress , "H.AMDT.136," accessed September 16, 2013
↑ Project Vote Smart , "H Amdt 136 - Prohibits the Enforcement of the Immigration Executive Order - Voting Record," accessed September 16, 2013
↑ Project Vote Smart , "H Amdt 450 - Requires Congressional Approval for Any Rules Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - Voting Record," accessed September 16, 2013
↑ Project Vote Smart , "HR 1797 - Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act - Voting Record," accessed September 16, 2013
↑ U.S. House , "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff," accessed January 4, 2013
↑ OpenSecrets , "Xavier Becerra (D-Calif), 2012," accessed February 18, 2014
↑ This figure represents the total percentage growth from either 2004 (if the member entered office in 2004 or earlier) or the member's first year in office (as noted in the chart below).
↑ This number was found by dividing each member's total net worth growth percentage by the number of years included in the calculation.
↑ This figure represents the total percentage growth divided by the number of years for which there are net worth figures for each member.
↑ This figure was calculated using median asset data from the Census Bureau. Please see the Congressional Net Worth data for Ballotpedia spreadsheet for more information on this calculation.
↑ OpenSecrets.org , "Rep. Xavier Becerra," accessed September 22, 2014
↑ GovTrack , "Xavier Becerra," accessed July 21, 2014
↑ OpenCongress , "Xavier Becerra," accessed September 23, 2015
↑ GovTrack , "Rep. Xavier Becerra (D)," accessed September 23, 2015
↑ LegiStorm , "Xavier Becerra," accessed August 21, 2012
↑ National Journal , "2013 Congressional Vote Ratings," accessed July 18, 2014
↑ National Journal , "2012 Congressional Vote Ratings," February 21, 2013
↑ National Journal , "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: House," accessed February 23, 2012
↑ OpenCongress , "Voting With Party," accessed July 2014
↑ Ballotpedia's list of superdelegates to the 2016 Democratic National Convention is based on our own research and lists provided by the Democratic National Committee to Vox.com in February 2016 and May 2016 . If you think we made an error in identifying superdelegates, please send an email to [email protected] .
↑ FiveThirtyEight , “The Endorsement Primary,” accessed May 31, 2016
↑ To find out which candidate a superdelegate supported, Ballotpedia sought out public statements from the superdelegate in other media outlets and on social media. If we were unable to find a public statement that clearly articulated which candidate the superdelegate supported at the national convention, we listed that superdelegate as "unknown." If you believe we made an error in identifying which candidate a superdelegate supported, please email us at [email protected] .
↑ Congressional Research Service , "The Presidential Nominating Process and the National Party Conventions, 2016: Frequently Asked Questions," December 30, 2015
↑ 111.0 111.1 Democratic National Committee , "2016 Democratic National Convention Delegate/Alternate Allocation," updated February 19, 2016
↑ The Green Papers , "2016 Democratic Convention," accessed May 7, 2021
↑ Democratic National Committee's Office of Party Affairs and Delegate Selection , "Unpledged Delegates -- By State," May 27, 2016

Political offices
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Biden Picks Xavier Becerra to Lead Health and Human Services

The selection of Mr. Becerra, the California attorney general, is a surprise. If confirmed, he will face a daunting challenge in leading the department at a critical moment in the pandemic.

By Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Michael D. Shear

WASHINGTON — President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. has selected Xavier Becerra , the Democratic attorney general of California, as his nominee for secretary of health and human services , tapping a former congressman who would be the first Latino to run the department as it battles the surging coronavirus pandemic.

Mr. Becerra became Mr. Biden’s clear choice only over the past few days, according to people familiar with the transition’s deliberations, and was a surprise. Mr. Becerra has carved out a profile on the issues of criminal justice and immigration, and he was long thought to be a candidate for attorney general.

But as attorney general in California, he has been at the forefront of legal efforts on health care, leading 20 states and the District of Columbia in a campaign to protect the Affordable Care Act from being dismantled by his Republican counterparts. He has also been vocal in the Democratic Party about fighting for women’s health.

If confirmed, Mr. Becerra will immediately face a daunting task in leading the department at a critical moment during a pandemic that has killed more than 281,000 people in the United States — and one that has taken a particularly devastating toll on people of color .

“The A.C.A. has been life-changing and now through this pandemic, we can all see the value in having greater access to quality health care at affordable prices,” Mr. Becerra said in June, when he filed a brief with the Supreme Court in defense of the health care law. “Now is not the time to rip away our best tool to address very real and very deadly health disparities in our communities.”

A spokesman for Mr. Biden’s transition team declined to comment. The president-elect plans to formally announce Mr. Becerra as his choice to lead the health department early this week, along with several other top health care advisers, according to people familiar with the rollout.

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Senate confirms Xavier Becerra as first Latino Secretary of Health and Human Services

WASHINGTON – The Senate narrowly confirmed Xavier Becerra to be Health and Human Services secretary on a 50-49 vote Thursday. Becerra, California's Attorney General, will be the first Latino to hold the Cabinet position.

As HHS secretary, he will play a crucial role in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. neared 540,000 COVID-19 deaths on Thursday, according to data from John Hopkins University.

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine was the sole Republican to cross party lines and vote in favor of Becerra. Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, did not vote.

In February, Becerra faced two days of contentious Senate hearings, where he stressed he wishes to work in a bipartisan fashion to achieving the ambitious goals President Joe Biden has set to battle COVID-19, including 100 million vaccinations in the administration's first 100 days, "safely and equitably." The country is on track to surpass that goal, possibly crossing the mark later Thursday.

Some Republican senators have argued Becerra, a former attorney with no medical experience, is unqualified to helm HHS, a $1.4 trillion agency with a broad portfolio, during the pandemic.

Clarity for Catholics: It's OK to get Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine – if it's the only one available

Speaking from the Senate floor Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., criticized Republicans who held-up Becerra’s nomination.

Schumer said their arguments “verge on the ridiculous” and that they “complained loudly that he had no direct experience as a medical professional, even though Republicans voted in lockstep to install Alex Azar, a pharmaceutical executive who raised drug prices and tried to undermine our nation's health law as the previous HHS Secretary.”

Sen. John Barrasso, R-WY., called Becerra "unqualified" and "radically liberal" while opposing his nomination from the Senate floor Thursday.

Barrasso, who is a physician, said he is "deeply concerned" that Becerra is "not a doctor, not a scientist, not a public health official."

"He's a trial lawyer and a career politician. A global pandemic is no time for on-the-job health care training," he said.

More: HHS secretary nominee Becerra pressed over experience, COVID-19, abortion, at confirmation hearing

Schumer countered that Becerra “by contrast (to Azar), has decades of standing up for working and middle-class Americans in Congress, fighting to protect and expand Medicare, Medicaid, and working to safeguard our health care system from attacks by the Trump administration.”

The core components of HHS are the boots-on-the-ground part of the government’s coronavirus response. The Food and Drug Administration oversees vaccines and treatments, while much of the underlying scientific and medical research comes from the National Institutes of Health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention takes the lead in detecting and containing the spread of diseases.

Earlier this month, the Senate Finance Committee was split down party lines to move Becerra’s nomination to the full senate, which forced Schumer to hold a floor vote to advance the nomination out of committee.

More: Already had COVID? Get the vaccine anyway, research shows; AstraZeneca investigation results due today: Live COVID-19 updates

As California's attorney general, Becerra filed more than 100 lawsuits against the Trump administration on a multitude of issues. He led a coalition of Democratic states defending Obamacare from the Trump administration's efforts to overturn it, a legal case awaiting a Supreme Court decision this year.

Becerra was one of the highest-ranking Latinos in Congress and represented parts of Los Angeles for 24 years before he was appointed California attorney general by then-Gov. Jerry Brown in 2017 to fill the vacancy left when Vice President Kamala Harris was elected to the U.S. Senate. In 2018, California voters elected Becerra to a full four-year term as attorney general.

Xavier Becerra

Xavier Becerra is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 25th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services since March 2021. He is the first Latino to hold this position in history.https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/becerra-points-latino-successes-first-year-hhs-secretary-rcna20141 Becerra previously served as the Attorney General of California from January 2017 until March 2021. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Downtown Los Angeles in Congress from 1993 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Becerra was Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus from 2013 to 2017. Wikipedia*

On the C-SPAN Networks: Xavier Becerra has 704 videos in the C-SPAN Video Library; the first appearance was a 1992 Congressional News Conference as a Democratic Representative for California's 30th district. The year with the most videos was 2013 with 48 videos as a Democratic Representative for California's 31st district. The year with the highest average number of views per program was 2021 with an average of 7,953 views per program as a Secretary Nominee for the Department of Health and Human Services. Most appearances with Nancy Pelosi ( 73 ), Joe Crowley ( 60 ), Steny Hoyer ( 53 ). Most common tags: Federal Budget , Democratic Party , Immigration .

Recent Appearances

NALEO Conference Discussion on the U.S. Southern Border

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, Reps. Robert Garcia (D-CA) and Steven Horsford (D-NV), and the White Hous…

Health and Human Services Secretary Speaks at Western Governors Meeting

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra delivered a keynote address on critical health issues at the 2024 Western …

Secretary Becerra on Health Care Sector and Climate Change

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra discussed reducing the carbon footprint in the health care sector at an ev…

Health and Human Services Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Request

Secretary Xavier Becerra testified on President Biden’s fiscal year 2025 budget request for the Health and Human Services Dep…

Health and Human Services Secretary Speaks at Politico Health Care Summit

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra talked about the Biden administration’s health care policy agenda. He touc…

Secretaries Mayorkas and Becerra Testify on President Biden's Supplemental Request

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra testified on President …

Appearance Stats

Filter By All Event Types House Proceeding - 327 Congressional News Conference - 123 House Committee - 107 Forum - 23 Call-In - 21 Speech - 19 News Conference - 14 Meeting - 10 Senate Committee - 10 House Highlight - 8 Joint Committee - 6 Interview - 6 Conference Committee - 5 Convention - 4 Roundtable - 3 Remarks - 3 Public Hearing - 3 Broadcast - 2 Statement - 2 Public Affairs Event - 2 Ceremony - 2 Rally - 1 News Briefing - 1 Internet Video - 1 Debate - 1
Search Appearances

Historical Member of Congress Record

Ideology data is based on DW-NOMINATE statistics developed by Keith Poole and Howard Rosenthal. More information can be found at Voteview .

No Committees

Floor Activity

Days on Floor: 0
Total Time Speaking:
Common Floor Remark Topics:

Xavier Becerra ’80 J.D. ’84: The path to the president’s Cabinet

This article is part of a series of profiles of Stanford alumni in politics. Click here to read the rest of the stories.

Xavier Becerra ’80 J.D. ’84, California’s 33rd attorney general, is widely recognized as a rising star in the Democratic Party. His charisma and ability to understand and empathize with his constituents’ hardships have been key to his success over the course of his decades-long career in public service and politics. Since becoming attorney general in 2017, Becerra has proved to be the Trump administration’s top legal opponent, filing dozens of lawsuits against the federal government. And now, three decades after he was sworn into his first elected office, Becerra is poised to embark on a new mission to curb the coronavirus pandemic and safeguard health care as nominee for secretary of health and human services in President-elect Joe Biden’s administration.

Since the very beginning, advocacy has been one of Becerra’s guiding principles, inspiring him to fight for a more equitable and just society for all individuals. His advocacy can be traced back to his formative years as both an undergraduate and law school student at Stanford in the late seventies and early eighties.

Born in Sacramento, Becerra is the son of immigrants who came to the United States from Mexico in search of a better life for him and his three sisters. The first in his family to attend college, Becerra says that he did not truly grasp the experience he was embarking on by attending Stanford. Underprepared for the rigors of university academics and away from his local community for the first time, he was able to find solace in Casa Zapata. “In many ways, it was like a home, or as close to home as I could get,” he said, adding that the people he was meeting in classes and around campus were very different from the neighborhood he grew up in. “I believe Casa Zapata really did give me that fulcrum that let me survive my four years at Stanford.”

Although Becerra was an economics major as an undergraduate student, he had intended to study the sciences or engineering, a choice he described as “naive” since he had little exposure to the subjects in high school. He eventually settled on a course load that combined mathematics and the humanities.

Among his favorite courses at Stanford was Man and His Environment, taught by Gil Masters Ph.D. ’66, emeritus professor of civil and environmental engineering. The course has been adapted over the years, but it is still being offered today under the title CEE 70: “Environmental Science and Technology.” Becerra said that Man and His Environment was one of the first classes that encouraged him to adopt a global perspective about environmental issues, recognizing that environmental effects were interlinked with every other aspect of society. As attorney general, Becerra has been vocal about protecting clean air and water for Californians and ensuring a sustainable climate.

He also looked back fondly on a Chicano literature class he took as an undergraduate; growing up he said he did not have the chance to delve into the literature of Latino writers, and so taking the course afforded him a new, yet familiar perspective on the Latinx experience.

Xavier Becerra ’80 J.D. ’84: The path to the president’s Cabinet

Not only did attending Stanford influence Becerra’s professional life, but it also had a significant impact on his personal life. He met his future wife, Carolina Reyes ’81, at Stanford. Reyes, who also lived in Casa Zapata, majored in human biology and attended Harvard Medical School after graduating from Stanford. Becerra said that he was always impressed by her discipline and observed just how hard Reyes had to apply herself. “We’re still together,” he said. “And we now have three daughters, two of them went to Stanford. You know, Stanford has given me a lot, including my family, and I am thankful for the experiences I had.”

At Stanford, Becerra participated in work-study to help cover his expenses, tutoring underprivileged children as a part of Barrio Assistance, a Stanford student-run literacy tutoring and mentoring program. His experience working with preschool and elementary school students in East Palo Alto opened to the inequities faced by the children. “I loved the experience, but I also learned how easy it was for these kids to fall behind in school because they were essentially drowning not knowing how to swim,” Becerra said. “And I think that really gave me a strong sense that I wanted to do advocacy work and thought of becoming an attorney.”

Becerra also recalled when his parents, who were unable to afford an attorney, asked for his help to try to recover money that they had been swindled out of when he was an undergraduate. Although he was unsuccessful in his efforts, he said, “That was another event in my life that zeroed me in on wanting to be as good an advocate as I could be, and it became more and more clear that meant becoming a lawyer.”

After graduating with a bachelor’s in economics and participating in the California Senate Fellows Program, Becerra matriculated at Stanford Law School. He characterized his three years at Stanford Law as impactful, but also a struggle to keep up with the demands of a fast-paced curriculum. “There’s a classmate who continues to be a good friend, Sandra Ortiz [’80 J.D. ’84], who is just whip-smart and who I figured if I could stay close to where she was then I wouldn’t be doing all that badly,” he said, adding that “It was always a matter of trying to keep up with folks.”

Following his graduation from law school, his desire to advocate for others led him to Massachusetts, where he worked on behalf of low-income individuals and those with mental illnesses at a legal services office for a year. When he moved back to California, he was approached by a state legislator he had met during his gap year, Democratic California State Senator Art Torres, who offered Becerra a policy position in his office. Although he originally wanted to join the California attorney general’s office, he was convinced to take the position, initially working with the state senator in Sacramento, and later being selected to head Torres’ district office in Los Angeles.

He went to Southern California intending to eventually return to the state capital to resume policy work, “but I ended up meeting a whole lot of folks in the Senator’s district and made great friends and allies,” he said. The time he spent in the Los Angeles area would prove crucial to his future political career.

After returning to Sacramento and serving as deputy attorney general for three years, a seat in the California State Assembly became vacant in a district near Torres’ constituency. “I was approached by some of the same people I had gotten to know in the senator’s district office and they asked me, ‘Xavier, have you ever thought about running for office? There’s an open assembly seat and we would love to support you if you choose to run.’” Becerra said he was taken aback because up until that moment he had not considered running for public office. With the filing period for the assembly seat quickly approaching, Becerra had to make a quick decision. He broached the subject with his wife Carolina, and the two agreed that he would run for the seat.

In 1990, Becerra launched his campaign for the California State Assembly. With little financial resources and name recognition, he went on to receive 60% of the vote and serve one term in the assembly, representing the 59th district. “There wasn’t a plan,” he said. “I wasn’t like Bill Clinton plotting my course. I’ve just been very fortunate along the way.”

In 1992, Becerra was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, serving his constituents as representative for nearly 24 years. During his 12 terms, he was a leading member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and took part in Democratic party leadership, serving as assistant to the speaker, vice chair and later chair of the House Democratic Caucus. He was also the first Latino to serve on the powerful Ways and Means Committee.

In Congress, Becerra, informed by his own experiences, sought to advocate for immigrants by opposing measures that would limit immigration, fighting efforts to make English the official language of the United States and forming a bipartisan group of lawmakers to overhaul the nation’s immigration system. Amid discussions of privatizing Social Security, he strove to keep it public, remembering how his own parents, who had been defrauded, relied significantly on the stability of Social Security. In the Ways and Means Committee, Becerra attempted to expand welfare benefits to immigrants and increase tax credits for the working class.

Following Kamala Harris’ election to the U.S. Senate, California Governor Jerry Brown, a Democrat, offered Becerra California’s top law enforcement position. The appointment, which he at the time called “an opportunity I cannot refuse,” meant his return to his hometown, Sacramento, and undertaking leadership in the office he sought out at the start of his career. Since his appointment in 2017 and subsequent election in 2018, Becerra has become one of the Trump administration’s top legal opponents, filing over 100 lawsuits challenging the federal government’s policies on matters related to climate change, immigration, birth control and the disputed citizenship question in the 2020 U.S. Census, among others.

Becerra’s advocacy has also centered on health care and equity. In November, Becerra and more than 20 states, the House of Representatives, health care advocates and labor unions defended the Affordable Care Act before the Supreme Court. Although the Court has upheld the law twice before, the Court’s makeup and ideological balance have shifted significantly since its last ruling in 2015, potentially putting the law in jeopardy.

“The ACA has been life-changing and now through this pandemic, we can all see the value in having greater access to quality health care at affordable prices,” Becerra said in June . “Now is not the time to rip away our best tool to address very real and very deadly health disparities in our communities.” With the health insurance coverage of more than 20 million Americans enduring a pandemic resting on his shoulders, Becerra faces a crucial battle.

In April, Becerra led a group of 22 states against a Mississippi law that prevented physicians from providing abortions past 15 weeks.

“Laws like Mississippi’s are a systematic attempt to undo a woman’s constitutional rights under Roe v. Wade,” he said at the time. “I will continue to stand up for safe access to reproductive care and defend these rights for all women.”

With a shifting political landscape and new occupants of the White House come January, Becerra will find himself back in Washington, D.C. as the nation’s first Latino secretary of health and human services. As secretary, Becerra will have to grapple with the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic that has taken over 280,000 American lives and is disproportionately impacting people of color. In the coming months, Becerra will play a key role in managing the distribution of coronavirus vaccinations and educating Americans on the importance of mitigation efforts and inoculations.

Political science professor Jim Steyer ’78 J.D. ’83, a long-time friend of Becerra, lauded President-elect Biden’s selection, telling The Daily that “his professional experience and personal story make Xavier perfectly positioned to assume this important role at a critical moment in our nation’s history.”

“I could not be prouder of Xavier’s leadership, and he truly deserves this great honor and will do all of us proud,” Steyer added.

Whatever cards lie in his future, one thing is clear: Becerra has emerged as a fearless advocate who views the world through the lens of his own lived experiences. Safeguarding the fundamental right to health care, striving to preserve our environment for ourselves and posterity, protecting immigrants and fighting systemic racism — Attorney General Becerra has stayed true to the individual he dedicated himself to be over 40 years ago at Stanford.

Contact Cameron Ehsan at cehsan ‘at’ stanford.edu.

Cameron Ehsan is a junior at Stanford studying neurobiology. He served as a news editor and newsroom development director for Vol. 261 and was the Vol. 260 winter managing editor.

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Hon. Xavier Becerra

Xavier Becerra is the 25th Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and the first Latino to hold the office in the history of the United States. As Secretary, he will carry out President Biden's vision to build a healthy America, and his work will focus on ensuring that all Americans have health security and access to healthcare.

Throughout his career, the Secretary has made it his priority to ensure that Americans have access to the affordable healthcare they need to survive and thrive - from his early days as a legal advocate representing individuals with mental illness, to his role as the Attorney General of the state of California.

Secretary Becerra served 12 terms in Congress as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. During his tenure, he was the first Latino to serve as a member of the powerful Committee on Ways and Means, he served as Chairman of his party's caucus, and as the Ranking Member of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Health.

For over two decades in Congress, Secretary Becerra worked so that every family had the assurance of care that his own family had when he was growing up. As a member of the Ways and Means Committee, Secretary Becerra introduced legislation -- the Medicare Savings Programs Improvement Act of 2007 -- that expanded cost-sharing subsidies for low-income seniors who receive both Medicare and Medicaid benefits by increasing the amount of resources they could receive. He championed provisions of the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008 that required physicians who perform imaging to be accredited and trained to ensure patient safety. And he was one of the original cosponsors of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) which strengthened Medicare and lowered costs for seniors.

As Attorney General of the state of California, Secretary Becerra helped to promote competition by taking on a number of pharmaceutical companies that restricted competition through "pay-for-delay" schemes, held several companies accountable for legal violations for not protecting patients' health information, and took action early in the pandemic to keep Californians safe by using his authority to protect workers from exposure to COVID-19, secure key safeguards for frontline health care workers' rights, and take on fraudsters trying to take advantage of people during the pandemic. In addition, he cracked down on Medicare and Medicaid fraud, acted to combat the opioid crisis, including holding drug makers accountable, won an unprecedented $575 million antitrust settlement against one of the largest health systems in California, and he led the three-year federal court fight to save the ACA and with it, the protections of the 133 million Americans with preexisting conditions.

Born in Sacramento Secretary Becerra is the son of working-class parents. He was the first in his family to receive a four-year degree, earning his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Stanford University. He earned his Juris Doctorate from Stanford Law School. His mother was born in Jalisco, Mexico and immigrated to the United States after marrying his father, a day laborer turned construction worker. He is married to Dr. Carolina Reyes, and he is proud of his three daughters: Clarisa, Olivia and Natalia, and son-in-law Ivan.

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HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra on the administration's response to the Omicron variant

Mary Louise Kelly

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NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra on the Biden administration's ongoing response to the Omicron variant.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

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HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra Urges Nation to Shift from an “Illness-Care System” to a “Wellness-Care System” at National Press Club Luncheon

Highlights HHS’s Work to Increase Access to Quality, Affordable Health Care, Lower Health Care Costs, and Protect Access to Reproductive Care

On Thursday, February 8, 2024, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra addressed the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. for its historic Headliners Luncheon.

Secretary Becerra addresses the National Press Club.

During his address, he urged the nation to shift from an “illness-care system” to a “wellness-care system.” He also highlighted the Biden-Harris Administration’s work to increase access to quality, affordable health care, lower health care costs, including the cost of prescription drugs, and protect access to reproductive health care.

“We have this opportunity to make some real changes…. This president, Joe Biden, … sees the opportunity… to make a big change in our healthcare system,” said Secretary Becerra. “So, I want to talk about what, at HHS, we do. Because the mandate we got from the president of the United States was to go big in so many things. Nearly 700 million shots in the arms of Americans of the COVID vaccine;… national healthcare data shared among all states and the federal government;… Marshall plan-type response to save our jobs, to save our businesses, to save our economy;… using our authority as well to secure reproductive health care access for every American who needs it;… genuine negotiations globally to work together to tackle future pandemics and global health care crises; undeniable exposure of the weaknesses of our expensive, top heavy health care system;… unprecedented measures to take on a broken public health care system…. It's those measures that I want to talk a bit about, because they fall on HHS to enact affordable health care coverage.”

In his opening remarks, Secretary Becerra thanked the press for their work and noted the importance of newsrooms telling critical stories:

“As an avid consumer of what you put out in your news and sometimes the target of your work, I admire and appreciate what you do and how critical it is that you do it right. And so, thank you very much,” said Secretary Becerra. “We'll continue to hear about the big stories, but it's the little things that go on in life that really do count. So, I want to say to each and every one of you, thank you for what you do.”

Mark Schoeff Jr. Asks Secretary Becerra Questions from Journalists in a Q&A Session.

Increasing Access to Health Care

During his remarks, Secretary Becerra highlighted the Biden-Harris Administration’s record-breaking increase in enrollment through the Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplace.

“In just these three years, President Biden has made it possible for an additional nine million people to have that peace of mind through the Marketplace,” said Secretary Becerra. “Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and now you have to include Marketplace as the cleanup hitter for all those great social insurance programs.”

HHS recently announced that a record-breaking 21.3 million people selected an Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplace plan during the 2024 Open Enrollment Period. Total plan selections include more than five million people — about a fourth — who are new to the Marketplaces and 16 million people who renewed their coverage.

Lowering Health Care Costs

Secretary Becerra also discussed how Americans are struggling to pay for prescription drugs. He shared the story he had heard from a couple in New Mexico.

“[They] had to make a decision after the husband who had suffered a stroke began to recover and had regained most of his movement and his faculties, but still was having problem with his sight on one side. And when the physicians told him, ‘We actually have some medication that will help accelerate your recovery,’ as they were approaching the time of getting the medication, they found out that their roof was too holey and would not survive the winter. So they had to make a decision—buy the medicine or fix the roof? And you know, the moral of the story, they fixed the roof.”

Secretary Becerra then shared how the Biden-Harris Administration is working to lower drug prices for everyday Americans. Through President Biden’s landmark Inflation Reduction Act, Medicare now has the power to negotiate prescription drug prices directly with drug companies. Most recently, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services sent initial price offers for the first 10 prescription drugs being negotiated , which treat serious health issues including diabetes, stroke, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and cancer.

Reproductive Rights

During his remarks, Secretary Becerra also highlighted HHS’s work to protect reproductive care in the wake of the Dobbs decision.

“We’re using our authority as well to secure reproductive health care access for every American who needs it—wherever they are, whenever they need it,” said Secretary Becerra. “We're protecting privacy for patients and for providers and doctors.”

HHS is taking action to keep reproductive health available to all who need it – at a time when women and doctors are facing risks and threats to their life and well-being. Last month, HHS announced a series of actions to educate the public about their rights to emergency medical care if you are pregnant and need an abortion under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). HHS has also worked to clarify protections for birth control coverage under the Affordable Care Act , including contraception care with no out-of-pocket costs, and protecting medical privacy.

“We’re supporting maternal health not just at birth, not just for the first 60 days after birth under Medicaid, but for 365 days after birth through the Medicaid program,” said Secretary Becerra referring to the Biden-Harris Administration urging all states and territories to provide a full year of continuous postpartum coverage through Medicaid and CHIP under the American Rescue Plan Act. To date, CMS has approved these postpartum coverage extensions in 40 states, plus Washington, D.C. and the Virgin Islands.

“And we know that for Black and indigenous communities, the rates of death and morbidity, when it comes to maternal health, are three times that than what they are in the white community,” he added.

At the end of his remarks, Secretary Becerra spoke about the need to shift the nation from a health system that focuses on treating illness and injury, to a system that focuses on preventing illness and injury.

Last week, HHS hosted its first-ever ‘Food is Medicine’ Summit, an all-day summit for stakeholders at the intersection between food and health. The event reflected Secretary Becerra’s vision of moving our country from an illness-care system to a wellness-care system through HHS’s broader Food is Medicine initiative and other related government initiatives.

“We treat illness. We don’t sustain wellness. We wait, and wait, and then when it’s an illness, then we spend major dollars to treat it,” said Secretary Becerra. “We could save so much money, and we could do so much more, and get to so many more people, if we turned our system away from turning away to treating illness to promoting wellness.”

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Who is Xavier Becerra
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Who is Xavier Becerra
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Xavier Becerra Biography
Xavier Becerra, the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services

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Xavier Becerra
Xavier Becerra (/ h ɑː v i ˈ ɛər b ɪ ˈ s ɛr ə / hah-vee-AIR beh-SEHR-ə; Latin American Spanish: [xaˈβjeɾ βeˈsera]; born January 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 25th United States secretary of health and human services since March 2021. He is the first Latino to hold this position in history. Becerra previously served as the attorney general of ...
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American lawyer and Democratic politician Xavier Becerra has been serving as the 25th US Secretary of Health and Human Services since March 2021 and is the first Latino to serve in the position. Becerra has previously been the Attorney General of California.Becerra has also served as a member of the US House of Representatives, representing the 30th, 31st, and 34th districts of California.
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