White House Budget Director Sylvia Mathews Burwell speaks during an interview with Reuters journalists in Washington, January 30, 2014. Credit: Reuters
President Barack Obama said on Friday he will promote budget director Sylvia Mathews Burwell to be his next health secretary, who will preside over the next difficult phase of his healthcare law in the months before November congressional elections.
Burwell, whose nomination must be approved by the US Senate, will replace Kathleen Sebelius, who became the public face of the disastrous rollout of Obamacare, formally known as the Affordable Care Act, which Republicans plan to exploit as they seek to take control of the Senate.
But Obama made it clear he did not blame Sebelius for the problems. In remarks interrupted multiple times by sustained cheering from White House and administration officials, he praised Sebelius, saying she will go down in history for her work implementing Obamacare.
“She’s got bumps, I’ve got bumps, bruises,” Obama said.
“Yes, we lost the first quarter of the open enrolment period with the problems with HealthCare.gov. And there were problems,” he said.
“But under Kathleen’s leadership, her team at HHS turned the corner, got it fixed, got the job done, and the final score speaks for itself,” he said, noting that 7.5 million people have signed up for health insurance under the programme, exceeding expectations.
President Barack Obama announces Director of the Office of Management and Budget Sylvia Mathews Burwell (R) as his nominee to replace outgoing Secretary of Health and Human Servcies Kathleen Sebelius (not seen), during a ceremony in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, April 11, 2014. Credit: Reuters.
Source: Bd news24
