United States Secretary of Health and Human Services

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Secretary of Health and Human Services of the United States of America
Seal of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.svg
Seal of the Department of Health and Human Services
Flag of the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services.svg
Flag of the Secretary of Health and Human Services
Eric D. Hargan official photo.jpg
Incumbent
Eric Hargan
Acting
since October 10, 2017
United States Department of Health and Human Services
Style Mr. Secretary
Member of Cabinet
Reports to The President
Seat Washington, D.C.
Appointer The President
with Senate advice and consent
Term length No fixed term
Constituting instrument Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1953
67 Stat. 631
42 U.S.C. § 3501
Precursor Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare
Formation August 3, 1979
First holder Patricia Roberts Harris
Succession Twelfth[1]
Deputy Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services
Salary Executive Schedule, level 1
Website www.hhs.gov

The United States Secretary of Health and Human Services is the head of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, concerned with health matters. The Secretary is a member of the President's Cabinet. The office was formerly Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare.

In 1979, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was renamed the Department of Health and Human Services, and its education functions and Rehabilitation Services Administration were transferred to the new Department of Education.[2] Patricia Roberts Harris headed the department before and after it was renamed.[3]

Nominations to the office of Secretary of HHS are referred to the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the Finance Committee,[citation needed] which has jurisdiction over Medicare and Medicaid,[4] before confirmation is considered by the full United States Senate.

Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act the role of the Secretary has been greatly expanded.[5][6]

The most recent secretary, Tom Price, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on February 10, 2017, and resigned on September 29, 2017.[7] President Donald Trump named Don J. Wright, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health and Director of the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, as acting Secretary until a new one is appointed.[7]

Duties[edit]

The flag of the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, the predecessor to the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

The duties of the secretary revolve around human conditions and concerns in the United States. This includes advising the president on matters of health, welfare, and income security programs. The Secretary strives to administer the Department of Health and Human Services to carry out approved programs and make the public aware of the objectives of the department.[8]

The Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) was reorganized into a Department of Education and a Department of Health and Human Services (US DHHS).

Since the attacks of 9/11 and the subsequent anthrax attacks, the position has held a unique significance in the War on Terrorism. Upon his departure, then-Secretary Tommy Thompson remarked, "I, for the life of me, cannot understand why the terrorists have not attacked our food supply, because it is so easy to do . . . ." In part, the new US DHHS, like other federal departments, have been subjected to a reorganization of federal personnel and contracts led by the US Homeland Security Office, and resulting in shifting privatization in core industries and "police control".[citation needed]

The Department of Health and Human Services oversees 11 agencies including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Center for Disease Control (CDC), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).[9]

List of Secretaries of Health and Human Services[edit]

Parties

  Democratic (8)   Republican (14)   Independent (1)

Secretaries of Health, Education, and Welfare[edit]
No. Portrait Name State of residence Took office Left office President(s)
1 Hobby-Oveta-Culp.jpg Oveta Culp Hobby Texas April 11, 1953 July 31, 1955 Dwight D. Eisenhower
2 Folsom.jpg Marion B. Folsom New York August 2, 1955 July 31, 1958
3 ArthurSFlemming.jpg Arthur S. Flemming Ohio August 1, 1958 January 19, 1961
4 Ribicoff.jpg Abraham A. Ribicoff Connecticut January 21, 1961 July 13, 1962 John F. Kennedy
5 Celebrez.jpg Anthony J. Celebrezze Ohio July 31, 1962 August 17, 1965
Lyndon B. Johnson
6 John W. Gardner, U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare.jpg John W. Gardner California August 18, 1965 March 1, 1968
7 Wilburportrait.jpg Wilbur J. Cohen Michigan May 16, 1968 January 20, 1969
8 RobertHFinch.jpg Robert H. Finch California January 21, 1969 June 23, 1970 Richard Nixon
9 ElliotLeeRichardson.jpg Elliot L. Richardson Massachusetts June 24, 1970 January 29, 1973
10 Caspar Weinberger official photo.jpg Caspar W. Weinberger California February 12, 1973 August 8, 1975
Gerald Ford
11 F. David Mathews.jpg F. David Mathews Alabama August 8, 1975 January 20, 1977
12 JAC AR 2007.jpg Joseph A. Califano Jr. District of Columbia January 25, 1977 August 3, 1979 Jimmy Carter
13 Patricia R. Harris.jpg Patricia Roberts Harris District of Columbia August 3, 1979 May 4, 1980[10]

Secretaries of Health and Human Services[edit]
No. Portrait Name State of residence Took office Left office President(s)
13 Patricia R. Harris.jpg Patricia Roberts Harris District of Columbia May 4, 1980[10] January 20, 1981 Jimmy Carter
14 Secretary Richard Schweiker.jpg Richard S. Schweiker Pennsylvania January 22, 1981 February 3, 1983 Ronald Reagan
15 Mmheckler.JPG Margaret M. Heckler Massachusetts March 9, 1983 December 13, 1985
16 Otis R. Bowen.jpg Otis R. Bowen Indiana December 13, 1985 January 20, 1989
17 SullivanLouis.jpg Louis W. Sullivan Georgia March 1, 1989 January 20, 1993 George H. W. Bush
18 Shalala portrait.jpg Donna Shalala Wisconsin January 22, 1993 January 20, 2001 Bill Clinton
19 Tommy Thompson 1.jpg Tommy G. Thompson Wisconsin February 2, 2001 January 26, 2005 George W. Bush
20 Mike Leavitt.jpg Michael O. Leavitt Utah January 26, 2005 January 20, 2009
21 Kathleen Sebelius official portrait.jpg Kathleen Sebelius Kansas April 28, 2009 June 9, 2014 Barack Obama
22 Sylvia Mathews Burwell official portrait.jpg Sylvia Mathews Burwell District of Columbia June 9, 2014 January 20, 2017
– Norris Cochran.jpg Norris Cochran January 20, 2017 February 10, 2017 Donald Trump
23 Tom Price official photo.jpg Tom Price Georgia February 10, 2017 September 29, 2017
– Don Wright official portrait.jpg Don J. Wright Virginia September 29, 2017 October 10, 2017
– Eric D. Hargan official photo (cropped).jpg Eric Hargan Illinois October 10, 2017 Incumbent

Line of succession[edit]

The line of succession for the Secretary of Health and Human Services is as follows:[11]

  1. Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services.
  2. General Counsel of the Department of Health and Human Services
  3. Assistant Secretary for Administration
  4. Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
  5. Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
  6. Commissioner of Food and Drugs
  7. Director of the National Institutes of Health
  8. Assistant Secretary for Children and Families
  9. Other Assistant Secretaries (following in the order they took the oath of office)
    1. Assistant Secretary for Health
    2. Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response
    3. Assistant Secretary for Legislation
    4. Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs
    5. Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources
    6. Assistant Secretary for Aging
  10. Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  11. Director, Region 4 (Atlanta, Georgia)

Living former secretaries[edit]

See also: List of living former members of the United States Cabinet

Department of Health, Education, and Welfare[edit]

As of October 2017, there are two living former Secretaries of Health, Education and Welfare, the oldest being Joseph A. Califano Jr. (served 1977–1979, born 1931). The most recent Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare to die was Caspar Weinberger (served 1973–1975, born 1917), on March 28, 2006. The most recently serving Secretary to die was Patricia Roberts Harris (served 1979–1980, born 1924) on March 23, 1985.

Name Term Date of birth (and age)
F. David Mathews 1975–1977 (1935-12-06) December 6, 1935 (age 81)
Joseph A. Califano Jr. 1977–1979 (1931-05-15) May 15, 1931 (age 86)

Department of Health and Human Services[edit]

A gathering of five secretaries in June 2015

As of October 2017, there are eight living former Secretaries of Health and Human Services, the oldest being Margaret Heckler (served 1986–1989, born 1931). The most recent Secretary of Health and Human Services to die was Richard Schweiker (served 1981–1983, born 1926), on July 31, 2015. The most recently serving Secretary to die was Otis R. Bowen (served 1985–1988, born 1918) on May 4, 2013.

Name Term Date of birth (and age)
Margaret Heckler 1983–1985 (1931-06-21) June 21, 1931 (age 86)
Louis W. Sullivan 1989–1993 (1933-11-03) November 3, 1933 (age 83)
Donna Shalala 1993–2001 (1941-02-14) February 14, 1941 (age 76)
Tommy Thompson 2001–2005 (1941-11-19) November 19, 1941 (age 75)
Mike Leavitt 2005–2009 (1951-02-11) February 11, 1951 (age 66)
Kathleen Sebelius 2009–2014 (1948-05-15) May 15, 1948 (age 69)
Sylvia Mathews Burwell 2014–2017 (1965-06-23) June 23, 1965 (age 52)
Tom Price 2017-2017 (1954-10-08) October 8, 1954 (age 63)

References[edit]

  1. ^ https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/3/19
  2. ^ Holbrook, M. Cay (2017-02-06). Foundations of Education: History and theory of teaching children and youths with visual impairments. American Foundation for the Blind. ISBN 9780891283409. 
  3. ^ "Patricia R. Harris (1977–1979)—Miller Center". millercenter.org. Retrieved 2017-02-06. 
  4. ^ "Jurisdiction | The United States Senate Committee on Finance". www.finance.senate.gov. Retrieved 2017-02-06. 
  5. ^ http://www.ropesgray.com/healthcarefraudabuse/
  6. ^ Leavitt, Michael O. (February 18, 2011). "Health reform's central flaw: Too much power in one office". The Washington Post. 
  7. ^ a b Baker, Peter; Thrush, Glenn; Haberman, Maggie (September 29, 2017). "Health Secretary Tom Price Resigns After Drawing Ire for Chartered Flights". The New York Times. New York. Retrieved September 30, 2017. 
  8. ^ "The President's Cabinet". Ben's Guide. 2007-02-01. Retrieved 2007-11-15. 
  9. ^ https://www.hhs.gov/about/foa/opdivs/index.html Operating divisions of the HHS.
  10. ^ a b Harris was Secretary on May 4, 1980, when the office changed names from Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare to Secretary of Health and Human Services. Because the department merely changed names, she did not need to be confirmed again, and her term continued uninterrupted.
  11. ^ "Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Health and Human Services". Federal Register. 2008-02-20. Retrieved 2016-10-30. 

External links[edit]

Current U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Alex Acosta
as Secretary of Labor		 Order of Precedence of the United States
as Secretary of Health and Human Services		 Succeeded by
Ben Carson
as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Current U.S. presidential line of succession
Preceded by
Secretary of Labor
Alex Acosta		 12th in line Succeeded by
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Ben Carson
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