HHS Sec. Nominee Sebelius Could Face Questions On Abortion Rights During Confirmation Hearing

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP
Also Included In: Abortion;  Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 03 Apr 2009 - 1:00 PDT

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HHS secretary nominee Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) will appear before the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday, where senators likely will ask "more questions about her policies and politics" than about the $7,000 in back taxes she recently paid, the AP/Washington Times reports (Alonso-Zaldivar, AP/Washington Times, 4/2). Republicans on the committee are expected to question Sebelius about her support for abortion rights, but the issue is not expected to hinder her confirmation, The Hill reports (Young, The Hill, 4/1). Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the top minority senator on the Finance Committee, said he is less concerned about Sebelius' tax issues than he is about her views on issues like Medicare and Medicaid and how her support for abortion rights would influence her decisions at HHS (AP/Washington Times, 4/2). A coalition of antiabortion-rights groups has been leading a campaign against Sebelius' confirmation, and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), a Finance Committee member, said he will oppose the confirmation because of her support for abortion rights. However, the opposition is not expected to be strong enough to prevent Sebelius' confirmation, as she has "widespread support" from Democrats and endorsements from her home-state senators, both of whom are antiabortion-rights Republicans, The Hill reports (The Hill, 4/1).

The AP/Times reports that there is "a sense that the Senate needs to act quickly" on confirming Sebelius as HHS Secretary so that lawmakers can move forward with an ambitious health reform agenda. The Finance Committee has the sole power to vote to move Sebelius' nomination to the full Senate (AP/Washington Times, 4/2). During Tuesday's hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Sebelius' position on abortion rights received little attention, according to The Hill (The Hill, 4/1).

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