Xavier Becerra: HHS Secretary Under President Biden
This paper profiles Xavier Becerra, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) under President Biden. It covers Becerra's personal background and education at Stanford University, his lengthy career in public service as a U.S. Representative and California Attorney General, his Senate confirmation in March 2021, and his major policy priorities as HHS Secretary. These priorities included strengthening the Affordable Care Act, addressing health disparities, leading the federal COVID-19 pandemic response, expanding mental health care access, and tackling prescription drug costs.
- Introduction to HHS and Xavier Becerra: Overview of HHS mission and Becerra's role
- Personal Background and Education: Becerra's family, upbringing, and Stanford degrees
- Career in Public Service: Congressional service and California Attorney General tenure
- Senate Confirmation Hearing: Confirmation vote and key hearing topics
- Policy Priorities and Proposed Initiatives: ACA, COVID-19, mental health, and drug costs
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What makes this paper effective
- Follows a clear, logical structure moving from biography to career to confirmation to policy, making it easy to follow the subject's trajectory.
- Integrates specific factual details — dates, vote tallies, committee names — that ground the paper in verifiable evidence.
- Connects Becerra's background and prior career to the policy priorities he pursued as HHS Secretary, creating a coherent narrative arc.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective use of a government agency's official website as a primary source. By citing HHS.gov directly, the author draws on authoritative, institutional documentation to support biographical and policy claims, a useful technique for papers covering current government officials or agency activities.
Structure breakdown
The paper is organized into five sections: an introductory overview of HHS and Becerra's role, a personal background section covering his education and immigrant family heritage, a career section covering his congressional and legal career, a section on his confirmation hearing and Senate vote, and a final section outlining his policy agenda as HHS Secretary. The structure mirrors the format of a standard government official profile.
Introduction to HHS and Xavier Becerra
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is one of the Cabinet-level departments of the United States federal government. Its mission is to enhance the health and well-being of all Americans by providing effective health and human services and by fostering sound, sustained advances in the sciences underlying medicine, public health, and social services. The Secretary of HHS during the Biden administration was Xavier Becerra, whose background, career, and policy agenda are detailed below.
Personal Background and Education
Xavier Becerra was born on January 26, 1958, in Sacramento, California. He is the son of immigrants from Mexico and was the first in his family to graduate from college. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Stanford University in 1980. After completing his undergraduate studies, he went on to receive his Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School in 1984 (HHS, 2023).
Career in Public Service
Before becoming the Secretary of HHS, Becerra had an extensive career in public service. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 2017, representing Los Angeles in Congress. During his time in the House, he was a member of the Committee on Ways and Means and served as Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. After his tenure in Congress, Becerra served as the Attorney General of California from January 2017 until he was nominated for the position of HHS Secretary (HHS, 2023).
References
HHS. (2022). Following President Biden's executive order to protect access to reproductive health care, HHS announces guidance to clarify that emergency medical care includes abortion services. Retrieved from
HHS. (2023). Xavier Becerra. Retrieved from
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