Chair's Press

Today, the Senate voted 57-43 to confirm Dr. Vivek Murthy to serve as the U.S. Surgeon General at the Public Health Service. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Ranking Member Richard Burr (R-NC) released the following statement after voting against Dr. Murthy’s confirmation. “Americans need to be able to trust...

Today, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee’s Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security held a hearing entitled “Why Does the U.S. Pay the Highest in the World for Prescription Drugs?” In his submitted statement for the record, Senate HELP Committee Ranking Member Richard Burr (R-NC)...

Today, the Senate confirmed Marty Walsh as Secretary for the U.S. Department of Labor on a bipartisan vote of 68-29. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Ranking Member Richard Burr (R-NC), who expressed his support of Marty Walsh’s nomination ahead of today’s vote, applauded the Senate’s confirmation of...

Today, the Senate voted 50-49 to confirm California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to serve as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Last month, Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Ranking Member Richard Burr (R-NC) raised significant concerns about Mr. Becerra’s lack of qualifications to lead the...

Today, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing entitled “Examining Our Covid-19 Response: An Update from Federal Officials.” This is the Committee’s first hearing on the coronavirus pandemic in this Congress with Administration officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...

Today, Senators Richard Burr (R-NC) and Angus King (I-ME) reintroduced the Repay Act, bipartisan legislation to reform federal student loan repayment programs. This legislation simplifies and streamlines the current repayment programs by establishing two, easy-to-navigate repayment plans: a fixed, 10-year repayment plan and a single, simplified...

Today, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held its nomination hearing for Julie Su, the California and Workforce Development Agency Secretary, to serve as Deputy Secretary of Labor. In his prepared opening remarks, Senate HELP Committee Ranking Member Richard Burr (R-NC) outlined California’s economic failures,...

Today, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing entitled “Examining Our COVID-19 Response: An Update from the Frontlines.” This is the first hearing focused on the response to the coronavirus pandemic the Committee has held this Congress. In his prepared opening remarks, Senate HELP Committee...

Today, the Senate voted on a bipartisan basis of 64-33 to confirm Dr. Miguel Cardona as Secretary for the U.S Department of Education. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Ranking Member Richard Burr (R-NC), who supported Dr. Cardona’s nomination before the Senate HELP Committee earlier this month, applauded the...

Today, Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), the Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, expressed his support of Dr. Miguel Cardona to serve as U.S. Secretary of Education and stressed the importance of following science to bring students back to the classroom. WATCH: Senator Burr delivers remarks on the Senate...

Today, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held its nomination hearings for Dr. Rachel Levine to serve as the Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), and Dr. Vivek Murthy to serve as the Medical Director in the Regular Corps of the Public Health Service and the Surgeon General of the Public Health...

Today, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee held its nomination hearing for California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). In his prepared opening remarks, Senate HELP Committee Ranking Member Richard Burr (R-NC) expressed his concerns regarding Mr....

Today, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee voted to confirm the nominations of Dr. Miguel Cardona to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Education and Mayor Marty Walsh to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Labor. Today’s vote advances both nominations to the full Senate for consideration. After the Committee’s...

Today, Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) was named Ranking Member for the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) for the 117th Congress. Senator Burr released the following statement: “I am honored to be selected to serve as Ranking Member on the Senate HELP Committee. Our nation is in the middle of a global...

Today, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee held its nomination hearing for Mayor Marty Walsh to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Labor. In his prepared opening remarks, Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), the Committee’s top Republican, underscored the need for a skilled American workforce in an increasingly...

Today, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a nomination hearing for Dr. Miguel Cardona to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Education. In his prepared opening remarks, Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), the Committee’s top Republican, highlighted his priorities for the Committee as the nation continues to face...

WASHINGTON, December 15, 2020 — Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement on the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of Ellume’s new over-the-counter, at-home diagnostic COVID-19 test:   “This is a genuine breakthrough in COVID-19 testing. A low-cost,...

WASHINGTON, December 11, 2020 — U.S. Senate health committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement on the Food and Drug Administration’s authorization of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech:    “Producing a 95 percent effective vaccine in 8 months instead of the...

Washington, D.C. – Today, key House and Senate Committee leaders announced a bipartisan agreement on legislation to protect patients from surprise medical bills and establish a fair framework to resolve payment disputes between health care providers and health insurance companies.    The deal was agreed to by House Energy and...

“It doesn’t take a genius to figure out how to gum up the works of a body of one hundred that operates mainly by unanimous consent. Here’s my view: it’s hard to get here, hard to stay here, and while you’re here, you might as well try to accomplish something good for the country. But it’s hard to accomplish...