The United States secretary of health and human services is the head of the
United States Department of Health and Human Services
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...
, and serves as the principal advisor to the
president of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
on all health matters. The secretary is a member of the
United States Cabinet
The Cabinet of the United States is a body consisting of the vice president of the United States and the heads of the executive branch's departments in the federal government of the United States. It is the principal official advisory body to ...
. The office was formerly Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. In 1980, the
Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...
was renamed the Department of Health and Human Services, and its education functions and
Rehabilitation Services Administration
The Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) is a federal agency under the United States Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, and is headquartered within the Department of Education in Washingto ...
were transferred to the new
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...
.
Patricia Roberts Harris
Patricia Roberts Harris (May 31, 1924March 23, 1985) was an American politician, diplomat and legal scholar. She served as the 6th United States secretary of housing and urban development from 1977 to 1979 and as the 13th United States secretary ...
headed the department before and after it was renamed.
Nominations to the office of Secretary of HHS are referred to the
Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the
United States Senate Committee on Finance
The United States Senate Committee on Finance (or, less formally, Senate Finance Committee) is a standing committee of the United States Senate. The Committee concerns itself with matters relating to taxation and other revenue measures generall ...
, which has jurisdiction over Medicare and Medicaid, before confirmation is considered by the full
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
.
Secretary of Health and Human Services is a
Level I position in the Executive Schedule, thus earning a salary of
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
221,400, as of January 2021.
Xavier Becerra
Xavier Becerra ( ; ; born January 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 25th United States secretary of health and human services since March 2021. Becerra previously served as the attorney general of California from Jan ...
has served as the 25th United States secretary of health and human services since March 19, 2021, the first person of Hispanic descent to hold the post.
Duties
![Flag of the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Flag_of_the_Secretary_of_Health%2C_Education%2C_and_Welfare.png)
The duties of the secretary revolve around human conditions and concerns in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. This includes advising the
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
on matters of
health
Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...
,
welfare
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...
, 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.
The
Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) was reorganized into a
Department of Education
An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
and a
Department of Health and Human Services (US DHHS).
The Department of Health and Human Services oversees 11 agencies including the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA),
Centers for Disease Control (CDC),
National Institutes of Health (NIH),
Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
List of secretaries
; Parties
(9)
(15)
(1)
Status
Line of succession
The line of succession for the Secretary of Health and Human Services is as follows:
#
Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services
The deputy secretary of health and human services (formerly the under secretary of health, education, and welfare, 1953–1979, and the under secretary of health and human services, 1979–1990) is the chief operating officer of the United States D ...
.
#General Counsel of the Department of Health and Human Services
#Assistant Secretary for Administration
#
Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
#Administrator of the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), is a federal agency within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that administers the Medicare program and works in partnership with state governments to administer M ...
#
Commissioner of Food and Drugs
The United States Commissioner of Food and Drugs is the head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The commissioner is appointed by the president of the United States an ...
#Director of the
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...
#Assistant Secretary for
Children and Families
#Other assistant secretaries (following in the order they took the oath of office)
##
Assistant Secretary for Health
The assistant secretary for health (ASH) is a senior U.S. government official within the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The position is a statutory office () and the holder of the office serves as the United State ...
##
Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response
The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) is an operating agency of the U.S. Public Health Service within the Department of Health and Human Services that focuses preventing, preparing for, and responding to the adverse he ...
##Assistant Secretary for Legislation
##
Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs
##Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources
##Assistant Secretary for
Aging
Ageing ( BE) or aging ( AE) is the process of becoming older. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi, whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentially biologically immortal. In ...
#Director of the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...
#Director, Region 4 (
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
)
References
External links
*
Department Of Health And Human Services Meeting Notices and Rule Changes from The Federal Registe
RSS Feed
Marcia Fudge
{{DEFAULTSORT:United States Secretary of Health and Human Services
Health and Human Services
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is " ...
Secretary of Health and Human Services
The United States secretary of health and human services is the head of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all health matters. The secretary is ...
Health and Human Services
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is " ...
1980 establishments in the United States