Senate approves HHS deputy chief nominee

Washington -- The Senate on May 6 unanimously confirmed President Obama's nominee for Health and Human Services deputy secretary, giving the administration's newly installed HHS chief a second in command.

Senate Finance Committee members gave William Corr, the executive director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids since 2000, a largely friendly reception during an April 30 joint confirmation hearing with two other White House nominees for trade- and economic-related positions. Senators asked about his role as an anti-tobacco lobbyist as well as his commitment to preventive care and saving money through national health reform.

Corr is no stranger to the Senate nor to the executive branch. He served for two years as chief counsel and policy director for then-Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D, N.D.) until 2000. Prior to that, Corr was HHS chief of staff under Secretary Donna Shalala. He has also served as a staff member on committees with jurisdiction over health, energy, trade and other topics.

The nominee also helped set up and direct community health centers in Eastern Tennessee in the mid-1970s. "I learned firsthand what it means to try to deliver care in a rural area," he said. "I also learned how important it is that we prevent disease rather than have to treat it."

Corr will recuse himself from handling tobacco-related issues at HHS because of Obama administration ethics guidelines against executive branch leaders handling issues on which they previously lobbied. Sen. Mike Enzi (R, Wyo.) asked the nominee how that would affect the department. Corr said other senior officials -- such as the Food and Drug Administration commissioner and director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, among others -- would shoulder greater responsibility.

Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D, Mont.) said procuring new health spending will be more difficult without Congressional Budget Office estimates of significant savings from boosting preventive care and other provisions in health legislation. "The health care reform that we all want to pass is in danger, it's in jeopardy, if we cannot document ... reductions in costs," Baucus said. Sen. Ron Wyden (D. Ore.) also worried about CBO estimates. "We've got to show we're making some savings in order to have some credibility with the American people."

Corr promised to bring the best minds together to work on the issue. "That certainly is a goal of the people in the department now working on health reform," he said. However, he said, even measures that discourage tobacco use don't register as huge cost-savers with CBO.