HHS Chief Gets Behind One Cause Everyone Can Believe In

Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell won't have an easy time making friends on the other side of the political aisle. But on Monday, she did take up one cause that could well be bipartisan. 

"I’ve learned to have respect for every sector of our society and to believe strongly that there really are more things that we have in common as Americans, than things that drive us apart," Burwell said during a speech to The George Washington University students, promoting the Affordable Care Act and highlighting her management background. "That’s why, when we hear good ideas from the other side of the aisle, we want to listen… So when Republican Congressman Fred Upton asked me to join him for a discussion on '21^st Century Cures' later this week, I said 'Sign me up.' "

21^st Century Cures, as the Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman from Michigan noted on his website last month, is a coming series of white papers and hearings designed to speed the discovery and dissemination of pioneering medical cures, in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration.

Asked for his response to the shout-out in Burwell’s speech, Upton told Government Executive, "Getting better cures and treatments to patients more quickly is something everyone supports, and this is truly a collaborative effort. We look forward to having Secretary Burwell's voice as part of this week's all-star roundtable as this important conversation continues and we look toward real solutions." 

Yet on the same day, in an impressive display of compartmentalization, Upton and fellow committee Republicans sent Burwell a letter chiding HHS for failing to meet June deadlines for turning over documents on grants for the state-based Obamacare exchanges.

Back to business in 2014 in Washington.