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United States Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services

{{Short description|Leading role in US federal department}}

{{Infobox official post

| post = United States Deputy Secretary

| body = Health and Human Services

| flag =

| flagsize = 130

| flagcaption =

| insignia = US Department of Health and Human Services seal.svg

| insigniasize = 120

| insigniacaption = Seal of the Department

| image =

| incumbent = Vacant

| incumbentsince = January 20, 2025

| department = United States Department of Health and Human Services

| style = Madam Deputy Secretary (informal)
The Honorable (formal)

| member_of =

| reports_to = United States Secretary of Health and Human Services

| seat = Hubert H. Humphrey Building, Washington, D.C.

| appointer = President of the United States

| appointer_qualified = with Senate advice and consent

| termlength = No fixed term

| constituting_instrument =

| precursor = Under Secretary of Health and Human Services

| formation = August 1990

| first = Constance Horner

| succession =

| deputy =

| salary = Executive Schedule, level II

| website = {{url|www.hhs.gov/about/leadership/index.html|www.hhs.gov}}

}}

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 Department of Health and Human Services. The deputy secretary oversees all operations within the Department, including overseeing Medicare, Medicaid, public health, medical research, food and drug safety, welfare, child and family services, disease prevention, Indian health, and mental health services. The office of Deputy Secretary is currently vacant. The most recent Deputy Secretary was Andrea Palm, who was confirmed by the United States Senate on May 11, 2021.

The deputy secretary is also the regulatory policy officer for the department, overseeing the development and approval of all HHS regulations and significant guidance. In addition, the deputy secretary leads a number of initiatives at the department, including implementing the President's management agenda, combating bio-terrorism, and public health emergency preparedness. She also represents the secretary of health and human services on the board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

The deputy secretary is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.{{cite web |title=US CODE: Title 42,3501. Establishment of Department; effective date |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/3501- |access-date=September 25, 2007}} The deputy secretary is paid at level II of the Executive Schedule.{{cite web |title=US CODE: Title 5,5313. Positions at level II |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/05/5313- |access-date= September 25, 2007}} The deputy secretary is assisted by a principal associate deputy secretary of health and human services, two associate deputy secretaries, and three staff assistants.{{cite web |title=HHS/OS Organizational Directory (IOS/Office of the Deputy Secretary) – Browse |url=http://directory.psc.gov/os/886.html |access-date=September 25, 2007}} The position of deputy secretary was originally held by an under secretary until the position was retitled in August 1990. The position of under secretary had been in existence since the creation of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in 1953.

List

=Assistant secretary of health, education, and welfare=

class="wikitable"

!#

!Image

!Name

!Took office

!Left office

!President served under

!References

1

|60px

|Jane Morrow Spaulding

|April 1953

|January 1954

|Dwight D. Eisenhower

|Smith, Jessie Carney, "Notable Black American women, Book II" (1996), p. 611 "In April, 1953, when the Department of Health, Education and Welfare was established with Oveta Culp Hobby as its first secretary, Spaulding was appointed her assistant. ... After only nine months... Spaulding was reassigned. On January 21, 1954, HEW released to the press the entire text of Jane Spaulding's resignation along with the report that she has accepted a position with the War Claims Commission."Mjagki, Nina, "Portraits of African American life since 1865" (2003), p. 190 "More African Americans were appointed to high federal posts during the Eisenhower than by any other administration since that of Theodore Roosevelt". Roberta Church was reportedly considered for the position of "assistant to the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare"... "but that job went to Jane Morrow Spaulding, another prominent black Republican."

=Under secretaries of health, education, and welfare=

{{Incomplete list|date=February 2011}}

class="wikitable"

!#

!Image

!Name

!Took office

!Left office

!President served under

!References

1

|60px

|Nelson Rockefeller

|June 1953

|December 1954

|rowspan=7|Dwight D. Eisenhower

|A common thread of Service, p. 43. Lists holders of the position of Under Secretary. Under Secretary was a new office, outranking the position of Assistant. "Nelson A. Rockefeller June 11, 1953 – December 22, 1954".

|60px

|Vacant

|December 1954

|September 1955

|A common thread of Service, p. 43. Lists holders of the position of Under Secretary. "Vacancy December 23, 1954 – September 11, 1955".

2

|60px

|Herold Christian Hunt

|September 1955

|February 1957

|A common thread of Service, p. 43. Lists holders of the position of Under Secretary. "Herold C. Hunt September 12, 1955 – February 4, 1957".

|60px

|Vacant

|February 1957

|April 1957

|A common thread of Service, p. 43. Lists holders of the position of Under Secretary. "Vacancy February 5, 1957 – April 4, 1957".

3

|60px

|John Alanson Perkins

|April 1957

|March 1958

|A common thread of Service, p. 44. Lists holders of the position of Under Secretary. "John A.Perkins April 5, 1957 – March 6, 1958"."Journal of physical education and recreation", Vol. 28 (1957), p. 52. "John Alanson Perkins, who has been president of the University of Delaware since 1950, has been appointed to the position of Under Secretary".

|60px

|Vacant

|March 7, 1958

|March 18, 1958

|A common thread of Service, p. 44. Lists holders of the position of Under Secretary. "Vacancy March 7, 1958 – March 18, 1958".

4

|60px

|Bertha Adkins

|March 1958

|January 1961

|A common thread of Service, p. 44. Lists holders of the position of Under Secretary. "Bertha S. Atkins March 19, 1958 – January 19, 1961".O'Dea Schenken, Suzanne, "From suffrage to the Senate: an encyclopedia of American women in Politics, Vol. II", p. 17. Contains a bio of Adkins. "Adkins, Bertha Sheppard (1906–1983). Undersecretary of Health, Education, and Welfare from 1958 to 1960. ... Served as director of the Republican Party's Women's Division from 1950 to 1953, when the division closed. Adkins then became assistant to the chair of the Republican National Committee, serving until 1960."

rowspan=2|5

|rowspan=2|60px

|rowspan=2|Ivan Arnold Nestingen

|rowspan=2|January 1961

|rowspan=2|May 1965

|John F. Kennedy

|rowspan=2|A common thread of Service, p. 44. Lists holders of the position of Under Secretary. "Ivan A. Nestingen January 21, 1961 – May 31, 1965".Mossman, Jennifer, "Almanac of Famous People". Vol. 1", p. 1421. Contains a brief bio of Nestingen. "Nestingen, Ivan Arnold" (1921–1978) . He is listed as Mayor of Madison Wisconsin from 1956 to 1961, Under Secretary of HEW from 1961 to 1965.Bowling, Lawson, "Shapers of the Great Debate on the Great Society", p. 44. Covers Nestingen in a section covering the efforts to introduce Medicare and his working relationship with Wilbur J. Cohen. "Cohen's immediate superior and fellow Wisconsinite, HEW Undersecretary Ivan Nestingen, grew extremely frustrated with the congressional logjam and, disillusioned with Cohen's inside game, came to favor an outside public relations effort to create pressure on Congress, banking on the Medicare concept's general popularity. ... Nestingen eventually left government service in 1965 in a fashion rumored not to be voluntary".

rowspan=4|Lyndon B. Johnson
6

|60px

|Wilbur J. Cohen

|June 1965

|May 1968

|A common thread of Service, p. 44. Lists holders of the position of Under Secretary. "Wilbur J. Cohen June 1, 1965 – May 16, 1968".

|60px

|Vacant

|May 1968

|July 1968

|A common thread of Service, p. 44. Lists holders of the position of Under Secretary. "Vacancy May 17, 1968 – July 14, 1968".

7

|60px

|James H. McCrocklin

|July 1968

|January 1969

|A common thread of Service, p. 44. Lists holders of the position of Under Secretary. "James H. McCrocklin July 15, 1968 – January 20, 1969".[https://web.archive.org/web/20121107051326/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,841305-1,00.html Time Magazine article, L.B.J. : Lengthening Shadows], originally published June 28, 1968. "When the President fills vacant posts, appointments have an odor of the payoff. James McCrocklin, new Under Secretary of HEW, is a former president of Southwest Texas State College, which boasts one really distinguished alumnus, named Johnson.""The inauguration of James Henry McCrocklin as fourth president of Southwest Texas State Teachers College" 1964). The title offers the full name of McCrocklin.

|60px

|Vacant

|January 1969

|March 1969

|rowspan=3|Richard Nixon

|A common thread of Service, p. 44. Lists holders of the position of Under Secretary. "Vacancy January 21, 1969 – March 5, 1969".

8

|60px

|John Veneman

|March 1969

|January 1973

|A common thread of Service, p. 44. Lists holders of the position of Under Secretary. "John G. Veneman March 6, 1969 to present". The book was published in 1970Derthick, Martha, "Policymaking for social security" (1979), p. 68. "The Nixon administration of 1969–72 continued the practice of liberal appointees with Robert H. Finch (1969–1970) and Richardson (1970–1973) as secretaries and John G. Veneman (1969–1973) as under secretary".Kaplowitz, Craig Allan, "LULAC, Mexican Americans and National Policy" (2005), p. 147. "As John Veneman, undersecretary of HEW, told The Washington Post in January 1972, 'Whenever Spanish-speaking students' performance is shown to be markedly lower, a strong case can be made that they are not receiving an equal education.' Teaching children in a language that some understand and others do not was not 'equal', according to Veneman, and Spanish language use and low test scores together could prove the need for remedy."

rowspan=2|9

|rowspan=2|60px

|rowspan=2|Frank Carlucci

|rowspan=2|January 1973

|rowspan=2|January 1975

|

Gerald Ford

|{{cite book |title=Better Evaluations Needed to Weed Out Useless Federal Advisory Committees |date=1977 |publisher=United States General Accounting Office |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4S0sAAAAIAAJ |access-date=22 March 2023}}

rowspan=2|10

|rowspan=2|60px

|rowspan=2|Marjorie Lynch

|rowspan=2|November 1975

|rowspan=2|January 1977

Gerald Ford

|

rowspan=2|11

|rowspan=2|60px

|rowspan=2|Hale Champion

|rowspan=2|January 1977

|rowspan=2|June 1979

Jimmy Carter

|{{cite news |last1=Patterson |first1=Rachelle |title=Harvard financial chief Hale Champion named under secretary of HEW |work=The Boston Globe |date=January 20, 1977}}{{cite news |last1=Patterson |first1=Rachelle |title=Hale Champion resigns from HEW |work=The Boston Globe |date=May 17, 1979}}

=Under secretaries of health and human services=

{{Incomplete list|date=February 2011}}

class="wikitable"

!#

!Image

!Name

!Took office

!Left office

!President served under

!References

12

|60px

|John A. Svahn

|March 1983

|September 1983

|rowspan=3|Ronald Reagan

|{{cite web |url=http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/archives/speeches/1987/042187m.htm |title=Appointment of John A. Svahn as United States Commissioner on the Commission for the Study of Alternatives to the Panama Canal |publisher=Ronald Reagan Presidential Library}}

13

|60px

|Charles D. Baker

|1984

|1985

|

14

|60px

|Don M. Newman

|1985

|1989

|

15

|60px

|Constance Horner

|1989

|August 1990

|George H. W. Bush

|

=Deputy secretaries of health and human services=

{{Incomplete list|date=February 2011}}

class="wikitable"

!#

!Image

!Name

!Took office

!Left office

!President served under

!References

15

|60px

|Constance Horner

|August 1990

|1991

|rowspan=2|George H. W. Bush

|

16

|60px

|Kevin Moley

|1991

|1993

|

17

|60px

|Walter Broadnax

|1993

|1996

|rowspan=2|Bill Clinton

|

18

|60px

|Kevin Thurm

|1996

|2001

|{{cite web |title=HHS Organizational Directory – Browse |url=http://directory.psc.gov/os/886.html |access-date=December 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20001212230600/http://directory.psc.gov/os/886.html |archive-date=December 12, 2000}}

19

|60px

|Claude Allen

|May 26, 2001

|January 22, 2005

|rowspan=4|George W. Bush

|{{cite web |title=HHS/OS Organizational Directory (IOS/Office of the Deputy Secretary) – Browse |url=http://directory.psc.gov/os/886.html |access-date=February 18, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050218101444/http://directory.psc.gov/os/886.html |archive-date=February 18, 2005}}

20

|60px

|Alex Azar

|January 22, 2005

|February 4, 2007

|{{cite web |title=HHS – Office of the Deputy Secretary |url=https://www.hhs.gov/agencies/depsec.html |access-date=January 7, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070107094605/http://www.hhs.gov/agencies/depsec.html |archive-date=January 7, 2007}}

style="background:#e6e6aa;" |–

|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |60px

|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |Eric Hargan
(acting)

|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |February 4, 2007

|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |August 5, 2007

|{{cite web |title=HHS – Office of the Deputy Secretary |url=https://www.hhs.gov/agencies/depsec.html |access-date= April 27, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070427172602/http://www.hhs.gov/agencies/depsec.html |archive-date=April 27, 2007}}

21

|60px

|Tevi Troy

|August 5, 2007

|January 20, 2009

|{{cite web |title=HHS – Biography of Tevi D. Troy, Deputy Secretary |url=https://www.hhs.gov/agencies/bios/deputysecretary.html |access-date=September 25, 2007}}

22

|60px

|Bill Corr

|May 6, 2009

|April 2015

|rowspan=2|Barack Obama

|{{cite web |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2015/07/13/presidential-nomination-sent-senate |title=Presidential Nomination Sent to Senate |date=July 13, 2015 |via=National Archives |work=whitehouse.gov |access-date=July 14, 2015}}

style="background:#e6e6aa;" |–

|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |60px

|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |Mary Wakefield
(acting)

|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |April 2015

|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |January 20, 2017

|

style="background:#e6e6aa;" |–

|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |60px

|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |Colleen Barros
(acting)

|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |January 20, 2017

|style="background:#e6e6aa;" |October 6, 2017

|rowspan=2|Donald Trump

|

23

|60px

|Eric Hargan

|October 6, 2017

|January 20, 2021

|

24

|60px

|Andrea Palm

|May 12, 2021

|January 20, 2025

|Joe Biden

|

References

{{reflist|30em}}

Sources

  • {{citation | title=Journal of physical education and recreation, Vol. 28| year=1957 | publisher=American Physical Education Association}}
  • {{citation | title=The inauguration of James Henry McCrocklin as fourth president of Southwest Texas State Teachers College| year=1964 | publisher=Southwest Texas State Teachers College}}
  • {{citation | title=A common thread of service| year=1970 | publisher=United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare}}
  • {{citation | title=Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, Richard Nixon, 1973: Containing the Public Messages, Statements, and Speeches of the President| year=1999 | publisher=Government Printing Office| isbn= 978-0-16-058865-5| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=KKU4a1cBNxsC}}
  • {{citation | last=Bowling | first=Lawson| title=Shapers of the great debate on the Great Society: a biographical dictionary| year=2005 | publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group| isbn= 978-0-313-31434-6| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=H0J5i01JnEQC}}
  • {{citation | last=Derthick | first=Martha| title=Policymaking for social security| year=1979 | publisher=Brookings Institution Press| isbn= 978-0-8157-1815-4| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=8vCDHHnW_LcC}}
  • {{citation | last=Kaplowitz | first=Craig Allan| title=LULAC, Mexican Americans, and national policy| year=2005 | publisher=Texas A&M University Press| isbn= 978-1-58544-388-8| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=sWrox9R2I7wC}}
  • {{citation | last=Mjagkij | first=Nina| title=Portraits of African American life since 1865| year=2003 | publisher=Rowman & Littlefield| isbn= 978-0-8420-2967-4| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=DUo-zGOurF8C}}
  • {{citation | last=Mossman | first=Jennifer| title=Almanac of Famous People: A Comprehensive Reference Guide to More than 33,000 Famous and Infamous Newsmakers from Biblical Times to the Present, Vol. 1| year=2001 | publisher=Gale Research Co.| isbn= 978-0-7876-4793-3}}
  • {{citation | last=O'Dea Schenken | first=Suzanne| title=From suffrage to the Senate: an encyclopedia of American women in politics, Vol. 2| year=1999 | publisher=ABC-CLIO| isbn= 978-0-87436-960-1| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Si6ZVqdOqIgC}}
  • {{citation | last=San Migel | first=Guadalupe| title=Contested policy: the Rise and Fall of Federal Bilingual Education in the United States, 1960–2001| year=2004 | publisher=University of North Texas Press| isbn= 978-1-57441-171-3| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=CQK5ebn6qBQC}}
  • {{citation | last=Smith | first=Jessie Carney| title=Notable Black American women, Book II| year=1996 | publisher=VNR AG| isbn= 978-0-8103-9177-2| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ssMBzqrUpjwC}}
  • {{citation | last=Smith | first=W. Thomas| title=Encyclopedia of the Central Intelligence Agency| year=2003 | publisher=Infobase Publishing| isbn= 978-0-8160-4666-9| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=1Jc9wBsImOIC}}

{{HHS agencies}}

{{US Cabinet deputy leaders}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:United States Deputy Secretary Of Health And Human Services}}

Category:United States Department of Health and Human Services

Health and Human Services