Challenged the Trump Administration's attempt to illegally divert funding to build the Presid
Source: California Attorney General website: Biden Cabinet
Dec 16, 2020
On Corporations:
Brought successful antitrust suit against hospital chain
Nor do they tend to mention Becerra's successful antitrust lawsuit against the northern California hospital chain Sutter Health.
That case resulted in a $575-million settlement and exposed how hospital mergers drive up costs for patients.
Source: The Los Angeles Times on Biden Cabinet
Dec 15, 2020
On Jobs:
Sued Amazon to comply with COVID subpoenas at warehouses
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra petitioned a court to force Amazon.com Inc to comply with outstanding subpoenas over a state investigation into its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
The subpoenas seek information about Amazon's sick-leave policies, sanitation measures and data about the spread of the virus at the company's California warehouses, the petition said.
Source: Reuters news service on Biden Cabinet
Dec 14, 2020
On Civil Rights:
For marriage equality; against Defense of Marriage Act
The executive director of Equality California praised Becerra as among the most ardent LGBTQ+ allies he has ever worked with. "He's just been rock solid with us since the very beginning, has an
unblemished record, and in a way that really sets him apart from folks that are obviously very good today," Zbur said. "He stepped out early at a time when it was not necessarily as easy to do as it is today."
During Becerra's first term in the U.S. House he backed marriage equality, something few other members of Congress did. Among 435 senators and representatives, Becerra was among just 67 who voted against the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, according
to Equality California. In 2005, he co-sponsored the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, federal legislation that added sexual orientation, gender identity and disability to hate crime law.
Source: 19th News e-zine on 2021 Biden Cabinet
Dec 8, 2020
On Civil Rights:
Racial divisions exploited by our adversaries
Known more for her extensive foreign policy experience, Rice also pointed to racism as a national security issue, saying, "Our adversaries have figured out that because these divisions exist, all they need to do is pour salt in our wounds, exacerbate
those divisions, pit us against each other, and argue both sides of the issue . We've got to heal them as a matter of national survival, as a matter of our democratic viability."
Source: 19th News e-zine on 2021 Biden Cabinet
Dec 8, 2020
On Government Reform:
Made structural changes at California Dept. of Justice
On Cabinet nomination "The California Justice Department is bigger than many state governments in terms of its reach and scope," said Obama HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who praised Becerra as a "smart, strategic" pick who will be able to recruit
top talent. Those who worked with him at California's DOJ praised his willingness to push for structural changes, including creating new legal teams and changing a paper resume requirement that he worried was discouraging young talent from applying.
Source: Politico.com blog on Biden Cabinet
Dec 7, 2020
On Health Care:
2016: rescind patents for government funded medicine
Back in 2016, Becerra was one of the 51 House Democratic lawmakers who signed a letter calling on Obama's Health and Human Services secretary to use "march-in rights" to effectively rescind exclusive patents for medicines whose research and development
was originally funded by government agencies. The lawmakers wrote, "The failure to act in the past has undoubtedly sent an unfortunate signal that prices for federally-funded inventions can be set as high as a sick or dying consumer will pay."
Source: Jacobin magazine on Biden Cabinet
Dec 7, 2020
On Principles & Values:
We know true value of diversity; will fight for our beliefs
In a conference call with reporters, Becerra seemed open to sparring over ideology with a Trump administration if needed. "We are a state that knows who it is,
what it's good at, and we're going to continue to do that," Becerra said. "We know the true value of diversity, and we're going to fight for what we believe in."
Source: Buzzfeed blog on Biden Cabinet
Dec 1, 2016
Page last updated: May 20, 2021