Kathleen Sebelius facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kathleen Sebelius
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Official portrait, 2009
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| 21st United States Secretary of Health and Human Services | |
| In office April 28, 2009 – June 9, 2014 |
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| President | Barack Obama |
| Deputy | Bill Corr |
| Preceded by | Mike Leavitt |
| Succeeded by | Sylvia Mathews Burwell |
| 44th Governor of Kansas | |
| In office January 13, 2003 – April 28, 2009 |
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| Lieutenant | John E. Moore Mark Parkinson |
| Preceded by | Bill Graves |
| Succeeded by | Mark Parkinson |
| 23rd Kansas Insurance Commissioner | |
| In office January 9, 1995 – January 13, 2003 |
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| Governor | Bill Graves |
| Preceded by | Ronald L. Todd |
| Succeeded by | Sandy Praeger |
| Member of the Kansas House of Representatives from the 56th district |
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| In office 1987–1995 |
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| Preceded by | Judith C. Runnels |
| Succeeded by | Nancy Kirk |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Kathleen Gilligan
May 15, 1948 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
K. Gary Sebelius
(m. 1974) |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent |
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| Relatives | Keith Sebelius (father-in-law) |
| Education | Trinity Washington University (BA) University of Kansas (MPA) |
Kathleen Sebelius (born May 15, 1948) is an American politician. She was the 21st United States Secretary of Health and Human Services from 2009 to 2014. In this role, she helped put the Affordable Care Act into action. Before that, she was the 44th governor of Kansas from 2003 to 2009. She was the second woman to be governor of Kansas. Kathleen Sebelius is a member of the Democratic Party. She also led the Democratic Governors Association as its first female chair. Today, she is the CEO of Sebelius Resources LLC.
Contents
- Early Life and Education
- Early Career in Kansas
- Kansas House of Representatives (1987–1995)
- Kansas Insurance Commissioner (1995–2003)
- Governor of Kansas (2003–2009)
- U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (2009–2014)
- Political Positions
- After Her Time in Government
- Personal Life
- Images for kids
- See also
Early Life and Education
Kathleen Sebelius was born and grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. She was the second of four children. Her family ran funeral homes. Her father, John J. Gilligan, was a city councilor. He later became a member of Congress and then the governor of Ohio. Kathleen helped with her father's political campaigns. Her family was Catholic and had Irish roots.
She went to the Summit Country Day School in Cincinnati. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Trinity Washington University in Washington, D.C.. Later, she got a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Kansas. She moved to Kansas in 1974.
Early Career in Kansas
From 1977 to 1986, Kathleen Sebelius worked as the executive director and chief lobbyist for the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association.
Kansas House of Representatives (1987–1995)
Kathleen Sebelius was first elected to the Kansas House of Representatives in 1986. She won re-election three more times. She represented the city of Topeka, Kansas.
Key Actions in the House
In the 1988 presidential election, she supported Gary Hart. In 1991, she tried to become the House Majority Leader but did not win.
Committee Work
She was the Chair of the Federal and State Affairs Committee.
Kansas Insurance Commissioner (1995–2003)
In 1994, Sebelius ran for state Insurance Commissioner. She won, which was a surprise because a Democrat had not held that job in over 100 years.
She chose not to accept money from insurance companies for her campaigns. She also stopped a big merger between Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas and a company from Indiana. Blue Cross Blue Shield was the largest health insurer in Kansas. This was the first time their plans to buy another company had been stopped.
When Sebelius became commissioner in 1995, the Insurance Department had a budget of $11.7 million. By 2002, she had cut the budget to $10 million. She also fired two lawyers who had overbilled the state. In 2001, Governing Magazine named her one of their Public Officials of the Year.
Governor of Kansas (2003–2009)
First Election as Governor
In 2002, Sebelius ran for governor. She promised to protect school budgets, not raise taxes, and review state spending. She raised $4 million for her campaign, which was a record for Kansas. She won against Republican Tim Shallenburger with 53% of the votes. Her election made her and her father the first father-daughter duo to both serve as governors in the United States.
First Term as Governor
During her first term, Sebelius became very popular. In January 2006, she was one of the most popular governors in the country.
In November 2005, Time magazine called Sebelius one of the five best governors in America. They praised her for getting rid of a $1.1 billion debt and stopping wasteful spending. She also strongly supported public education without raising taxes. The article also noted her ability to work with both political parties.
In February 2006, the White House Project listed her as one of "8 in '08." This group included eight female politicians who might run for president in 2008. The New York Times also said she was likely to become the first female President of the United States.
Re-election in 2006
On May 26, 2006, Sebelius announced she would run for re-election. Four days later, Mark Parkinson, a former Republican leader, became a Democrat. Sebelius then announced that Parkinson would be her running mate for lieutenant governor. Parkinson was known as a moderate who supported public education.
She ran against Republican State Senator Jim Barnett. Polls showed Sebelius with a big lead. Even though most Kansas voters were Republicans, Sebelius won re-election with 57% of the votes. Because of Kansas's term limits law, this was her last term as governor.
Second Term as Governor
In February 2008, during her second term, there were reports that Kansas was having money problems. The state was suspending tax refunds and might not be able to pay state employees. Sebelius suggested moving money from different state accounts to solve the problem. However, Republican leaders in the legislature disagreed. The problem was solved when Sebelius agreed to sign a budget bill that cut about $300 million from the state budget.
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After Barack Obama became the Democratic presidential nominee in June 2008, many people thought Sebelius might be chosen as his vice presidential running mate. She was chosen by Democratic leaders to give their party's response to President George W. Bush's 2008 State of the Union Address. The next day, she supported Obama's campaign. However, Obama later chose Joe Biden as his running mate.
Sebelius was the first female chair of the Democratic Governors Association, elected in 2006.
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (2009–2014)
Nomination
Kathleen Sebelius supported Barack Obama's presidential campaign early on. After he won, her support and her ability to work as a Democrat in a Republican state made her a likely choice for Obama's Cabinet.
On February 28, 2009, it was reported that Sebelius had accepted Obama's nomination to be Secretary of Health and Human Services. On March 2, 2009, Obama officially announced her nomination. Two Kansas Republicans, former U.S. Senators Bob Dole and Pat Roberts, joined her at the announcement.
Sebelius was Obama's second choice for the role. His first choice, former Senator Tom Daschle, withdrew due to tax issues. Sebelius also admitted to "unintentional errors" in her tax returns and paid back nearly $8,000. The Senate Finance Committee reviewed this and continued to support her.
The Senate Finance Committee approved her nomination with a vote of 15 to 8. The full United States Senate confirmed her by a vote of 65 to 31. She was sworn in on April 28, 2009, during an outbreak of swine flu in the United States. As Secretary of Health and Human Services, Sebelius led an agency with 6,500 employees and a $700 billion annual budget.
Affordable Care Act
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Sebelius strongly supported the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare. When the ACA website, HealthCare.gov, had problems launching in October 2013, she apologized. She said, "You deserve better. I apologize. I'm accountable to you for fixing these problems." Some politicians called for her to resign because of the website issues. She responded by saying that most of those asking her to resign did not want the program to succeed anyway.
Forbes magazine recognized Sebelius as one of the most powerful women in the world in 2009, 2010, and 2011.
Hatch Act Concern
On September 13, 2012, the Office of Special Counsel said Sebelius might have broken the Hatch Act. This act stops government employees from using their official position for political activities. She made a political comment during a government event. Her office later changed the event's classification to political and paid back the government's costs.
Resignation
On April 11, 2014, Sebelius announced she was stepping down as Secretary of Health and Human Services. President Obama then nominated Sylvia Mathews Burwell to take her place. Burwell was sworn in on June 9, 2014.
Political Positions
Capital Punishment
Sebelius is against the death penalty. During her first term as governor, Kansas's capital punishment laws were challenged in court.
Education
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Early in her first term, Sebelius made education funding her main goal. In 2005, the Kansas Supreme Court ordered the Legislature to increase funding for K–12 schools. Sebelius proposed a plan to increase education funding by almost $1 billion over three years. This plan included increases in property, sales, and income taxes.
Environment
Sebelius led the Governors' Ethanol Coalition. She asked for $200 million from the U.S. government to support research into Biomass and Biorefinery systems. She also encouraged more recycling in Kansas. She vetoed bills that would have allowed the building of coal-fired power plants three times. She said that greenhouse gases cause climate change, and Kansas, as an agricultural state, is especially at risk. She believed reducing pollution would help Kansas for many years. In 2008, she spoke at a conference, asking for more federal support for wind energy and other renewable energy sources.
Firearms
Sebelius stated that she supports Kansans' right to own firearms. However, she did not believe that a broad concealed carry law would make people safer. She said she did not think allowing people to carry hidden handguns into public places like sporting events or grocery stores was good policy. She also worried about children being exposed to loaded handguns.
She vetoed a concealed-carry law that would have allowed citizens to carry hidden weapons after getting a state permit and passing an FBI background check. Her veto was later overturned by the Kansas House and Senate.
In 2008, Sebelius signed a law that allowed civilians to own machine guns and other firearms restricted by federal law, as long as they met the requirements of the National Firearms Act.
LGBT Issues
Sebelius did not support a 2005 amendment to the Kansas Constitution that made same-sex marriage illegal in the state. She believed the existing state law against same-sex marriage was enough and that a constitutional amendment was not needed. The amendment passed with 70% of voter approval.
After Her Time in Government
After leaving the Obama cabinet, Kathleen Sebelius started her own company, Sebelius Resources LLC. This company gives advice to businesses, non-profit groups, and universities.
She is also on the boards of several companies, including Dermira Inc., Grand Rounds, Inc., Exact Sciences, and Humacyte Inc. She is also involved with the Estee Lauder Foundation and the Kaiser Family Foundation. She is a senior advisor to Out Leadership and the Aspen Institute. Sebelius often gives speeches at national and international events.
Personal Life
Kathleen Sebelius married K. Gary Sebelius in 1974. He is the son of former Republican Congressman Keith Sebelius. They have two sons, Ned (born 1982) and John (born 1985). Her husband worked as a United States Magistrate Judge for Kansas for 16 years until he retired in 2019.
Her family has a vacation home in Leland, Michigan, built by her grandfather. She loves jazz music and went to the Jazz Fest in New Orleans for thirty years. She also enjoys running in her free time.
Images for kids
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Sebelius speaks during the second day of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.
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Sebelius and Eric Holder.
See also
- In Spanish: Kathleen Sebelius para niños
