Nomination of mr. Alex azar to serve as secretary of health and Human Services, one of the most important jobs in any government anywhere in the world. Id like to welcome mr. Azar to the finance committee this morning. I want to thank you for being here and for your willingness to serve in this important capacity. Mr. Azar certainly has his work cut out for him. Health and Human Services is a massive, Sprawling Department that overseas trillions of dollars in spending and liabilities and encompasses all areas of our Nations Health care system. As a result, if confirmed, mr. Azars work will impact the lives of every single american. Now, thats a big job. It requires knowledge, experience, and, most important, strong leadership. Fortunately, our nominee brings all of this to the table having nearly two decades of experience in the health care sector, including about six years working at the highest levels of hhs. During his time at hhs, mr. Azar played key roles in implementing new polic
Here. And for your willi in ingness t serve in this important capacity. Mr. Azar certainly has his work cut out for him. Health and Human Services is a massive, Sprawling Department that oversees trillions of dollars in spending and liabilities and encompasses all areas of our Nations Health care system. As a result, if confirmed, mr. Azars work will impact the lives of every single american. Now, thats a big job. It requires knowledge, experience, and most important, strong leadership. Fortunately, our nominee brings all of this to the table, having nearly two decades of experience in the health care sector, including about six years working at the highest levels of hhs. During his time at hhs, mr. Azar play eed key roles in implementg new policies including Medicare Part d and the Medicare Advantage program. He was also a leader in hhs responses to the anthrax attacks shortly after 9 11, the sars and monkey pox crisis, and hurricane katrina, just to mention a few. If confirmed, mr. A
The committee will come to order. Welcome everybody to this mornings hearing. Today the committee will consider and examine the nomination of vista alex cesar to serve as a sect of health and Human Services, one of the most aboard jobs in any government anywhere in the world. Id like to welcome mr. Azar to the finance committee this morning. Thank you for being here and for your willingness to serve in this important capacity. Mr. Azar certainly has his work cut out for him. Health and Human Services is a massive, Sprawling Department that oversees trillions of dollars in spending and liabilities and encompasses all areas of our Nations Health care system. As a result, if confirmed, mr. Azars work will impact the lives of every single american. Thats a big job. It requires knowledge, experience, and, most important, strong leadership. Fortunately, our nominee brings all of this to the table, having nearly two decades of experience in the health care sector, including about six years wo
Again to an impossibly distant 2015. , the year that film comes to mind as i think about the changes we are seeing in how seniors approach work and retirement, the topic of todays hearing. For most of the past century, seniors have been withdrawing as americansforce came to view retirement as a time of uninterrupted rest and leisure that could last for decades. Ofthe year 2000, only 32 werecans age 55 and older still working, and the average age of retirement had dropped to just 63, but the babyboom generation has reversed this trend. Today, 40 of workers 55 and older remain in the workforce, a ratio not seen since the eisenhower administration. Remainingoomers are in the workforce longer for many reasons, but one leading reason is the need for Financial Security. Many americans today dont have the resources they need to live comfortably and retirement without working. It used to be said that Retirement Security was a threelegged stool, the first leg being an employerprovided pension,
Expected to grow modestly this year and a solid pace through the next few years. Although real adjusted inflation grew weekly in early 2015, the economy now appears to be on firmer ground and we expect the pace of Economic Activity to pick up over the next calendar year and the next few years. After that, we expect to see moderate to constrained early growth in the workforce. Real gdp will grow by 2 this calendar year, by 3. 1 in 2016, and by 2. 7 in 2017. Above its potential or maximum sustainable rate over that time frame. The economy will grow at an average rate of 2. 2 , equal to its real growth rate. This will be driven by consumer spending, business investment, and residential investment. Over the next few years, the faster pace in growth output is expected to reduce the quantity of underused resource, or slack, in the economy. The estimate was about 3. 4 in 2014. Cbo next to narrow that gap to its historical average by the end of 2017. Although labor Market Conditions continue t