The most powerful person in Washington.

That sentence is not usually a description for a Health and Human Services Secretary, however thanks to President Obama’s health care law, commonly known as Obamacare, the HHS Secretary has virtually unchecked power.    And now Kathleen Sebelius is leaving the post in such a mess that she proves such an expansion of power was unwarranted and dangerous.  On top of the disaster that is Obamacare she also oversaw her department turn into one that prioritized a liberal agenda over the department’s supposed mission.  In one notorious example HHS for years gave grants to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), which is one of the largest anti-trafficking relief organizations in the world. A few years ago, the Obama Administration cut off funding for the USCCB because of the Catholic Church’s pro-life views.  Friends within the program at HHS confirmed that the outside relief organizations who took over the grants from HHS have done a horrible job in keeping up with the demand of those suffering from trafficking.

However nothing gave the Secretary more power than the health care law.  When the bill passed the National Center for Policy Analysis found 1,697 instances in the bill “where the secretary of health and humans services is given the authority to create, determine or define things in the bill.”

These new powers include setting monthly costs per person, establishing an agency that will determine cuts without Congressional approval and determining if abortion is included in the government run plan.

This is an awful lot of power for a Secretary who has proven largely ineffective during the health care debate and oversaw the disastrous government roll out of what is the President’s legacy legislation.  She has always had and has maintained close ties to an abortion industry that has helped finance most of her political career and who is being well rewarded now with government funds.  Soon after Secretary Sebelius was confirmed she received a thank you letter from the head of the abortion giant Planned Parenthood, Cecile Richards, thanking her for speaking to a gathering of various leaders in the abortion industry and how Ms. Richards was “grateful for your (Kathleen Sebelius’) friendship and support.”

Reviewing the record of Gov. Sebelius when she served in the Kansas Legislature, Representative Sebelius voted to weaken or eliminate even such modest measures as unborn victims, parental notification, waiting periods and informed consent.  During her time as Governor, Kathleen Sebelius has cut state funding for abortion alternatives, vetoed a bill imposing minimal sanitary standards on abortion clinics, and vetoed a bill that would have strengthened late term abortion law. These actions provide a far better indication of her views on sanctity of life issues than an incidental abortion decline that occurred under her watch. Her position is further questioned when her close ties to notorious abortionist George Tiller, known for performing late-term abortions in Kansas, are revealed. Donations from Mr. Tiller of hundreds of thousands of dollars to PACs and organizations controlled by the Kansas Governor were revealed, not by the governor during the hearing process as they should have been, but by outside sources. She has also repeatedly interfered in cases brought against Mr. Tiller, including recruiting a candidate to replace the state attorney general who was originally prosecuting the abortion doctor.

Many Republican Senators opposed the nomination however one stands out, in that he is also retiring this year as well:

Senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla.)

“I think there’s a flaw there, a critical defect in this nominee. That’s a nonstarter with me, not because I dislike her. I think she’s a wonderful lady, but I think she lacks part of the moral clarity that is required to lead this nation into the future. Her ability from the start will be compromised by her position on this issue. I have no doubt that she will be approved today, so I mark it as another sign on our way to oblivion as a nation.”

Considering how many tax dollars are being funneled to her well-heeled friends in the abortion industry I have little doubt that she will land on her feet.  The same cannot be said for her predecessor who will likely have to face the failures of 6 years of Sebelius rule.

On the positive side apparently the HHS Secretary can do PSA’s with Vice President Joe Biden whenever they feel like it.