54 Facts About Kathleen Sebelius

Kathleen Sebelius is an American businesswoman and politician who served as the 21st United States secretary of Health and Human Services from 2009 until 2014.

Kathleen Sebelius was the Democratic respondent to the 2008 State of the Union address and is chair-emerita of the Democratic Governors Association.

Kathleen Sebelius was the second oldest of four children in her family.

Kathleen Sebelius's family ran funeral homes and her father was a city councilor in Cincinnati.

Kathleen Sebelius's father was elected governor of Ohio when Sebelius was 21 years old.

Kathleen Sebelius worked in her father's campaign traveling around the state.

Kathleen Sebelius attended the Summit Country Day School in Cincinnati and graduated from Trinity Washington University in Washington, DC, with a Bachelor of Arts in political science.

Kathleen Sebelius later earned a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Kansas.

Kathleen Sebelius served as executive director and chief lobbyist for the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association from 1977 to 1986.

Kathleen Sebelius was first elected to the Kansas House of Representatives in 1986.

Kathleen Sebelius refused to take campaign contributions from the insurance industry and blocked the proposed merger of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas, the state's largest health insurer, with an Indiana-based company.

Kathleen Sebelius's decision marked the first time the corporation had been rebuffed in its acquisition attempts.

When Kathleen Sebelius became commissioner in 1995, the Insurance Department had an annual budget of $11.7 million.

In 2001 Kathleen Sebelius was named as one of Governing Magazines Public Officials of the Year while she was serving as Kansas Insurance Commissioner.

Kathleen Sebelius raised $4 million for the campaign, a Kansas state fundraising record.

Kathleen Sebelius was cited by The New York Times to be among the women most likely to become the first female President of the United States.

Kathleen Sebelius's grade was influenced by the combination of proposed tax increases and expanded spending growth beyond population plus inflation.

On May 26,2006, Kathleen Sebelius formally announced her candidacy for re-election.

Four days later, Mark Parkinson, former chair of the Kansas Republican Party, switched his party affiliation to Democrat; the following day Kathleen Sebelius announced that Parkinson would be her running mate for lieutenant governor.

Kathleen Sebelius was challenged by Republican Kansas State Senator Jim Barnett.

In February 2008, during Kathleen Sebelius's second term in office, there was a report in the Wichita Eagle that the State of Kansas was suspending tax refunds and that, because of a lack of tax revenue, might not be able to meet payroll for state employees.

Kathleen Sebelius called for issuing certificates of indebtedness, moving funds from various state agency accounts into the general fund to alleviate the crisis.

However, Republican leaders in the legislature did not agree with her certificate of indebtedness plan, saying the state would be unable to repay the certificates unless Kathleen Sebelius issued allotments or signed a budget rescission bill that had been passed by the legislature but had not yet been delivered to her desk.

The standoff ended when the budget arrived, and Kathleen Sebelius agreed to sign it, although she line-item vetoed several cuts she felt were too large.

Kathleen Sebelius is a former chair of the Democratic Governors Association.

Kathleen Sebelius was the first female chair of the association.

Kathleen Sebelius was an early supporter of Barack Obama's presidential campaign, endorsing him in January 2008.

Kathleen Sebelius asked to be removed from consideration on December 6,2008.

On February 28,2009, it was reported that Kathleen Sebelius had accepted Obama's nomination for the position of Secretary of Health and Human Services.

At Obama's announcement, Kathleen Sebelius was accompanied by two Kansas Republicans, former US Senators Bob Dole and Pat Roberts.

Kathleen Sebelius was Obama's second choice for Secretary of Health and Human Services.

The Associated Press reported that from 2000 to 2002 Tiller gave at least $23,000 more to a political action committee Kathleen Sebelius established to raise money for Democrats while she was serving as state insurance commissioner.

Kathleen Sebelius was sworn in on April 28,2009, amidst an outbreak of swine flu in the United States.

Kathleen Sebelius is a staunch advocate for the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.

On September 13,2012, the Office of Special Counsel charged Kathleen Sebelius with violating the Hatch Act by making a political remark during an official government event.

Kathleen Sebelius's office reclassified the event from official to political and reimbursed the government's expenses.

Kathleen Sebelius has been endorsed by Planned Parenthood, which has raised funds on her behalf.

In 2003,2005,2006, and again in 2008, Kathleen Sebelius vetoed legislation that would have limited abortions in Kansas.

Kathleen Sebelius objected to the constitutionality, efficacy and morality of the proposed legislation.

Kathleen Sebelius is a member of the Catholic Church; however, in early March 2009, then-Archbishop Raymond Leo Burke, prefect for the Apostolic Signatura, the Holy See's highest court, declared that Kathleen Sebelius should not approach the altar for Communion in the United States, saying that, "after pastoral admonition, she obstinately persists in serious sin".

Not long after Kathleen Sebelius was sworn in as HHS Secretary, on May 31,2009, Tiller was assassinated by Scott Roeder.

Early in the term, Kathleen Sebelius made education funding her top priority.

Kathleen Sebelius pushed for more widespread recycling efforts across the state.

Kathleen Sebelius vetoed, like her Republican predecessor Bill Graves, a concealed-carry law that would have allowed citizens to carry concealed weapons after obtaining a state permit and passing an FBI background check.

Kathleen Sebelius did not support an April 2005 amendment to the Kansas Constitution that made same-sex marriage in the state unconstitutional.

Kathleen Sebelius said she supported the existing state law outlawing same-sex marriage, viewing it as sufficient, and therefore opposed the constitutional amendment.

Kathleen Sebelius serves as a member of the boards of directors of companies including Dermira Inc.

Kathleen Sebelius serves on advisory boards for the Dole Institute of Politics and Solera Health.

Kathleen Sebelius is a senior advisor to Out Leadership and the Aspen Institute, where she co-chairs the Aspen Health Strategy Group.

Kathleen Sebelius is a frequent keynote speaker for national and international organizations.

Kathleen Sebelius married K Gary Sebelius, the son of former Republican Congressman Keith Sebelius.

Kathleen Sebelius's husband served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Kansas for 16 years until his retirement in 2019.

Kathleen Sebelius's family has a vacation home built by her grandfather located in Leland, Michigan.

An avid fan of jazz music, Kathleen Sebelius annually attended the Jazz Fest in New Orleans for thirty years.