Luncheon Speaker’s Biography September 23, 2019

Bill Corr
Former Deputy Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services

Bill Corr, former Deputy Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and now working with former Rep. Henry Waxman at the non-profit Waxman Strategies, has co-authored a major study of the problem of skyrocketing prescription drug prices and what can be done about it.

Bill has spent the bulk of his impressive career advocating for better healthcare access at almost every level of society. Most recently, he served as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services from 2009 to 2015. Bill returned to the Department after having served as executive director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a privately funded organization established to focus the nation’s attention and action on reducing tobacco use among both kids and adults.

From March 1998 until 2000, Bill served as Chief Counsel and Policy Director for U.S. Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle. His responsibilities for the Minority Leader included developing and coordinating policy positions for Senate Democrats, as well as with the White House and House Minority Leadership. Before working for the Senate Minority Leader, Bill served as the Chief of Staff for the Department of Health and Human Services. There, he was the principal advisor to Secretary Donna E. Shalala on all major policy and management issues and initiatives.

From 1989 until 1993, Bill served as Chief Counsel and Staff Director for the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Monopolies and Business Rights of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary under Chairman Howard M. Metzenbaum. He also assisted Senator Metzenbaum as a member of the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee. Bill’s major legislative and oversight responsibilities included the Brady Bill, the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act, prescription drug and state insurance regulation, the S&L industry, and several Supreme Court nominations.
Before his career on Capitol Hill, Bill worked in the Appalachian Mountain area of Tennessee and Kentucky from 1974 to 1977. During that time, he directed four private, nonprofit, community-run primary health care centers and assisted other communities in establishing and operating similar centers.

Bill holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Virginia and a J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law.