dr. brett b. giroir. his recent appointment as secretary azar's point person on opioid policy speaks highly of his capabilities. i am grateful that the finance committee will be the first congressional committee to hear from him in this capacity. how do i pronounce that name? is it giroir? >> yes, sir. >> okay. >> i'm also delighted to have cms kim brandt appear before the committee today. miss brandt likely needs no introduction to my fellow committee members as she served as a senior member of my staff for six years before assuming the role of principal deputy administrator for operations at cms last year. i'm very proud of her. i would like to quickly say that while i certainly gave me blessing to ms. brandt before she moved on to a cms leadership role, it was really difficult for me to see kim go. she's that great a person. i ask that you all indulge a point of personal privilege to allow me to explain why. i no longer get those uplifting visits from her puppy sherlock. >> the cookies. >> yeah. >> oh,