110 HRES 1416 IH: Honoring Dr. Michael DeBakey for his U.S. House of Representatives 2008-09-08 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

IV 110th CONGRESS 2d Session H. RES. 1416 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 8, 2008 Mr. Boustany submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce RESOLUTION Honoring Dr. Michael DeBakey for his lifetime of accomplishments.

Whereas Dr. Michael DeBakey, a pioneering heart surgeon, innovator, and educator, was born on September 7, 1908, and passed away on July 11, 2008, at the age of 99; Whereas Michael DeBakey was born and raised in Lake Charles, Louisiana, as the eldest of 5 children to Lebanese immigrants and graduated as Valedictorian from Lake Charles High School in 1926; Whereas Michael DeBakey received his bachelor’s of science and medical degrees from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he remained until the completion of his internship and residency in surgery at Charity Hospital; Whereas in 1932, as a student at Tulane Medical School, Michael DeBakey invented the roller pump, which became the major component of the heart-lung machine used in the first open heart surgery; Whereas during World War II, Michael DeBakey served in the Army and was awarded the Legion of Merit for his help in developing mobile army surgical hospitals, called MASH units, and specialized treatment centers for returning veterans while working as the director of the Office of the Surgeon General in Europe; Whereas Michael DeBakey moved to Houston, Texas, in 1948, where he joined the Baylor University College of Medicine, to which he was appointed president in 1969, when he helped the school create its own identity after the university separated from its school of medicine; Whereas the Baylor College of Medicine currently accepts approximately 1,340 students per year; Whereas in 1949, Michael DeBakey led a movement to help establish the National Library of Medicine and wrote over 1,000 medical reports, papers, chapters, and books on surgery, medicine and related topics, including The Living Heart and The Living Diet; Whereas in the mid-1950s, Michael DeBakey was the first person to perform the replacement of arterial aneurysms and obstructive lesions, as well as later introducing bypass pumps and connections to replace segments of diseased arteries; Whereas in 1960, Michael DeBakey became a leading pioneer in the creation of the artificial heart used to assist patients awaiting transplants, and in 1966 he was the first to successfully use the left ventricular bypass pump in a partially artificial heart; Whereas Michael DeBakey was appointed to chairman of the President’s Commission on Heart Disease, Cancer, and Stroke in 1964, during President Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration; Whereas Michael DeBakey was presented with the Medal of Freedom with Distinction in 1969 by President Johnson and later awarded the National Medicine of Science in 1987; Whereas Michael DeBakey was recognized with Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Foundation for Biomedical Research in 1991 and the United Nations in 1999; Whereas in 1996, Michael DeBakey was inducted into the Health Care Hall of Fame, and in 2000 he was cited as a Living Legend by the Library of Congress; Whereas Michael DeBakey was the first foreign physician to be named an honorary member of the Russian Academy of Science; Whereas Michael DeBakey received the Commercial Invention of the Year award in 2002 for the invention of the MicroMed DeBakey VAD, in collaboration with the National Aeronautical and Space Administration, which was first implanted in patients in Germany and Austria in 1998, and later in American patients in 2000; Whereas Michael DeBakey performed over 60,000 heart surgeries during his 70-year career on a range of patients including, American Presidents John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Baines Johnson, and Richard Nixon, as well as the Duke of Windsor, the Shah of Iran, King Hussein of Jordan, Turkish President Turgut Ozal, and Nicaraguan leader Violetta Chamorro; Whereas over his lifetime, Michael DeBakey helped create more than 70 surgical instruments, including new blood transfusion needles, new suture scissors, and a new colostomy clamp; Whereas on April 23, 2008, President George W. Bush awarded Michael DeBakey, the chancellor emeritus of Baylor College of Medicine, the Congressional Gold Medal, Congress’ highest civilian honor; Whereas Michael DeBakey was buried with military honors at Arlington National Cemetery; Whereas Michael DeBakey devoted his life to medical education, inspiring generations of healthcare providers, teachers, and Louisianans to achieve greatness; and Whereas with the death of Michael DeBakey on July 11, 2008, in Houston, Texas, the United States lost a prolific and premier surgeon and teacher: Now, therefore, be it

That the House of Representatives honors Dr. Michael DeBakey for his lifetime of accomplishments and recognizes Dr. DeBakey’s immeasurable contributions to medicine, education, and all of humanity.