[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 98 (Friday, June 28, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S7298]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, on July 1, 1996, the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention will celebrate its 50th anniversary.
  Mr. President, in the United States and around the world, the words 
``Centers for Disease Control and Prevention'' are synonymous with 
public health. What started in 1946 as a small and comparatively 
insignificant branch of the Public Health Service, established to 
prevent the spread of malaria, is today one of the most highly regarded 
agencies in the Federal Government--an agency whose interests include 
every communicable disease known to man, and whose mission is to 
protect the public health by providing practical help whenever and 
wherever it is called upon to do so.
  Over the years, the CDC has become more than just a center for 
disease control. As early as the 1950's, it became a center of 
epidemiology, providing surveillance of known diseases and ferreting 
out the cause of new ones wherever they occurred. From influenza, 
polio, tuberculosis, and smallpox in the United States to, more 
recently, Ebola fever in Zaire, the CDC has answered SOS calls from all 
over the world, and become not only a global leader in public health, 
but the Nation's and the world's response team for a wide range of 
health emergencies.
  In 1992, it expanded its mission even further--from investigating and 
controlling disease to preventing it. Today, it champions the 
prevention of disability and premature death from chronic disease by 
promoting maternal, infant, and adolescent health, examining the 
interactions between people and their environment, coordinating the 
planning and implementation of various vaccine programs for children 
and adults, communicating information for public health action, and 
establishing a science base for public health practice.
  Mr. President, over the years, the CDC has also had a variety of 
directors who have lead it with distinction, not the least of which is 
its current and distinguished director, Dr. David Satcher--a fellow 
Nashvillian whom I am proud to call my colleague and friend. A former 
president of Meharry Medical College, professor at the Morehouse School 
of Medicine, faculty member of the King-Drew Medical Center and the 
UCLA School of Medicine, Dr. Satcher brings not only world-class 
stature, but unmatched skill, integrity, and experience to his post as 
CDC.
  Mr. President, it is my pleasure to extend to Dr. Satcher, and to all 
the staff and employees of the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention, my heartiest congratulations on the CDC's 50th anniversary, 
and my best wishes for their continued success in the future.
  Mr. President, I thank the chair and yield the floor.

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