[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 106 (Thursday, July 18, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8150-S8151]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
THOMAS R. BURKE
Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise to today to speak a few words in
remembrance of Thomas R. Burke, whose recent, tragic death at the young
age of 57 has robbed America of one of its leading health care
policymakers.
Many of us in this body remember Tom Burke for his outstanding work
at the Department of Health and Human Services. Indeed, I first came to
know Tom over a decade ago during the confirmation process for one of
the great HHS Secretaries of all time, Dr. Otis Bowen. I quickly came
to admire Tom's forthright style, which some may have called gruff. But
everyone respected Tom for his vigor, honesty, and impact.
In the early 1980's, Tom served as the staff director of the Advisory
Council on Social Security, chaired by Dr. Bowen. When Dr. Bowen joined
the Reagan administration as Secretary of Health and Human Services in
1985, he made a wise decision and chose Tom Burke as Chief of Staff of
the 110,000 employee department. This was a significant honor and great
responsibility--and Tom didn't let Dr. Bowen down. He stood as
``Doc's'' top-most advocate, defender, and protector, until President
Reagan left office.
While many remember Tom for the Medicare catastrophic legislation,
which I will discuss in a moment, Tom must be remembered for his many,
many other accomplishments at HHS, including initiatives to: Strengthen
patient-outcomes and medical effectiveness research; launch a public
awareness campaign against alcohol abuse; propose reforms in the
medical liability system; and, undertake managerial changes to elevate
the Indian Health Service and rejuvenate the Commissioned Corps of the
Public Health Service.
Tom Burke worked diligently on behalf of our Nation's seniors in the
area of catastrophic health insurance. While we know that this
legislation proved to be controversial, there is one aspect of this
issue about which there can be no disagreement: Tom Burke worked hard
to accomplish what he thought was in the best interest of the American
public.
Indeed, the record must reflect that the original Bowen-Burke
proposal was a much, much more modest proposal than that which the
Congress ultimately expanded, approved and repealed. I remember well
the initial idea which Tom had such a large hand in bringing to the
forefront of public debate. It was a small add-on to the amount seniors
pay for Medicare, under $5 a month, in exchange for which seniors would
have the peace of mind of knowing they had unlimited hospitalization
coverage. Unfortunately, this was not the provision which became law.
Tom was widely recognized by his peers for these accomplishments, a
fact recognized by the special awards he received from Secretary Bowen
and Surgeon General C. Everett Koop.
Tom Burke had a long career in public service. In addition to his
work at HHS, Tom was a member of the Green Berets and also became
Director of Health Policy Analysis for the Assistant Secretary for
Health Affairs at the Department of Defense. These two assignments
served him well in his later Government service.
Mr. President, after Tom's untimely passing, a number of us who
worked closely with him wanted to express our admiration of his service
to the government and of his achievements in health care policy. At
this time, I ask unanimous consent that the statements of two of this
body's most distinguished health care leaders--now retired--Senator
Dave Durenberger, and Senator George Mitchell, be printed in the Record
at this point.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Statement of Senator David Durenberger
Tom Burke will always be my friend. He represents all that
is good in making public policy in Washington D.C. We made a
lot of it in the 1980's, especially through the Medicare
program. It was Republicans and Democrats, Senate and House.
Our most significant effort was Burke-Bowen or Bowen-Burke
or whatever. Neither was elected to Congress, but HHS
Secretary Otis Bowen and his Chief of Staff, Tom Burke, made
us who were in Congress make sense out of Medicare. They
insisted we protect every elderly and disabled American from
financial catastrophy because of medical, long-term care,
drug price or medigap premium expenses. They created a
``Secretary's Task Force'' to iron out all the varied views;
they marched it through all the Committees and the finale--a
conference committee in the LBJ. Room on the Senate side of
the Capitol.
I was the most recent Republican chair of the Health Sub-
Committee of Finance, just replaced by George Mitchell, so
Tom treated me with just enough of the deference due my
office. But not so much that I didn't know he believed
strongly enough in what we were privileged enough to do for
America and that he'd find a way to get it done even if we
had some disagreements.
America misses the policy that legislation changed. Its
repeal has cost billions. And we all miss Tom now that the
Lord has repealed his lease on our lives. Our last joint
effort--a year ago--was his initiative too. When I retired
from the Senate he called and put me to work helping him
convince his beloved Indian University that its Otis Bowen
Health Policy Center could really impact Washington if it had
a presence here. And of course he'd carry on a part of that
presence. Doing all the policy reform work that was left
undone during his time with Secretary Bowen.
____
Statement of Senator George Mitchell
Tom was a very devoted public servant who I came to know
during the policy debates over Medicare Catastrophes Health
Insurance in the late 1980's. Tom believed in the need to
help the elderly better cope with the complexities and
shortcomings of health insurance. He helped design and
promote a Medicare Catastrophic benefit, even when doing so
made him unpopular with some members of his political party.
He cared deeply for the Medicare program and wanted to
improve it for all beneficiaries. Tom fought long and hard
for the passage of Medicare Catastrophic, and then renewed
his fight during the ultimate repeal of the legislation. He
took the defeat particularly hard,
[[Page S8151]]
but refused to believe that he couldn't continue to serve the
public by turning his attention and expertise as an economist
to other public policy issues.
Tom brought a passion to public service. As Chief-of-Staff
under Secretary Otis Bowen, he was fiercely loyal to the
programs of the Department of Health and Human Services. Tom
devoted each day to finding ways to improve upon the services
provided to millions of Americans. He was especially
concerned with the Medicaid program, and believed that the
application of managed care principles could help the poorest
of our society. His style was often gruff and ``take no
prisoners,'' but his heart was always focused on the right
place. His need to be popular fell second to his belief that
through hard work he could make a difference to the people
served by government.
Seeing the need to get more value from America's escalating
health care expenditures, Tom firmly believed in the need for
more and better information about what treatments and
therapies work. He concurred with visionaries on the need for
a significant investment in health services research to bring
about more rationale and science-based medical care. He
strongly supported my legislation on outcomes research and
was a major force to help establish ``effectiveness
research'' as a bona fide organizational responsibility of
the Department.
I am sorry that we have lost such an unusually dedicated
and forward thinking public servant. He put politics aside in
order to accomplish goals he thought were in the best
interest of the public. he was a man of great ideas, the will
to make them reality, and a sense of humor that encased a
heart dedicated to the American people.
Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, one of the things I remember fondly about
Tom is that his measure of a man's judgment was often to look up and
question, Is he a long-ball hitter? Judging Tom by his own measure, we
all must conclude he could hit the home run ball.
More important than his many professional achievements, Tom Burke was
a good family man. I want to take this opportunity to offer my
condolences to his wife, Sharon; daughters, Rosemary, Heather, and
Kerry; and, son, Brendan. Although the love of a husband and father can
never be replaced, with God's help and strength, his family will make
it through this trying time.
It seems to me that far too often in this institution we get so
engrossed in partisan and policy battles that we forget that ultimately
it is people that matter. In losing Tom Burke we have lost a good
public servant and a good man. We will all miss him.
____________________