[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 121 (Friday, September 12, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9251-S9252]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         NOMINATION OF DR. DAVID SATCHER TO BE SURGEON GENERAL

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I commend President Clinton for his 
announcement today of his nomination of Dr. David Satcher to be Surgeon 
General and Assistant Secretary for Health.
  David Satcher is an excellent choice for these important positions. 
As Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the 
last 4 years, he has ably led that agency which is responsible for 
protecting health and preventing disease, injury, and premature death. 
He is uniquely

[[Page S9252]]

qualified to become the Nation's foremost spokesman on health issues.
  In 1992, under Dr. Satcher's leadership, the CDC launched and 
implemented a successful childhood immunization initiative. Before the 
initiative, only a little more than half of the Nation's children--55 
percent--were immunized. Now, 78 percent are immunized. As a result, 
vaccine-preventable childhood diseases are at record lows.
  Dr. Satcher has also led CDC efforts to strengthen the Nation's 
defenses against infectious diseases and food-borne illnesses. We rely 
on the CDC to provide a rapid response to outbreaks of disease and 
protect public safety. Under Dr. Satcher, CDC has begun to implement a 
comprehensive strategy on infectious diseases and plays a key role in a 
new early warning system on food-borne illnesses.
  Dr. Satcher was previously a member of the faculty of the UCLA School 
of Medicine and the King/Drew Medical Center in Los Angeles. For 2 
years, he served as interim dean of the Drew Postgraduate Medical 
School. He also served as professor and chairman of the department of 
community medicine and family practice at the Morehouse School of 
Medicine in Atlanta.
  For over a decade, from 1982 to 1993, Dr. Satcher served as president 
of Meharry Medical College in Nashville, the Nation's largest private 
historically black institution for educating health care professionals 
and biomedical researchers.
  At the CDC, he has combined a proven track record of leadership and 
effectiveness that make him an excellent choice to be Surgeon General 
and Assistant Secretary for Health, and I urge the Senate to move 
expeditiously to confirm him.

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