[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 132 (Thursday, October 4, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S10282]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO MARION EIN LEWIN

  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, today I want to pay tribute to Marion Ein 
Lewin, a prominent health policy analyst and the long-time director of 
the highly regarded Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellowship 
program. Marion is retiring from the fellowship program this year, 
after 14 years of dedicated service during which she guided and 
mentored scores of health care professionals from around the United 
States who took time off from their careers to participate in the 
policymaking process in Washington, DC. Her mixture of warmth, wisdom, 
and compassion will be sorely missed by future RWJ fellows and by the 
Members of Congress and the administration offices who have had the 
good fortune to work with Marion and the top-notch fellows she has 
overseen.
  For almost 30 years, the RWJ Health Policy Fellowship program has 
selected a small group of leaders in America's academic health centers 
to participate in the development of America's health policy. RWJ 
Fellows come to Washington understanding health care delivery, and, 
during an extensive training program, they supplement their health care 
expertise with lessons about health policy and the process to develop 
that policy. This training and the unique opportunities created by 
working on the health staffs of Members of Congress and in the 
Executive Branch have allowed RWJ Fellows to participate in every major 
health care debate over the last 25 years.
  Marion Ein Lewin has served as the guiding light for the last 14 
classes of RWJ Fellows. As teacher, mentor and policy analyst, Marion 
has helped new Fellows understand the history and opportunities of 
health policy. She has introduced Fellows to the most important health 
policy thinkers in the country. The greatest testament to her 
extraordinary impact is the warmth and fondness departing Fellows feel 
for her.
  Appropriately, Marion's experience in health policy began in a 
Member's office. She served as the Legislative Assistant for Health for 
Congressman James H. Scheurer (D-NY), where she helped develop 
legislation and performed all the activities of a Congressional 
staffer.
  Though Marion is known for her grace and warmth, she has made 
substantial contributions to the annals of American health policy. 
Marion's broad experience in health policy was bolstered by stints at 
the American Enterprise Institute and the National Health Policy Forum. 
She became director of the AEI Center for Health Policy Research before 
joining the Institute of Medicine. While at AEI, Marion edited five 
texts on health policy.
  During her 14 years on the staff of the Institute of Medicine, Marion 
served as the study director for three IOM reports on critical issues 
ranging from improving Medicare, to the impact of information on the 
development of health policy, to the status of safety net providers. 
While at the IOM, she also directed the Pew Health Policy Fellowship.
  Now, after 14 years, Marion Ein Lewin has decided to leave her 
pivotal role in the Robert Wood Johnson Fellowship. Her influence upon 
the 85 Fellows who served during her tenure is indelible. She has 
overseen the transformation of academic faculty into reasonable 
facsimiles of congressional health LAs. Fellows have provided my staff 
and me incalculable assistance over the years, and I know other Members 
of Congress and the administration share my appreciation. Marion's 
guidance has enabled these Fellows to make these valuable contributions 
as we seek to improve the healthcare system in our country.
  Through the dint of her long service and extraordinary knowledge of 
health policy, Marion has come to personify the Fellowship and its 
values. It is hard to imagine the Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy 
Fellowship without Marion Ein Lewin. Mr. President, I ask my Senate 
colleagues to join me in congratulating Marion and the Robert Wood 
Johnson Program on their many successes, and sending a heartfelt thank 
you for her many years of dedicated service. Marion has made a genuine 
difference in health care. We wish her well and expect her to continue 
her good work as she enters this new phase in her life.

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