[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 132 (Wednesday, November 17, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S11424]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               JIM MARKS

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I welcome this opportunity to pay tribute 
to Jim Marks for his many years of dedicated public service at the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as he prepares to take up an 
eminent new position as senior vice president and director of the 
Public Health Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
  Dr. Marks is a pediatrician and former Assistant Surgeon General who 
began his career more than 20 years ago at the CDC. He has worked 
effectively in the areas of birth defects prevention, reproductive 
health, nutrition, and health promotion and education, and rose through 
the ranks at CDC to a position of renown as one of America's leading 
experts on disease prevention. He was named director of the National 
Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion in 1995, and 
this year he became the acting director of the CDC's Coordinating 
Center for Health Information and Service.
  Dr. Marks has significantly improved public health through his 
leadership on critical health issues facing the Nation. He was 
instrumental in achieving the most impressive recent accomplishment in 
tobacco control and prevention: The decline in adolescent smoking after 
nearly a decade of rising rates of smoking in the 1990s. Under Dr. 
Marks' direction, CDC increased its commitment to reduce and prevent 
smoking, and transformed a piecemeal State-by-State approach into a 
true national effort. CDC developed standards for best practices and 
created the National Tobacco Control Program, which provides funds and 
technical support to State health departments. Under his leadership, 4 
Surgeon General reports were released that highlight the full scope of 
tobacco-related deaths and disease. As a result of these efforts, 
cigarette sales dropped and States achieved a reduction in tobacco-
related deaths from both lung cancer and heart disease. The CDC also 
now works closely with the World Health Organization to conduct the 
Global Youth Tobacco Survey, which is active in more than 160 countries 
and will be invaluable in developing the first international public 
health treaty.
  On cancer, Dr. Marks has helped spearhead efforts to prevent cancer 
and promote early detection. Under his direction and with the support 
of Congress, the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control has grown 
from approximately $123 million to over $313 million.
  Several specific accomplishments under Dr. Marks' leadership are 
worth mentioning. The National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early 
Detection Program has helped uninsured and underinsured women obtain 
lifesaving screening and diagnostic testing for early detection. The 
program has achieved nearly 5 million screenings, and diagnosed 17,000 
breast cancers, 61,000 precancerous cervical lesions, and 1,100 
cervical cancers.
  The National Program of Cancer Registries has been expanded to cover 
96 percent of the Nation's population. The information gathered by the 
program is important for tracing cancer patterns and monitoring cancer 
trends. It guided State planning and State evaluation of cancer control 
programs and helps States to set priorities. It is also useful in 
planning clinical research and research on health and on epidemics. The 
data contributed as well to producing the official Federal report, 
``U.S. Cancer Statistics: 2000 Incidence.''

  The National Comprehensive Cancer Control Program was developed and 
has been expanded to 61 programs in States, territories and tribes, 
enabling local health agencies to establish broad-based cancer control 
coalitions.
  Last year, under Dr. Marks, the plan called ``A National Action Plan 
for Cancer Survivorship: Advancing Public Health Strategies'' was 
developed in collaboration with the Lance Armstrong Foundation and 
national experts in cancer survivorship and public health. The Action 
Plan charts a course to enable the public health community to focus 
more effectively on cancer survivorship and on improving the quality of 
life for survivors.
  In addition, Dr. Marks has emphasized science-based nutrition and 
physical activity as part of a greater effort to deal with the current 
epidemic of obesity in our Nation. He enthusiastically embraced the 
idea of a unique CDC partnership with the world of commercial youth 
marketing, which led to the so-called VERB Campaign, to move American 
youth off the couch and into healthy activities. The VERB campaign is a 
``for kids/by kids'' voice to reach youth between the ages of 9 and 13 
with ``cool'' messages to discover the fun of being physically active--
and do it ``anywhere, anytime, and any way.'' As a result, after 1 
year, 74 percent of this youth now recognize and like the VERB brand.
  Dr. Marks has been an outstanding leader on the major public health 
issues of our time. His pioneering work has improved the health of 
communities across the Nation and improved the quality of life for 
countless families and children. His strong commitment and wise counsel 
have educated all of us in Congress. I wish him well, and I look 
forward to his continuing leadership with the Robert Wood Johnson 
Foundation.
  (At the request of Mr. Daschle, the following statement was ordered 
to be printed in the Record.)

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