[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 53 (Tuesday, March 27, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3982-S3983]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TO AWARD A CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL TO MICHAEL ELLIS DEBAKEY, M.D.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee
on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs be discharged from further
consideration of S. 474 and that the Senate proceed to its immediate
consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 474) to award a congressional gold medal to
Michael Ellis DeBakey, M.D.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, today the Senate will unanimously pass
S. 474, a bill I introduced to award a Congressional Gold Medal--the
highest civilian award which may be bestowed by the United States
Congress--to my dear friend, Dr. Michael DeBakey. I thank my colleagues
for joining me in recognizing and honoring Dr. Deakey for his lifetime
of medical achievement and public service. I would especially like to
thank my friend and colleague from Louisiana, Senator Mary Landrieu.
She joined me in circulating a letter to our Senate colleagues on this
bill, and she was very helpful in gathering key co-sponsors needed to
pass this legislation today.
Dr. DeBakey is currently in Texas recovering from the very type of
heart operation he pioneered. At the age of 98, he is the oldest
survivor of the operation he developed to repair a damaged aorta, the
main artery from the heart. I certainly wish him well as he continues
to recover from this major operation. I would also like to take this
opportunity to thank him once again for his lifetime of commitment and
service not only to the medical community but to the world and strongly
encourage my colleagues in the House of Representatives to pass this
legislation as soon as possible.
I ask unanimous consent that the text of the Dear Colleague letter
for S. 474 be printed in the Record, and I request that Senator
Landrieu be added as an original cosponsor of this bill because without
her help, this bill would not have passed.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC, March 6, 2007.
Dear Colleague: Please join us in recognizing Dr. Michael
DeBakey, a public servant and world-renowned cardiologist,
for his many outstanding achievements in the field of
medicine. We encourage you to co-sponsor S. 474, a bill to
award Dr. DeBakey the Congressional Gold Medal. This is the
highest award which may be bestowed by the United Stated
Congress, and Dr. DeBakey is most deserving.
Dr. Michael DeBakey, a native of Louisiana and graduate of
the Tulane University School of Medicine, is a pioneer in
every sense of the word. His long and distinguished career
has impacted nearly every aspect of modern medicine.
[[Page S3983]]
When he was just 23 years old and still attending medical
school, Dr. DeBakey developed a roller pump for blood
transfusions--the precursor and major component of the heart-
lung machine used in the first open-heart operation. During
his service in World War I1, Dr. DeBakey observed soldiers
dying on the battlefield who he believed could be saved. From
that experience he made numerous recommendations to improve
the military's medical procedures, including the development
of mobile army surgical hospitals, better known as MASH
units. These efforts earned him the Legion of Merit in 1945.
Dr. DeBakey later helped establish the specialized medical
and surgical centers system for treating military personnel
returning from the war, which subsequently became the
Veterans Affairs Medical Center System.
In 1948, Dr. DeBakey joined the Baylor University College
of Medicine, where he started its first surgical residency
program and was later elected the first President of Baylor
College of Medicine. Adding to his list of accomplishments,
Dr. DeBakey performed the first successful procedure to treat
patients with aneurysms, performed the first successful
coronary bypass surgery, and he was the first to successfully
implant a partial artificial heart.
Dr. DeBakey continued to amaze the medical world when he
pioneered the field of telemedicine by performing the first
open-heart surgery transmitted over satellite and later when
he supervised the first successful multi-organ transplant,
where a heart, both kidneys and a lung were transplanted from
a single donor into four separate recipients. Most recently,
Dr. DeBakey worked with NASA engineers to develop the DeBakey
Ventricular Assist Device, which may eliminate the need for
some patients to receive heart transplants.
These accomplishments have led to national recognition. Dr.
DeBakey has received both the Presidential Medal of Freedom
with Distinction from President Lyndon Johnson and the
National Medal of Science from President Ronald Reagan.
Dr. DeBakey's efforts and innovative surgical techniques
have saved the lives of thousands, if not millions, of
people. We hope you will join us in recognizing Dr. DeBakey's
profound impact on the field of medicine and how we care for
our veterans, by co-sponsoring legislation to award him the
Congressional Gold Medal. If you wish to co-sponsor or have
any questions about this legislation, please contact Chad
Heflin at (202) 224-5922.
Sincerely,
Kay Bailey Hutchison.
Mary Landrieu.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be
read the third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon
the table, and that any statements relating to this matter be printed
at the appropriate place in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The bill (S. 474) was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading,
was read the third time, and passed, as follows:
S. 474
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
The Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Michael Ellis DeBakey, M.D., was born on September 7,
1908, in Lake Charles, Louisiana, to Shaker and Raheeja
DeBakey.
(2) Dr. DeBakey, at the age of 23 and still a medical
student, reported a major invention, a roller pump for blood
transfusions, which later became a major component of the
heart-lung machine used in the first successful open-heart
operation.
(3) Even though Dr. DeBakey had already achieved a national
reputation as an authority on vascular disease and had a
promising career as a surgeon and teacher, he volunteered for
military service during World War II, joining the Surgeon
General's staff and rising to the rank of Colonel and Chief
of the Surgical Consultants Division.
(4) As a result of this first-hand knowledge of military
service, Dr. DeBakey made numerous recommendations for the
proper staged management of war wounds, which led to the
development of mobile army surgical hospitals or ``MASH''
units, and earned Dr. DeBakey the Legion of Merit in 1945.
(5) After the war, Dr. DeBakey proposed the systematic
medical follow-up of veterans and recommended the creation of
specialized medical centers in different areas of the United
States to treat wounded military personnel returning from
war, and from this recommendation evolved the Veterans
Affairs Medical Center System and the establishment of the
Commission on Veterans Medical Problems of the National
Research Council.
(6) In 1948, Dr. DeBakey joined the Baylor University
College of Medicine, where he developed the first surgical
residency program in the city of Houston, and today, guided
by Dr. DeBakey's vision, the College is one of the most
respected health science centers in the Nation.
(7) In 1953, Dr. DeBakey performed the first successful
procedures to treat patients who suffered aneurysms leading
to severe strokes, and he later developed a series of
innovative surgical techniques for the treatment of aneurysms
enabling thousands of lives to be saved in the years ahead.
(8) In 1964, Dr. DeBakey triggered the most explosive era
in modern cardiac surgery, when he performed the first
successful coronary bypass, once again paving the way for
surgeons worldwide to offer hope to thousands of patients who
might otherwise succumb to heart disease.
(9) Two years later, Dr. DeBakey made medical history
again, when he was the first to successfully use a partial
artificial heart to solve the problems of a patient who could
not be weaned from a heart-lung machine following open-heart
surgery.
(10) In 1968, Dr. DeBakey supervised the first successful
multi-organ transplant, in which a heart, both kidneys, and
lung were transplanted from a single donor into 4 separate
recipients.
(11) In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Dr.
DeBakey to the position of Chairman of the President's
Commission on Heart Disease, Cancer and Stroke, leading to
the creation of Regional Medical Programs established ``to
encourage and assist in the establishment of regional
cooperative arrangements among medical schools, research
institutions, and hospitals, for research and training''.
(12) In the mid-1960s, Dr. DeBakey pioneered the field of
telemedicine with the first demonstration of open-heart
surgery to be transmitted overseas by satellite.
(13) In 1969, Dr. DeBakey was elected the first President
of Baylor College of Medicine.
(14) In 1969, President Lyndon B. Johnson bestowed on Dr.
DeBakey the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction,
and in 1985, President Ronald Reagan conferred on him the
National Medal of Science.
(15) Working with NASA engineers, he refined existing
technology to create the DeBakey Ventricular Assist Device,
one-tenth the size of current versions, which may eliminate
the need for heart transplantation in some patients.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.
(a) Presentation Authorized.--The Speaker of the House of
Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate
shall make appropriate arrangements for the presentation, on
behalf of the Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate
design, to Michael Ellis DeBakey, M.D., in recognition of his
many outstanding contributions to the Nation.
(b) Design and Striking.--For purposes of the presentation
referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury
(referred to in this Act as the ``Secretary'') shall strike a
gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions
to be determined by the Secretary.
SEC. 3. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of
the gold medal struck pursuant to section 2 under such
regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at a price
sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor,
materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, and
the cost of the gold medal.
SEC. 4. STATUS OF MEDALS.
(a) National Medals.--The medals struck pursuant to this
Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title
31, United States Code.
(b) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of sections 5134 and
5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck under
this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items.
SEC. 5. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF SALE.
(a) Authority To Use Fund Amounts.--There is authorized to
be charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise
Fund such amounts as may be necessary to pay for the costs of
the medals struck pursuant to this Act.
(b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of
duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 3 shall be
deposited into the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
____________________