[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 115 (Monday, July 14, 2008)]
[House]
[Page H6451]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING DR. MICHAEL DeBAKEY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to honor Dr. Michael 
DeBakey, the father of modern cardiovascular surgery, and for me a 
personal hero. Dr. DeBakey passed away Friday night in Houston at the 
age of 99. Michael DeBakey, a giant among men and a giant in medicine. 
His death is a tremendous loss to the fields of medicine, science, and 
technology. It is a great loss for humanity at-large.
  Mr. Speaker, there are certain privileges that come with being a 
servant here in the people's House. For me, one of those privileges was 
meeting Dr. DeBakey. After working months to secure the Congressional 
Gold Medal for the great doctor, I had the chance to sit down with him 
here in Washington in April right after it was awarded to him. For 30 
minutes, we were able to discuss his personal and professional 
experiences over his 60 years in medicine. It was a once-in-a-lifetime 
opportunity for which I am eternally grateful.
  He talked about how Congress had been responsible for the advancement 
of medical science in this country, how Congress had led the way with 
funding for the National Institutes of Health. He talked about his 
experiences going over and treating Boris Yeltsin in the Soviet Union 
when he was suffering from heart disease, and Dr. DeBakey found just on 
the basis purely on physical examine that the individual was quite 
anemic as well, which rendered his outlook for cardiovascular surgery 
much worse. They treated the anemia, and the rest, as they say, is 
history.
  As a fellow physician, Dr. DeBakey's work on medical advancements is 
legendary. His dedication to healing those around him came not only 
from his talents as a physician, but his ongoing commitment to the 
larger medical community.
  His motto, as we heard others mention today, was always ``strive for 
nothing less than excellence.''
  I would be remiss if I did not mention the education and the 
entrepreneurial spirit that made him worthy of one of the Nation's 
highest honors, the Congressional Gold Medal. Let me share some of his 
accomplishments.
  While in medical school, Dr. DeBakey developed the roller pump which 
later became the major component in the heart-lung machine that is used 
in open heart surgery routinely today. It was truly a visionary change.
  His service and subsequent work in the Surgeon General's office 
during World War II led to the development of the Mobile Army Surgical 
Hospital, the so-called MASH unit. Without Dr. DeBakey, we wouldn't 
have those forward surgical teams that go into combat areas and provide 
vital care to our soldiers in that golden hour after injury.
  This medical trailblazer also helped establish the specialized 
medical and surgical center system for treating military personnel 
returning home from war which we know as the Veterans Administration 
Medical Center.
  But it was at the Methodist Hospital in Houston where Dr. DeBakey 
performed many of his groundbreaking surgeries, including the first 
removal of a carotid artery blockage. He also performed the first 
coronary artery bypass graft, and some of the first heart transplants 
in this country as well.
  He served as adviser to every President of the United States for the 
last 50 years. Think of that, every President for the last 50 years 
depended on Dr. Michael DeBakey for medical advice. Additionally, he 
has given advice to heads of state throughout the world.
  During his professional surgical career, he performed more than 
60,000 cardiovascular procedures, and trained thousands of surgeons who 
practice around the world today. Today, his name is affixed to any 
number of organizations, centers of learning, and projects devoted to 
medical education and health education for the general public. This 
includes the National Library of Medicine, which is now the world's 
largest and most prestigious repository of medical archives. The 
collections there house resources that actually I look at several times 
a week as I prepare for committee hearings.
  Dr. DeBakey's contributions to medicine, his breakthrough surgeries, 
and his innovative devices have completely transformed our view of the 
human body and our view of longevity on this planet. The United States, 
and indeed the world, were fortunate to have this medical pioneer for 
as long as we did.
  Mr. Speaker, it is with great sorrow that I come to the floor 
tonight, but it is also with great honor that I once again share Dr. 
DeBakey with this august body. Time Magazine honored him as the Man of 
the Year several years ago. Indeed he was, a man for the ages and the 
Man of the Year.

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