[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 88 (Monday, June 14, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S4871]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       SUPPORTING DONALD BERWICK

  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I come to the floor to urge quick 
confirmation of President Obama's nominee, Dr. Donald Berwick, to 
become the Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid 
Services, also known as CMS. He is highly qualified and capable. This 
is an extremely important position for which he has been nominated.
  Unfortunately, according to recent press reports, it appears that 
some who oppose the new health reform law are hoping to use Dr. 
Berwick's confirmation process as a forum to debate the merits of this 
new health reform law which has now been enacted.
  In my view, whether Senators favored or opposed the enactment of 
health care reform legislation, it is clearly in the interests of our 
country that we have a capable Administrator to implement the new law. 
Over the last year and a half, there has been an enormous focus in 
Congress on addressing the very serious problems facing our health care 
system. It is important the President's choice to head the CMS be 
confirmed so that he can take up the enormous challenge and the 
enormous opportunity that is presented by the enactment of this new 
legislation.
  It is clear our Nation has urgent needs. This is not a time for the 
Senate to delay Dr. Berwick's nomination. I recently spent time with 
Dr. Berwick at the annual Health Policy Conference headed by the 
Commonwealth Fund this last January. I was impressed both with the 
depth of his understanding of the many issues facing the health care 
system as well as his passion for improving the quality of health care 
and his impressive successes in doing so.
  Dr. Berwick has dedicated his career to finding ways to make our 
health care system work better for patients and cost less for 
taxpayers. These are core missions he will take on as our next CMS 
Administrator.
  Don is the founder and CEO of the Institute for Health Care 
Improvement. He is a professor of health policy at the Harvard Medical 
School and the School of Public Health, and he is a practicing 
physician at some of our Nation's top hospitals. He has held numerous 
leadership roles at the institutions that ensure quality care in 
America, including service on the board of the American Hospital 
Association and as chair of the Advisory Council for the Agency for 
Healthcare Research and Quality.
  Don's vast experience with our health care system, his award-winning 
career as an expert in health care quality, make him the ideal 
candidate to lead CMS at this critical time. The historic health reform 
legislation that President Obama signed into law this year takes 
significant steps to strengthen Medicare, reduce waste, fraud, and 
abuse in the system, and makes critical improvements in the way care is 
delivered. Implementing those changes in the smartest and most 
effective way is going to require an Administrator who has seen 
firsthand what it takes to make meaningful improvements in health care 
quality and efficiency. It is also going to take an Administrator with 
a passion to get the job done right.
  Don Berwick has both. That is why he was chosen by President Obama to 
be the next CMS Administrator. His nomination has won praise from 
across the political and professional spectrum, including former CMS 
Administrators who served Republican Presidents. For example, Thomas A. 
Scully, who was CMS Administrator under President George W. Bush 
between 2001 and 2003, said:

       Dr. Berwick is about as noncontroversial and well liked as 
     you can get. You are not going to do any better.

  Mark McClellan, CMS Administrator under George W. Bush from 2004 to 
2006 said the following:

       What happens at CMS over the next couple of years will 
     determine whether the new legislation actually improves 
     quality and lowers costs. Don has a unique background both in 
     improving quality care on the ground and thinking about how 
     our Nation's health care policies need to be reformed to help 
     make that happen.

  Dr. Nancy H. Nielsen, M.D., immediate past president of the American 
Medical Association, said:

       We welcome President Obama's nomination of Dr. Donald 
     Berwick to be administrator of the Centers for Medicare and 
     Medicaid services. He is widely known and well respected for 
     his visionary leadership efforts that focus on optimizing the 
     quality and safety of patient care in hospitals and across 
     health care settings.

  Dr. John Rather, the executive vice president of AARP, said:

       Dr. Berwick's expertise on healthcare innovation and his 
     dedication to quality improvement and patient safety would 
     benefit the millions of low-income and older Americans served 
     by Medicare and Medicaid. His appointment is welcome news to 
     Medicare beneficiaries, as it signals that quality and safety 
     will be at the top of the agenda.

  Finally, our former colleague, Dave Durenberger, a Republican from 
Minnesota, said:

       President Obama let us know he means business on ``bending 
     the medical cost curve'' by nominating Dr. Don Berwick as 
     head of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid services. . . 
     .This appointment will be taken as an indication that health 
     policy and health system reform is likely to be this 
     President's top priority in his first term. We all know that 
     Don Berwick has the ability to make both work.

  There is broad consensus that the nomination of Dr. Berwick is an 
excellent choice by President Obama. Our country needs Dr. Berwick's 
remarkable talents now, and every day his confirmation stalls or is 
delayed is a missed opportunity to ensure his unparalleled leadership 
is directing our Nation's largest and most influential health care 
agency.
  I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to swiftly approve 
his nomination.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Arizona.
  Mr. KYL. Mr. President, I might note to my colleague from New Mexico 
that there is a different point of view about this particular nominee. 
I would venture to say that since his hearing has not been scheduled 
yet, it may be a while before we are able to take up that nomination. 
In any event, there are many on our side of the aisle who have 
significant concerns about whether he should be put in charge of the 
CMS. But I appreciate the comments of my colleague, and I will turn to 
a different subject at this point.

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