[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 127 (Tuesday, September 21, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S7262]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       U.S. PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE

  Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, on August 5, 2010, I was presented with 
the flag of the United States Public Health Service by the Commissioned 
Officers Association, COA, of the U.S. Public Health Service, PHS, and 
its affiliated PHS Commissioned Officers Foundation. The Public Health 
Service Commissioned Corps is one of our Nation's seven uniformed 
services. When the COA was kind enough to present me with their Health 
Leader of the Year Award several weeks ago, it was noted that, while I 
had the flags of the five armed services displayed in my office on 
Capitol Hill, there was no PHS flag to complete the display.
  The first thing I noticed when presented with the PHS flag was its 
color--a bright yellow field with dark blue crest and inscription. The 
PHS flag reveals the history of our Nation's Public Health Service. The 
Public Health Service traces its origins to 1798 with the passage of an 
``Act for the Relief of Sick and Disabled Seamen.'' The economic 
survival of our young country was almost totally dependent on maritime 
commerce and this law was aimed at protecting the health of merchant 
seaman, without whose labors the young nation would not long survive, 
much less prosper.
  Medical quarantine of ships found to be carriers of disease was an 
essential tool in protecting the commercial interests of the United 
States. The PHS flag is the same yellow color as the maritime 
``quebec'' signal flag which is the international signal for a ship 
under quarantine.
  Emblazoned on the yellow field of the PHS flag is a crossed 
``fouled'' anchor and caduceus. The fouled anchor--an anchor wrapped by 
its chain and thus unusable--is the symbol of a ship or sailor in 
distress. Interestingly, the caduceus in the PHS crest is the mark of 
Hermes, the Greek god of commerce--later the Roman god Mercury--and 
consists of a staff with two entwined serpents. The caduceus, emblem of 
commerce, is often confused with the ancient Greek Rod of Asclepius--a 
staff entwined by a single serpent--which represents the healing arts.
  So the crest of the Public Health Service signifies the importance of 
protecting the Nation's commercial interests by ensuring we have a 
healthy workforce. This is as critical to the United States today as it 
was in 1798--and we are faced in the 21st century with perhaps more 
threats to the health of our workforce than ever before.
  Leadership in the protection of our Nation's public health originates 
within the Public Health Service whose origins can be traced to that 
1798 law passed by Congress. And leadership within the Public Health 
Service is embodied by the Office of the Surgeon General and the 
officers of the PHS Commissioned Corps. These uniformed health 
professionals are essential defenders of our national security which is 
dependent on a healthy population--the bedrock upon which is built our 
commerce and our national defense.
  We all owe these PHS Commissioned Corps officers our support for 
their often unheralded efforts in protecting and promoting the Nation's 
security. I am proud to honor their service by displaying the PHS flag 
in my personal office on Capitol Hill.

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