White House Announces Health Policy Nominees

Candidates named for Surgeon General, Natl. Institute of Health

President Bush March 26 announced two nominees to fill important positions in health care policy. The U.S. Senate must approve both nominations.

The president has asked Dr. Elias Zerhouni to head the National Institutes of Health, a large medical research organization that comprises 20 individual institutes, each specializing in a medical issue such as cancer, drug abuse and infectious disease. Dr. Zerhouni is currently serving as a vice dean at the respected Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

The president's nominee for Surgeon General, Dr. Richard Carmona, would bring experience both in medicine and law enforcement to the post. Carmona is on the medical faculty at the University of Arizona and works in emergency medicine. In making the appointment, Bush said he wants his new surgeon general to focus on public health threats, preventive medicine and substance abuse prevention.

Following is the text of the White House fact sheet:

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
March 26, 2002

FACT SHEET

President Announces Nominees for Key Health Posts

Presidential Action

President Bush today announced his nominees for two of the most critical health care positions in his Administration. The President has nominated experienced and highly qualified medical professionals who understand America's medical research and public health needs to serve as Director of the National Institutes of Health and as Surgeon General.

Director of National Institutes of Health: Dr. Elias Zerhouni is the President's nominee for Director of the NIH. He currently serves as the Executive Vice Dean of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Chairman of the Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science at Johns Hopkins and as Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering. He has also served as Vice Dean for Research at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

Dr. Zerhouni will bring to the position:

A strong scientific research background, including work on NIH-sponsored research;
Experience in running a large medical research organization; and
Leadership on the cutting edge of medical technology.

President Bush will direct Dr. Zerhouni to oversee the record-level federal investment in biomedical research, while ensuring that this research is conducted in an ethical way.

Surgeon General: Dr. Richard Carmona is the President's nominee to serve as the next Surgeon General. Dr. Carmona is currently Clinical Professor of Surgery, Public Health, and Family and Community Medicine at the University of Arizona, as well as Chairman of the State of Arizona Southern Regional Emergency Medical System. Carmona has an extensive record of public service, including serving as an Army Green Beret in Vietnam, a police officer, a SWAT team member and as a nurse. His dedication has been widely recognized: he was named Physician of the Year in 1993 for Pima County, Arizona, and he is a past recipient of the "Top Cops" award from the National Association of Police Organizations.

Dr. Carmona will bring to the position:

Significant experience in managing major public health organizations;
A strong background in preparedness and dealing with emergencies; and
A commitment to prevention as an effective means to improve public health.

Today, President Bush announced that the next Surgeon General will address three urgent health issues:

Ensuring that America is prepared to respond to major public health emergencies, such as bioterrorism;
Leading a new initiative that focuses on prevention, fitness and healthy living as keys to reducing disease and improving medical care; and
Speaking out regularly to the nation about the health dangers of alcohol and drug abuse.

Background on Today's Health Announcement

National Institutes of Health

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the world's preeminent and largest medical research organization. NIH supports biomedical research through a competitive grant system at over 1,700 institutions across the country; through more than 50,000 grantee researchers working in universities, medical centers, hospitals, and research institutions in every State and territory in the Nation; and through 18,000 NIH employees on its 300-acre Bethesda campus, including 2000 scientists working in labs and clinics. NIH research has led to many research breakthroughs, including lifesaving vaccines, new cancer therapies, human genome sequencing and effective drugs for the treatment of mental illness.

For FY 2003, President Bush's budget requests $27.3 billion — an increase of $3.9 billion (17%) over FY 2002, completing the President's commitment to double the NIH's FY 1998 appropriation level in five years. The NIH Director will guide the NIH as it uses these funds to address converging arenas of scientific opportunity and public health, such as bioterrorism, cancer, diabetes, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and the health of minority populations.

Surgeon General

The Surgeon General serves as spokesperson to the nation on matters of public health and medicine. The Surgeon General serves as special advisor to the President and Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Congress and the general public on hazards to health, disease prevention and health promotion, based on the best available scientific evidence. To date, the Surgeon General has produced over 60 reports to the Nation on various critical health topics.

The Surgeon General administers the Public Health Service (PHS) Commissioned Corps. The 5,600 health care professionals in the Corps serve in HHS health agencies and other federal Departments, as well as in medically underserved areas of the Nation. All Corps members are on call for emergency duty as needed, and a special Readiness Force within the Corps is prepared at all times for immediate deployment. Recently, members of the Readiness Force were deployed in New York and Washington, D.C., following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 and the anthrax attacks.