Dusty Johnson: “I rise to fully join in the strong bipartisan support for the nomination of Dr. David Satcher, as expressed on the…”

“I rise to fully join in the strong bipartisan support for the nomination of Dr. David Satcher, as expressed on the Senate floor today, for the dual position of U.S. Surgeon General and Assistant Secretary of Health. This Nation is fortunate that a man of Dr. Satcher's dedication, vision and deep commitment to public service has agreed, in fact, to take on this critically important role, a critical role, I might add, that has been unfilled--unfilled--since 1994. It is time to fill this critical position. We have gone more than 3 years without a Surgeon General to push Americans toward better health and healthier lifestyles. Dr. Satcher has served the American people as a family practice physician, as an educator and as an established leader in the public health arena. During his tenure as the Director of the Centers for Disease Control, Dr. Satcher worked to strengthen the critical prevention link in our Nation's public health structure. He tackled the problem of lagging childhood immunization rates, increasing the number of kids immunized by nearly 25 percent. Rates increased from 55 percent in 1992 to 78 percent in 1996. This is an exceptional accomplishment. Under Dr. Satcher's leadership, we reduced by one-fourth the number of children at risk for immunization-preventable diseases, some of them permanently disabling, or even fatal.”