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Skriven 2005-02-11 23:32:58 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0502113) for Fri, 2005 Feb 11
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President Thanks HHS Secretary Leavitt at Swearing-In Ceremony
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
February 11, 2005

President Thanks HHS Secretary Leavitt at Swearing-In Ceremony
The Great Hall
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Washington, D.C.

President's Remarks
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10:45 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. I'm proud to visit this fine Department and to
congratulate my friend, Michael Leavitt, on becoming America's 20th
Secretary of Health and Human Services. Congratulations.

SECRETARY LEAVITT: Thank you, Mr. President. (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: I know this is a particularly special day for Mike -- after
all, it's his 54th birthday. (Laughter and applause.) And it's always a
special day for him when his family members are here. He loves his family.
He's got a great wife, named Jackie; Westin is here representing his
brothers and sisters; his dad's first name is Dixie -- kind of sounds like
he should be from Texas. (Laughter.) Appreciate the other members of the
Leavitt family who are here.

I want to thank Senator Bob Bennett, from the great state of Utah, for
joining us, and Congressman Ralph Regula for being here -- I appreciate you
both coming. I want to thank other members of my Cabinet and administration
who have joined us. I particularly want to thank the men and women of
Health and Human Services for your hard work, and remind you that you're
serving during a critical time for America's health and well being.

Thanks to Secretary Tommy Thompson's superb leadership, HHS has helped our
medical community prepare for a new era in public health. You've made
groundbreaking progress toward new cures for disability and disease. You've
led a bold initiative to win the global fight against HIV/AIDS. The good
work of this Department is making America healthier and more hopeful, and I
thank each of you for your commitment and your compassion. As Secretary
Leavitt begins his service, HHS is embarking on a set of new challenges and
historic opportunities. One of your most important responsibilities will be
implementing the Medicare Modernization Act, which I signed some 14 months
ago. This law is a landmark achievement in American health care, and
millions of older Americans are already benefiting from its reforms.

Because we acted, Medicare now covers preventive medicine, including
screenings for heart disease and diabetes, and a "Welcome to Medicare"
physical. Instead of waiting to get sick or facing costly treatments,
seniors can now identify problems early and manage them before they grow
worse. By reducing major surgeries and longtime hospital stays, preventive
medicine will save money, and, more importantly, it will extend the lives
of our seniors.

Because we acted, Medicare will also cover prescription drugs. Under the
old system, Medicare would pay $28,000 for ulcer surgery, but not the $500
a year for the prescription drugs that eliminated the cause of most ulcers.
That system didn't make any sense. It made no sense for our seniors; it
made no sense for American taxpayers.

Because prescription drugs are expensive, many seniors face the terrible
choice between buying groceries and buying medicine. We left those days
behind with the Medicare Modernization Act. Low-income seniors can get up
to $600 to buy medicine this year. Next January, every senior in Medicare
will have the option of a prescription drug benefit. And so that all
seniors can get the care they need, low-income seniors will get extra
assistance and will pay a reduced premium or no premiums at all on
prescription drugs.

Because we acted, seniors in Medicare will have more control over their
health care. Seniors will be able to choose a health plan that meets their
needs and health plans will compete for their business, which will lower
costs throughout the program. The system probably sounds familiar to some
here -- (laughter) -- after all, it's what we offer federal employees. If
choosing your health plan is good enough for the federal employees, it's
good enough for America's seniors, as well.

Putting these reforms in action will be challenging. But with the
leadership of Secretary Leavitt and Administrator McClellan, I know you're
up to the task. We all know the alternative to reform: a Medicare system
that offers outdated benefits and imposes needless costs. For decades we
promised America's seniors that we can do better, and we finally did. Now
we must keep our word. I signed Medicare reform proudly and any attempt to
limit the choices of our seniors and to take away their prescription drug
coverage under Medicare will meet my veto. (Applause.)

Secretary Leavitt will also lead important reform in the Medicaid program.
He will work closely with the governors to make Medicaid more fair and more
flexible. And together, we will take new steps to ensure that Medicaid
fully serves our most vulnerable citizens, especially our children. Both
Medicare and the State Children's Health Insurance Program -- it's what's
called S-CHIP -- offer preventive care to low-income families at little or
no cost. Yet, millions of eligible American children are not signed up. So
I proposed a billion-dollar effort called, "Cover the Kids," to help state
and community groups and faith-based charities enroll more children in
Medicaid and S-Chip. We must not allow a lack of attention or a lack of
information to stand between these children and the health care they need.

To reinforce America's health safety net we are also increasing support for
community health centers. These compassionate facilities meet a critical
need by providing primary care to the poor and the uninsured. They also
take the pressure off of our emergency rooms and our hospitals. When I took
office, I pledged to open or expand 1,200 community health centers by 2006.
Thanks to the hard work of this Department, we've opened or expanded 619
centers so far, and we're on track to meet our objective by the end of next
year. Now Secretary Leavitt and I are working toward a new goal: We will
ensure that every poor county in America has a community health center.
(Applause.)

As we deliver quality health care to those in need, we must also help more
adults find private health insurance at their jobs. More than half of all
the uninsured Americans are small business employees and their families. To
help these people get good coverage, I have asked Congress to allow small
businesses to pool together to buy insurance at the same discounts that big
companies get. I've proposed tax credits for small businesses and
low-income workers that would allow more people to open tax-free health
savings accounts. To reduce health care costs and prevent medical errors,
we're working to expand the use of information technology in health care.
And to make health care more affordable for every doctor, patient and
entrepreneur, Congress needs to pass medical liability reform this year.
(Applause.)

At HHS you bring the hope of better health to millions of your fellow
citizens, and you do much more. HHS promotes adoption, and abstinence and
pre-school education, and leads our efforts to stop drug abuse and domestic
violence. Secretary Thompson has called this "America's Department of
Compassion," and I know Secretary Leavitt sees it the same way.

Many of your greatest allies in the armies of compassion are found in
faith-based and community groups. With Secretary Leavitt's leadership,
we'll continue to support the hopeful works of these caring citizens. We'll
also work with Congress to reauthorize welfare reforms that require work
and strengthen marriage and promote responsible fatherhood. We'll continue
the life-saving work of combating HIV/AIDS at home and abroad.

As you fulfill all these duties, HHS is also meeting the needs of a nation
at war. Researchers at NIH and the Centers for Disease Control are on the
front lines of defending America against the threat of bioterror. FDA
inspectors are expanding efforts to secure the food supply and ensure the
safety of medicine. We've completed the doubling of funding for medical
research at NIH. Yet spending is not our only measure of success. When we
commit taxpayer dollars, we will insist on results in return. And in every
scientific pursuit, we will uphold the values of freedom, equality and
human dignity. We must never sanction the creation of life, only to destroy
it. (Applause.)

With this new responsibility, HHS Secretary Leavitt continues a
distinguished career of public service. I've known him as a governor. We're
members of the ex-governor's club. (Laughter.) I've known him as the
administrator of the EPA. I've witnessed his integrity and creativity and
compassion. He has a proven ability to move beyond the partisan debate, to
work with leaders at all levels of government and to improve the lives of
the people he serves.

That is what I've asked Mike to do as America's Secretary of Health and
Human Services. With your help, I know he will succeed. Congratulations.
(Applause.)

SECRETARY LEAVITT: Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, I approach this
task with enormous optimism, and appreciation. I feel the gravity of the
responsibility. But I feel your confidence. And I feel the fundamental
privilege it is to serve the people of the United States of America.

I'd like to thank my family and so many friends who have traveled to
Washington today for this ceremony. I also want to acknowledge a couple of
members of my family who are not here -- my four children that aren't
present with Jackie and my son Westin; our oldest son, Mike, and his wife,
Carrie; Taylor and spouse Tammy; Anne Marie, our only daughter, and Hyrum,
her husband; and our son Chase, who is doing missionary service for our
church; and also my mother, who is off on a mission of her own today
helping some grandchildren at a moment of need. (Laughter.)

I'd also like to thank a number of special guests that are here -- my
colleagues on the Cabinet: Elaine Chao, Margaret Spellings, John Walters,
Steve Johnson, the acting administrator of the EPA. I know so many of my
friends from the White House, which I find gratifying that you would come.
Secretary Card, thank you for administering the oath of office -- Heidi
Smith, Jim Connaughton, John Walters, Terrel Halaska. I saw Doug Badger,
Philo Hall, I think I notice Harriet Miers and Dan Bartlett and Dina
Powell. All of them I deeply appreciate your coming.

I must also say Senator Bennett and Mr. Regula, how much I appreciate
you're being here, two people I look forward to working with on so many of
these issues.

And I've asked two of my colleagues from HHS to attend, representing my new
colleagues here at this department -- Mirtha Beadle. Mirtha, I thank you.
Mirtha is the acting Deputy Director of the office of -- a very important
office here at this department, Minority Health. She's responsible for
providing leadership on important issues like minority health and assuring
that we do away with the health disparities that so often creep into our
society. She's also known in this department for remarkable dedication.

I'd also like to introduce you to Daniel Baker. Daniel Baker began working
in federal service in November of 1939. He has been working in federal
service for 65 years. The only break he has had was to serve in World War
II, to fight for this country. I met Mr. Baker, and it reminded me, Mr.
President, of a conversation I had with a man about Mr. Baker's age, and I
said to him, "So have you lived in this town your whole life?" And he said,
"Not yet, I haven't." (Laughter.) I think the same could be said of Mr.
Baker. He has made not just a career, but a life out of serving the
disabled and the elderly in this country. And interestingly enough, he was
part of the original work team that was established to create Medicare.

I also want to acknowledge -- (applause.) I also want to recognize Tommy
Thompson, whose portrait will soon hang on this wall. He inspired this
department. His four years at the helm made America a healthier and a safer
place, and I will build on that legacy.

I want to make clear that I understand the very clear mission that the
President of the United States has given me, and that is to help Americans
live longer and healthier, and to do it in a way that protects our economic
competitiveness as a nation.

Now, this is a new chapter for me in my public service. But, Mr. President,
as I listened to you today articulate your agenda, it reminded me of an
incident that I have recounted on other occasions as I began a new chapter,
that I believe defines in many ways my own aspirations. When I was a boy I
spent a lot of time on our farm. There was a farmer down the road from my
grandfather who always had more land than he could afford and a brand-new
John Deere tractor that I admired.

One day I said to him, "Grandpa, how can he do that?" My grandfather said,
"Mike, if we'll stick with what's real and right, we'll be farming a long
time after he's been repossessed." (Laughter.) And that's exactly what
happened. A few years later the new tractor was gone, but we were still
farming.

So as I heard you articulate your agenda today, I -- that story came back
to me, because it's what's real and what's right. Responsibility to care
for the truly needy is real. Fostering self-reliance as we do it is right.
The enabling and ennobling virtue of work is real. The responsibility to
remember that as we make national policy on human service programs is
right. The responsibility to nurture children, to care for the elderly, to
arm future generations with enduring values is real. Strengthening
marriages and protecting families is right.

This commitment we have as a nation to provide health care for the
disabled, for the elderly, for children and low-income families, that's
very real. And as you said, fixing Medicaid is right. The opportunity to
transform, to fundamentally transform our health care system is real.
Putting health insurance, health records, health savings that we own into
the reach of every American, that's right.

The need for fewer medical mistakes, for lower costs, for better health
care fundamentally is real. A health system that revolves around consumers,
and not the system, that's right.

NIH, in its opportunity to eliminate cancer, and diabetes, and the cause of
human suffering and pain, with focused, real peer-reviewed science is, in
fact, real. Transforming CDC to prevent diseases, rather than to simply
treat them, is right. The threat of bioterrorism is real. Being vigilant
and ready is right. The trust that this nation places in the Food and Drug
Administration is real. Adopting a new and a more bold -- an emboldened
vision for that agency for the 21st century is right.

Real and right, Mr. President, values that we should all be teaching our
children, and it's the way I aspire to lead this department.

During the time that I served as governor I kept a treasures box -- just
little things that I thought would mean a lot to me in the future. I've
begun to sort through them on occasion, as I have time. And the other day I
found a note that my mother had written to me just before I was sworn in as
governor. I thought maybe I would read it to you today.

"Dear Michael: When you were a little boy, and television had just come to
our town, the show you never missed was Gunsmoke. Strangely, the part you
liked the most occurred before the episode began. It was the part where
Matt Dillon rode his horse up onto a ridge, and paused, leaned forward onto
the saddle horn and described the rigors of being a U.S. Marshall in Dodge
City. Mr. Dillon would say, 'It's a chancy job, and a little lonely.' In
perfect imitation, you used to gallop your stick-horse around the house,
stopping at appropriate intervals to declare in your deepest four-year-old
voice, 'It's a chancy job, and a little lonely.'" (Laughter.)

"Well," she continues, "Here you are again, son, a chancy job, this time
for real. But I have a strong sense of security knowing that you understand
so well that this job, as well as any other, even when you feel lonely, you
really never need to be alone."

Well, Mr. President, it's occurred to me that Washington is a little like
Dodge City. (Laughter and applause.) And I just want to assure you and the
people of this country that I understand the principle well. I do not
intend to approach this job alone. Not only will I depend on so many
remarkable people, but I will acknowledge the blessings of God on this
country, and I will seek his help.

Thank you. (Applause.)

END 11:07 A.M. EST
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