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Washington Update
Just as last month's HABIT was on its way into your e-mailbox, a White House press conference to announce presidential nominations for two key public health leadership positions was under way.
President Bush nominated Dr. Elias Zerhouni, presently acting director of the National Institutes of Health, to occupy the top NIH office on a permanent basis. Zerhouni's views on such controversial topics as cloning and stem cell research are considered more compatible with the president's ethical framework than those of Dr. Anthony Fauci, who for many months was believed to be the president's top choice for the office. At a recent NIH briefing for public relations professionals, NIH Director for Legislative Policy and Analysis Marc Smolonsky commented, "Dr. Zerhouni is on the fast track for confirmation. His appointment seems likely unless something unforeseen crops up." Smolonsky noted that although the NIH director's office does not have a big budget of its own, whoever fills it exerts a powerful influence on activities both within and outside the NIH. One influence may be to encourage prominent scientists to fill vacant top positions at NIH institutes which, according to the Los Angeles Times, they have been hesitant to accept until the director's slot is filled.
The president also nominated Dr. Richard Carmona, a trauma surgeon, sheriff's deputy and former SWAT team member to become the nation's surgeon general. The choice of a candidate with a law-enforcement background, the Wall Street Journal commented, underscores the administration's desire to prepare the nation's health system for a possible bioterrorist attack.
The Senate approved a bill on April 16 that would continue and strengthen support for community health centers and create a program to coordinate care for underserved individuals. The Health Care Safety Net Amendments of 2001 would reauthorize the health centers program and the National Health Service Corps, launched in 1972. It would also create a Healthy Communities Access Program, intended to bring together private and public providers to improve the coordination of care for underserved communities. While the Bush administration has voiced approval for continued support of the existing programs, it has expressed opposition to HCAP.
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