Regina Benjamin U . S . Surgeon General nominee
U . S . Surgeon General
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Regina Benjamin <m> U . S . Surgeon General </m> nominee
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Regina Benjamin <m> U . S . Surgeon General </m> nominee
July 13 , 2009
President Barack Obama held a press conference , July 13 , 2009 to announce his nominee for U . S . Surgeon General , Regina Benjamin .
Here is the transcript of the announcement .
President Barack Obama : Before I introduce America's next surgeon general , I'd like to say a few words about our ongoing efforts to reform the health care system that she will help oversee .
We are now closer to the goal of health care reform than we have ever been .
Over the last several weeks , key committees in the House and the Senate have made important and unprecedented progress on a plan that will lower costs , provide better care for patients and curb the worst practices of the insurance companies .
It's a plan that will not add to our deficit over the next decade .
Let me repeat that : It is a plan that will not add to our deficit over the next decade and eventually will help lower our deficit by slowing the skyrocketing costs of Medicare and Medicaid .
Now , even though we are close , I've got no illusions that it's going to be easy to get over the finish line .
There are going to be more debates and more disagreements before all is said and done .
But health care reform must be done .
I know there are those who believe we should wait to solve this problem or take a more incremental approach or simply do nothing .
But this is the kind of criticism we heard when the country tried to pass Medicare , a program that is now providing quality care to generations of American seniors .
It's the kind of criticism we heard when we tried to pass the Children's Health Insurance Program , which has provided quality care and coverage to millions of kids .
It's the same Washington thinking that has ignored big challenges and put off tough decisions for decades .
And it is precisely that kind of small thinking that has led us into the current predicament .
So , make no mistake : The status quo on health care is no longer an option for the United States of America .
If we step back from this challenge right now , we will leave our children a legacy of debt , a future of crushing costs that bankrupt our families , our businesses and , because we will have done nothing to bring down the costs of Medicare and Medicaid , will crush our government .
Premiums will continue to skyrocket , placing what amounts to another tax on American families struggling to pay bills .
The insurance companies and special interests that have killed reform in the past will only continue to benefit even more , and they'll continue to deny coverage to Americans with pre - existing medical conditions .
People will continue to lose health insurance just because they lose their job or they change jobs .
This is a future that we cannot afford .
This country can't afford to have health care premiums rise three times faster than people's wages as they did over the last decade .
We can't afford 14 , 000 Americans losing their health care every single day .
We can't afford a future where our government will eventually spend more on Medicare and Medicaid than what we spend on everything else .
During the campaign I promised health care reform that would control costs , expand coverage and ensure choice , and I promised that Americans making $250 , 000 a year or less would not pay more in taxes .
These are promises that we're keeping as reform moves forward .
This is no longer a problem we can wait to fix .
This is about who we are as a country .
Health care reform is about every family's health , but it's also about the health of the economy .
So , I just want to put everybody on notice , because there was a lot of chatter during the week that I was gone : We are going to get this done .
Inaction is not an option .
And for those naysayers and cynics who think that this is not going to happen , don't bet against us .
We are going to make this thing happen because the American people desperately need it .
And even those who are satisfied with their health care right now , they understand that if premiums keep on doubling and if employers keep on shedding health insurance because it's unsustainable , and if you look at the trajectory of where Medicare and Medicaid are going , then inaction will create the biggest crisis of all .
And so I understand people are a little nervous and a little scared about making change .
You know , the muscles in this town to bring about big changes are a little atrophied , but we're whipping folks back into shape .
We are going to get this done .
And if there's anyone who understands the urgency of meeting this challenge in a personal and powerful way , it is the woman who will become our nation's next surgeon general , Dr . Regina Benjamin .
The list of qualifications that make Dr . Benjamin an outstanding candidate to be America's leading spokesperson on issues of public health are long indeed .
She was in the second class at Morehouse School of Medicine and went on to earn an M . D . from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and an MBA from Tulane .
She served as associate dean for rural health at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine , and in 1995 , she became the first physician under 40 and the first African - American woman to be named to the American Medical Association's board of trustees .
In 2002 , she became president of Alabama's state medical association , and she has received numerous awards and recognitions , including the MacArthur genius award .
It's very impressive .
But of all these achievements and experience , none has been more pertinent to today's challenges or closer to Regina's heart than the rural health clinic that she has built and rebuilt in Bayou La Batre .
Did I say that right ?