November 19, 2008

Daschle Is Tapped to Lead Department of Health and Human Services

Washington — President-elect Barack Obama has chosen Thomas A. Daschle, the former Senate majority leader, as the next secretary of health and human services, reports Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper.

The job would give Mr. Daschle, a close adviser to Mr. Obama, oversight of a $700-billion budget that finances 11 agencies, including the National Institutes of Health. He is also expected to play a key role in Mr. Obama’s efforts to expand health-care coverage.

It’s unclear what Mr. Daschle’s appointment would mean for science policy and research funds because the former senator, a Democrat from South Dakota, did not focus on those issues during his 25-year career in Congress. While he supports federal financing of stem-cell research, he told The New York Times in 2001 that he was “very uncomfortable’‘ with human cloning, even for research purposes.

Since losing his Senate seat to Sen. John Thune, a Republican, in 2004, Mr. Daschle has sought to distinguish himself on health-care issues, co-writing a book titled Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis. —Kelly Field

Comments

1. Another Washington longtimer, rejected even by his constituents, to represent the “Change” on the Hill.

   — Mark de Goz    Nov 19, 03:59 PM    #

2. The idea that change can only be brought about by inexperienced amateurs seems to be common out there – even Chris Matthews of MSNBC seems to think that his idolized favorite, Obama, should avoid making use of experienced people, even though they have not been part of the last 8 years’ administration. Experience is good if the people have open and inquiring minds.

   — Betty Johnson    Nov 19, 04:22 PM    #

3. Let’s say you had gone in to a coma in March of this year and had just now awakened not knowing who had won the Presidential election. Based upon what you would be reading about the new cabinet, you would have to assume that Hillary Clinton had been elected the 44th President.

   Is Daschle’s wife still a key lobbyist for the airline industry? How would that impact President-elect Obama’s new ethics rules?

   — J. Ward    Nov 19, 04:23 PM    #

4. The “spoils” system is alive and well regardless of who gets elected. Let’s hope we don’t see any train wrecks such as Brownie’s (mis)direction of FEMA or Rumsfeld at DOD (not to mention Halliburton cum Cheney).

   — CW    Nov 19, 04:24 PM    #

5. Mark, Didn’t you know Change = “Back to the Future”

   — Mr T    Nov 19, 04:27 PM    #

6. It is positive change from the last horrid 8 years. I guess you all were asleep during those 8 years.

   — Kim    Nov 19, 04:31 PM    #

7. This seems like a good appointment since any new health care legislation has to go through the Congress the President is going to need someone familiar with how it works to get the job done.

   — JJones    Nov 19, 04:35 PM    #

8. I like JJones analysis, however the air is beginning to smell a bit like old fish.

   — DWB    Nov 19, 08:00 PM    #

9. He is closely tied to the big pharmacutical companies. That is not change and that is not where the President Elect said we were going.

   — llef    Nov 19, 09:24 PM    #

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