Pallone Lauds Obama's Choice of Tom Daschle as Health & Human Services Secretary

Washington, D.C. --- U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, issued the following statement today lauding President-elect Barack Obama's choice of former Senator Tom Daschle as his nominee for U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Director of the White House Office of Health Reform. The New Jersey congressman also commended the choice of Dr. Jeanne Lambrew as the Deputy Director of the White House health office.

"By choosing Tom Daschle as his Secretary of Health and Human Services, President-elect Obama sent an important message to the nation that he is serious about tackling health care reform.

"Senator Daschle garners enormous respect on Capitol Hill for his years in both the House and the Senate. He is no stranger to health care reform, having been a major player on the Senate Finance Committee back in 1994. Since leaving the Senate in 2005, he has dedicated considerable time to the issue of health care reform as a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.

"I am also pleased Obama selected Jeanne Lambrew as Daschle's deputy at the White House. Jeanne has dedicated her entire career to improving access to affordable and quality health care coverage for every American. I know how passionate she is about reforming our nation’s broken health care system, and I am confident she has the expertise to succeed in her new role at the White House.

"With more than 45 million Americans living without health insurance and health care costs skyrocketing at alarming rates, the time for reform is now. I look forward to working with both Senator Daschle and Jeanne Lambrew to bring real and bold reform to our nation's health care system, including strengthening the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), Medicare and Medicaid to better protect our most vulnerable citizens."