[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 8] [Senate] [Page 10546] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]SUPPORTING DONALD BERWICK Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I come to the floor to urge quick confirmation of President Obama's nominee, Dr. Donald Berwick, to become the Administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, also known as CMS. He is highly qualified and capable. This is an extremely important position for which he has been nominated. Unfortunately, according to recent press reports, it appears that some who oppose the new health reform law are hoping to use Dr. Berwick's confirmation process as a forum to debate the merits of this new health reform law which has now been enacted. In my view, whether Senators favored or opposed the enactment of health care reform legislation, it is clearly in the interests of our country that we have a capable Administrator to implement the new law. Over the last year and a half, there has been an enormous focus in Congress on addressing the very serious problems facing our health care system. It is important the President's choice to head the CMS be confirmed so that he can take up the enormous challenge and the enormous opportunity that is presented by the enactment of this new legislation. It is clear our Nation has urgent needs. This is not a time for the Senate to delay Dr. Berwick's nomination. I recently spent time with Dr. Berwick at the annual Health Policy Conference headed by the Commonwealth Fund this last January. I was impressed both with the depth of his understanding of the many issues facing the health care system as well as his passion for improving the quality of health care and his impressive successes in doing so. Dr. Berwick has dedicated his career to finding ways to make our health care system work better for patients and cost less for taxpayers. These are core missions he will take on as our next CMS Administrator. Don is the founder and CEO of the Institute for Health Care Improvement. He is a professor of health policy at the Harvard Medical School and the School of Public Health, and he is a practicing physician at some of our Nation's top hospitals. He has held numerous leadership roles at the institutions that ensure quality care in America, including service on the board of the American Hospital Association and as chair of the Advisory Council for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Don's vast experience with our health care system, his award-winning career as an expert in health care quality, make him the ideal candidate to lead CMS at this critical time. The historic health reform legislation that President Obama signed into law this year takes significant steps to strengthen Medicare, reduce waste, fraud, and abuse in the system, and makes critical improvements in the way care is delivered. Implementing those changes in the smartest and most effective way is going to require an Administrator who has seen firsthand what it takes to make meaningful improvements in health care quality and efficiency. It is also going to take an Administrator with a passion to get the job done right. Don Berwick has both. That is why he was chosen by President Obama to be the next CMS Administrator. His nomination has won praise from across the political and professional spectrum, including former CMS Administrators who served Republican Presidents. For example, Thomas A. Scully, who was CMS Administrator under President George W. Bush between 2001 and 2003, said: Dr. Berwick is about as noncontroversial and well liked as you can get. You are not going to do any better. Mark McClellan, CMS Administrator under George W. Bush from 2004 to 2006 said the following: What happens at CMS over the next couple of years will determine whether the new legislation actually improves quality and lowers costs. Don has a unique background both in improving quality care on the ground and thinking about how our Nation's health care policies need to be reformed to help make that happen. Dr. Nancy H. Nielsen, M.D., immediate past president of the American Medical Association, said: We welcome President Obama's nomination of Dr. Donald Berwick to be administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services. He is widely known and well respected for his visionary leadership efforts that focus on optimizing the quality and safety of patient care in hospitals and across health care settings. Dr. John Rather, the executive vice president of AARP, said: Dr. Berwick's expertise on healthcare innovation and his dedication to quality improvement and patient safety would benefit the millions of low-income and older Americans served by Medicare and Medicaid. His appointment is welcome news to Medicare beneficiaries, as it signals that quality and safety will be at the top of the agenda. Finally, our former colleague, Dave Durenberger, a Republican from Minnesota, said: President Obama let us know he means business on ``bending the medical cost curve'' by nominating Dr. Don Berwick as head of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid services. . . .This appointment will be taken as an indication that health policy and health system reform is likely to be this President's top priority in his first term. We all know that Don Berwick has the ability to make both work. There is broad consensus that the nomination of Dr. Berwick is an excellent choice by President Obama. Our country needs Dr. Berwick's remarkable talents now, and every day his confirmation stalls or is delayed is a missed opportunity to ensure his unparalleled leadership is directing our Nation's largest and most influential health care agency. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to swiftly approve his nomination. I yield the floor. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Arizona. Mr. KYL. Mr. President, I might note to my colleague from New Mexico that there is a different point of view about this particular nominee. I would venture to say that since his hearing has not been scheduled yet, it may be a while before we are able to take up that nomination. In any event, there are many on our side of the aisle who have significant concerns about whether he should be put in charge of the CMS. But I appreciate the comments of my colleague, and I will turn to a different subject at this point. ____________________