As Congress and the Obama Administration move closer to presenting comprehensive legislation to overhaul the nation's health care system, former Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt and former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle will analyze the politics of reform, highlight the need for transparency and inclusion in the debate and forecast the outcome during a National Press Club Newsmakers press conference at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, June 2, in the Holeman Lounge, 13th floor, National Press Building, 529 14th Street, N.W.
The debate will be moderated by Mark McClellan, former administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Leavitt was governor of Utah from 1993-2003. In 2003, he joined the cabinet of President George W. Bush, serving first as head of the Environmental Protection Agency (2003-2005) and then as secretary of Health and Human Services (2005-2009). At HHS, Leavitt administered a $750 billion budget — nearly 25 percent of the entire federal budget — and managed 67,000 employees.
In 1978, Daschle was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served for eight years following a career in the Air Force and as a Capitol Hill staffer. In 1986, he was elected to the U.S. Senate and two years later became Democratic leader. Daschle is one of the longest serving Senate Democratic leaders and the only one to serve twice as both majority and minority leader.
McClellan is now director of the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at the Brookings Institution, where he focuses on promoting high-quality, innovative and affordable health care. A doctor and economist by training, McClellan's government programs included the Medicare prescription drug benefit, the FDA's Critical Path Initiative, and public-private initiatives to develop better information on the quality and cost of care.
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: National Press Club's Holeman Lounge, 13th floor, National Press Building, 529 14th Street, N.W.
Contact: Mark Schoeff Jr., chair, NPC Newsmakers Committee (202-662-7218, mschoeff@workforce.com)