Regina Benjamin, MD, of Alabama, his one step closer to becoming the nation's new Surgeon General.
Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension (HELP) Committee, made the announcement Thursday. It follows President Barack Obama's nomination of Benjamin on July 13, and now awaits a vote by the full Senate.
Also on Thursday, the HELP committee approved the nominations of
* M. Patricia Smith, of New York, to be Solicitor at the U.S. Department of Labor;
* Joseph Albert Main, of Virginia, to be Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health; and
* William Edward Spriggs, of Virginia, to be Assistant Secretary for Policy, Department of Labor.
"Today, the HELP Committee sent four strong nominations to the full Senate for consideration, and in doing so took a major step toward protecting working families, increasing mine safety and supporting the nation's health and well being," Harkin said. "I urge a speedy consideration by the full Senate so we can fill these urgently needed positions."
"I am personally encouraged by Dr. Regina Benjamin's commitment to prevention and wellness," he added. "With the health reform legislation putting a sharp new emphasis on prevention and public health, we could not ask for a more dedicated or committed Surgeon General."
In nominating Benjamin last July, Obama said she is up to the task of advancing health reform.
"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," Obama said.
Benjamin was in the second class at the Morehouse School of Medicine and went on to earn an MD 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. She has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the MacArthur Genius Award.