Jan. 09, 2009
Gupta Wrong Choice for Surgeon General
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Contact: Karren Morgan
(313) 961-5670
The following is a letter that Rep. Conyers sent to his colleagues in the House regarding his concerns about the nomination of Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
Dear Colleague,
Please join me in signing a letter to President-Elect Barack Obama opposing the nomination of Dr. Sanjay Gupta for the post of Surgeon General.
I join in opposition with respected Nobel Prize award wining economist Paul Krugman, who has very serious concerns with having Dr. Gupta be the nation’s Surgeon General. (See January 6, 2009, New York Times Hosted Blog, “Conscience of a Liberal.”
Also, there are highly experienced medical professionals who question whether Dr. Gupta has the necessary experience or even the medical background to be in charge of the 6,000 physicians who work in the United States Public Health Service. Gerard M. Farrel, Executive Director of the Commissioned Officers Association, stated in a January 7, 2008 Washington Post article that Dr. Gupta will certainly face a “credibility gap” because he never served in the National Health Service Corp, and furthermore, does not have the “experience or qualifications to be the leader of the nation’s public health service.” Clearly, it is not in the best interests of the nation to have someone like this who lacks the requisite experience needed to oversee the federal agency that provides crucial health care assistance to some of the poorest and most underserved communities in America.
To sign on to the letter, please contact my office at 202 225-5126.
Sincerely,
John Conyers, Jr.
Member of Congress