Nomination of Michael O. Leavitt to be Secretary of Health and Human Services

NOMINATION OF MICHAEL O. LEAVITT TO BE SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES -- (Senate - January 26, 2005)

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, as you know, I am passionate about health care issues, and I want to talk today about two issues of particular interest to me, which Health and Human Services Secretary Nominee Michael Leavitt has promised to review when he takes the helm at that department.

Leavitt promised to look at the legislation which Senate Judiciary Chairman ORRIN HATCH, R-Utah, and I are developing to require dietary supplement manufacturers to submit reports to the Food and Drug Administration when they cause serious injury or death to consumers. Under current law, these manufacturers of these products, which are widely sold, do not have to report to the government if their products are suspected of causing someone taking them to become ill or even die. This happens even to people who are seemingly healthy, such as 17-year-old Sean Riggins from Lincoln, IL. Sean was a rising star on his high school football team in 1992 and wanted to enhance his performance in the big game. Sean took ``Yellow Jackets,'' a supplement promising increased energy, which contained ephedra. Sean was killed by those pills.

While dietary supplements are safely consumed by millions of Americans every day, unfortunately, this is not always the case. Ephedra is perhaps the best-known dangerous supplement ingredient; it has caused at least 150 deaths, forcing HHS to pull it off the market. There are other supplements that have raised questions, such as aristolochic acid, usnic acid, kava kava and yohimbine, and the problem is, we just don't have the data centrally located to help the agency determine the products' safety. The law assumes products containing these substances are safe until proven unsafe.

Senator Hatch and I do not always agree, but on this issue, we do. There should be a clearinghouse at the Food and Drug Administration for these manufacturers to provide data about the safety of their products. And most of the industry and consumer groups are on our side, so as we develop legislation this year, Administrator Leavitt has agreed to review it. I look forward to working with him.

Administrator Leavitt also promised to remain active on the issue of tobacco control. Mr. Leavitt is a former charter member of the American Legacy Foundation board, the foundation established by the Master Settlement Agreement to educate youth and the public about the addictiveness and health effects of smoking.

More than 90 percent of adult smokers began smoking as teenagers. The American Legacy Foundation's public education campaign is helping to produce dramatic decreases in youth smoking rates. The work of the American Legacy Foundation is more important than ever to this country's health.

I support Administrator Leavitt's nomination to serve as Secretary of Health and Human Services and welcome the opportunity to work with him to reduce smoking among young people, acquire quality safety data on dietary supplements, and address other critical health concerns.

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