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Bush plan to overhaul public health corps draws fire
- Global Security Newswire
- September 22, 2003
- Comments
The Bush administration is attempting to convert the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps into a quick-response team to fight bioterrorism, but public health officials are concerned that the plan could damage other initiatives, USA Today reported Monday. Sending vital scientists on missions to fight bioterrorism could damage efforts to combat other diseases, including severe acute respiratory syndrome, AIDS and West Nile virus, according to opponents of the White House plan.
The corps currently has 6,000 members, and many volunteer for deployment on biological defense missions. Under the new plan, deployment would be mandatory, but critics worry that new requirement could keep top young scientists away from the corps.
Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said in July that he would convert the corps to a globally deployable force. The U.S. surgeon general, who has led the corps since 1871, would be replaced by a civilian in the Health and Human Services Department.
"This is a complex issue, and it's evolving," said Surgeon General Richard Carmona. "My opinion is that the surgeon general needs to be in control," he told USA Today.
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