President-Elect Obama has just selected former Senate Majority Leader Senator Tom Daschle as our next Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Currently, Daschle is a Senior Policy Advisor with the law firm Alston & Bird, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and, critically to us, serves as National Co-Chair, of ONE Vote ‘08.

Below find relevant quotes, a summary of his experience in development, and a list of key legislation he introduced or sponsored.

Quotes

“We have a moral obligation to assist those suffering from abject poverty and disease…Investments in the development of our world’s poorest nations must be a pillar of our foreign policy going forward, no matter who is leading the next administration.”- Daschle, ONE Campaign appearance in Kigali, Rwanda, July 22, 2008

“I am encouraged by the tremendous impact that these programs have had in fighting the spread of disease across Africa… Over the last four years, 2 million more people living with AIDS now have access to lifesaving medication… Nevertheless, much work remains.” – Daschle, ONE Campaign appearance in Kigali, Rwanda, July 22, 2008

“The primary foreign policy challenge confronting the United States in the next three decades is also our country’s largest domestic policy challenge: climate change. In both arenas—foreign and domestic policy—we are in effect racing the clock, aware that the longer we delay action, the more costly the fixes at home will be, and the less able we will be to induce the kind of change necessary in China, India, and beyond.”-Daschle, “Changing the Political Climate on Climate Change” Georgetown Journal on International Affairs: Winter/Spring 2008

“We face a deadly pandemic that claims tens of thousands of lives daily and threatens stability in key regions of the world. While we have made – and will continue to make – great strides, the true solution lies in making sure that no matter who is elected to be the next President of the United States, he or she is committed to ending extreme poverty.” -Daschle, The ONE Blog, May 24, 2007

Foreign Policy Related Activities

• Senator Daschle is a longtime advocate of strengthening U.S. diplomacy and foreign assistance, consistently backing foreign assistance bills throughout his career. He opposed H.R. 2606, a bill in the House of Representatives that would have capped foreign assistance at only $12.7 billion for FY 1999. He also championed the Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill for FY 2004, S.1426 which substantially increased funding for the Peace Corps and foreign assistance to combat HIVAIDS.
• As co-chair of ONE Vote ’08, Senator Daschle has proven that he takes issues of extreme poverty and preventable disease very seriously. He led several thought leaders on a trip to Rwanda with ONE, along with Senator Frist. Senator Daschle has a long record as a strong advocate on these issues.
• In 2002, when President Bush first dedicated $500 million to fight global AIDS in 2002, then Senator Daschle asked the President to do more, saying that his amount was “too little too late.”
• In 2003, Senators Daschle, McCain and Kennedy wrote an open letter to the Comptroller General asking when PEPFAR first passed, asking for GAO assistance to ensure that anti-AIDS drugs were purchased at a fair price.
• Earlier this year, Senator Daschle led a delegation of policymakers on a trip to Rwanda on behalf of the ONE Campaign. The purpose of the trip was to gain a first-hand appreciation for the challenges of heath crises in Africa and assess the success of American sponsored foreign assistance programs like the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) and the Global Trust Fund.

Legislation

• Daschle introduced S.185, the Africa Famine Relief Act of 2003 which would authorize emergency supplemental assistance to combat the growing humanitarian crisis in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Co-sponsored S. Res 119, Combatting the Global Aids Pandemic, noting the growth of AIDS/HIV and the responsibility of the U.S. along with other developed nations to act.
• Introduced S.1182, the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003, to sanction the ruling Burmese military junta, to strengthen Burma’s democratic forces and support and recognize the National League of Democracy as the legitimate representative of the Burmese people, and for other purposes.