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 (more…)

Reuters, Roll Call and AP are reporting that former Senator Majority leader, and ONE Vote ‘08 Co-Chair, Tom Daschle has been selected by President-Elect Obama to be the next U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary.

Senator Daschle has been a leader in ONE’s presidential initiative since 2007, including leading a delegation of American leaders to Rwanda in July of this year. You can check out his many appearances on the ONE Blog here.

Much more on Senator Dasche’s background on global poverty issues to follow shortly.

-Virginia Simmons

(Senator Daschle touring a Rwandan clinic with John Podesta and Cindy McCain on a ONE delegation trip to Rwanda in July 2008.)