FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 18, 2008
CONTACT: Matt Mackowiak
Sen. Hutchison, President Bush, Congressional Leaders to Present Congressional Gold Medal to Dr. DeBakey
Award to be Presented at Ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda
WASHINGTON -- On Wednesday, April 23, U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Texas’s senior Senator, will join President George W. Bush and the bicameral Congressional leadership to present the Congressional Gold Medal to world renowned heart surgeon Dr. Michael E. DeBakey at a ceremony in the Capitol rotunda in Washington, D.C.
“Dr. DeBakey’s medical advances have contributed so much to our country and the world,” said Sen. Hutchison. “Not only did he perfect the heart transplant procedure that has saved so many lives, but he also invented the M.A.S.H. unit. As a veteran of World War II, he saw our young men dying on the battlefield and was determined to improve medical care to save lives. Dr. DeBakey will receive the Congressional Gold Medal for these lasting contributions. It is a high honor, and one that is certainly well-deserved.”
The ceremony will be held Wednesday, April 23 at 11am in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. Delivering remarks at the ceremony will be President Bush, Sen. Hutchison, Congressman Al Green (D-TX), Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). After the presentation of the Congressional Gold Medal, Dr. DeBakey will deliver remarks. The Congressional Gold Medal is the nation’s highest civilian honor.
On October 2, 2007, Congress passed S. 474, legislation authored by Sen. Hutchison to award the medal to Dr. DeBakey. President Bush signed the bill into law on October 16, 2007. Sen. Hutchison first introduced the legislation in 2004, again in 2005 and once more on February 1, 2007.
Dr. DeBakey, 99, is Chancellor Emeritus of the Baylor College of Medicine and Director of the DeBakey Heart Center at Baylor. Sen. Hutchison introduced the bill in recognition of Dr. DeBakey’s many outstanding achievements and pioneering efforts in cardiac and vascular health. Dr. DeBakey’s innovative research and surgical techniques revolutionized the field of cardiovascular medicine. He is recognized internationally for inventing and refining several medical devices and procedures used daily to save lives. Two of his most significant inventions include the roller pump—an essential component of the heart-lung machine—and the DeBakey Ventricular Assist Device (VAD)—an apparatus implanted into the heart to increase blood flow.
Dr. DeBakey helped develop the Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (M.A.S.H.) units that saved thousands of lives during the Korean and Vietnam conflicts, and helped establish the Veterans Affairs Medical Center System. Dr. DeBakey has served as an advisor to almost every president of the past fifty years, and he has received numerous awards from educational institutions, civic organizations and governments worldwide, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction in 1969, and the National Medal of Science in 1987.
Sen. Hutchison introduced legislation in 2003 to rename the Houston VA medical center after Dr. DeBakey. That bill became law on December 6, 2003.
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