FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 27, 2007
CONTACT: Matt Mackowiak
Sen. Hutchison Presents Dr. DeBakey Signed Bill, Awarding Him the Congressional Gold Medal
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Texas’ senior Senator, today presented to Dr. Michael E. DeBakey the signed bill she introduced to award him Congress’s highest and most distinguished civilian award, the Congressional Gold Medal, in a Houston ceremony. Sen. Hutchison authored legislation to recognize Dr. DeBakey’s outstanding achievements and contributions to the field of cardiovascular medicine with this award. President Bush signed S. 474 into law in October.
“Dr. DeBakey today joins an elite group of outstanding individuals who have contributed so much to our country and the world,” Sen. Hutchison said. “Dr. DeBakey has earned this award because of his many outstanding achievements and pioneering work in cardiac and vascular health – and also for his innovative efforts to improve health care for America’s sevicemembers and veterans.
“Congressmen Al Green, Gene Green, Brady, Burgess, Culberson, and Poe were so instrumental in shepherding this bill through the House, and I thank them for helping to make this recognition of Dr. DeBakey’s work possible.”
Now that the bill has been signed into law, the U.S. Mint will work with Dr. DeBakey and his family on the conceptual design. Once produced, duplicate medals will be available for purchase.
Dr. DeBakey, 99, is Chancellor Emeritus of the Baylor College of Medicine and Director of the DeBakey Heart Center at Baylor. His 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’s legislation to award the Congressional Gold Medal to Dr. DeBakey was first introduced in 2004, again in 2005 and once more on February 1, 2007. The Senate passed this legislation on March 27 and the House of Representatives passed it on October 2. 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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