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[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 127 (Wednesday, September 19, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1559-E1560]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

   IN CELEBRATION OF THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE UNIFORMED SERVICES 
                   UNIVERSITY OF THE HEALTH SCIENCES

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 19, 2012

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the 
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) on its 40th 
anniversary and recognize this extraordinary university whose graduates 
serve our nation by caring for those in harm's way. I am honored that 
USU is located in Maryland's Eighth Congressional District.
  Graduates of USU, which is based in Bethesda, Maryland, provide 
front-line care for our troops in Afghanistan and around the globe, 
aboard ships and airplanes equipped as state-of-the-art hospitals/
emergency rooms and in public health facilities throughout our nation. 
These outstanding women and men are educated at USU in medicine, 
graduate nursing, dentistry, clinical psychology and biomedical 
research.
  Over the past ten years, USU alumni have been routinely deployed in 
combat zones. They have established forward hospitals and have advanced 
battlefield medicine in ways not even envisioned only one decade ago. 
They have saved lives and worked to help restore wounded heroes' 
health. They have advanced basic research to address traumatic brain 
injury, amputations, post-traumatic stress, and treatment for 
infectious diseases, and have worked under harsh and austere conditions 
to provide the highest quality health care possible.
  USU was established by an Act of Congress in 1972. Since then, it has 
graduated nearly 5,000 physicians along with hundreds who have received 
degrees in biomedical sciences in the School of Medicine and graduate 
level nursing in the Graduate School of Nursing. Recently, USU expanded 
to include a Postgraduate Dental College.
  Charles Rice, MD, President of USU, describes USU as follows:

       The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences is 
     a center of excellence for military and public health 
     education and research. USU's programs are unique, as are our 
     dedicated faculty, staff and students. The university 
     benefits tremendously from its extraordinary alumni who 
     return to teach, conduct research and guide others in 
     clinical care. These devoted professionals bring a wealth of 
     experience gained in military treatment facilities throughout 
     the U.S. and around the world, as well as in combat, on 
     ships, in airborne intensive care units, amid natural 
     disasters and among a multitude of cultures.

  Since 1980, when USU's F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine graduated 
its first class, the school has produced talented and dedicated 
physicians and leaders who serve in the Army, Navy, Air Force and 
Public Health Service. They include the following distinguished alumni:
  Lt. Gen. (Dr.) Thomas W. Travis, U.S. Air Force, class of 1986, who 
in July 2012, took over as the 21st Surgeon General of the United 
States Air Force.
  Rear Admiral (Dr.) Michael Anderson, U.S. Navy, class of 1983, who is 
proudly serving as the Medical Officer of the Marine Corps, overseeing 
the health care of more than 200,000 active duty Marines and their 
families.
  Rear Admiral (Dr.) Sarah Linde-Feucht, U.S. Public Health Service, 
class of 1992, a board-certified family physician who is also the Chief 
Public Health Officer for the Health Resources Services Administration, 
where she is a member of the executive leadership team and senior 
policy advisor to the HRSA Administrator.
  Col. (Dr.) Paul Pasquina, U.S. Army, class of 1991, who heads the 
Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Service at the Walter Reed National 
Military Medical Center, Bethesda, and is responsible for ensuring that 
the many U.S. service members returning from combat with often 
debilitating physical and mental injuries are receiving the best care 
possible. These include soldiers like Army Col. Gregory Gadson, who 
lost both legs in Iraq, but with Col. Pasquina as his doctor, became 
the first recipient of the prosthetic ``power knees'' and remains on 
active duty as the new commander of Fort Belvoir in Virginia.
  USU has also awarded nearly 1,300 degrees in the biomedical sciences 
to individuals who advance the science that underlies our ability to 
treat and protect against infectious diseases and other maladies 
affecting humankind. Distinguished alumni include the following:
  Dr. Katherine Bossart, a 2003 Ph.D. graduate in Emerging Infectious 
Diseases now at Boston University, developed the first treatment 
(antibody) and first vaccine against two deadly viruses, Nipah and 
Hendra, that could

[[Page E1560]]

be used as potential biothreat agents. The antibody was successfully 
used, through compassionate use exception, to save the lives of three 
individuals with significant exposure to the Hendra virus.
  Brigadier-General (Dr.) Jean-Robert Bernier, Canadian Defence Force, 
a 1997 graduate of USU's Master of Public Health degree program, was 
sworn in as the Surgeon General of Canada in July 2012.
  The USU Graduate School of Nursing has conferred more than 600 
master's degrees since its founding in 1993 and 15 doctorates since 
opening its Ph.D. program in 2003. These men and women serve in 
uniformed and federal services at home and abroad. They also work with 
the school's faculty to conduct research.
  Air Force Capt. Jennifer Curtis, who graduated from USU's Family 
Nurse Practitioner program, Graduate School of Nursing, in 2009, was 
awarded the Bronze Star and other decorations for her heroic lifesaving 
actions of six soldiers while under fire in Afghanistan during her very 
first deployment.
  In addition to its world-class educational programs, USU is dedicated 
to innovative research in military medicine, nursing and oral health as 
well as public health. Its research programs, devoted to preventive 
medicine, infectious disease, prosthetics, traumatic brain injury and 
post-traumatic stress disorder, are relevant both locally and globally.
  The civilian members of USU's Board of Regents are appointed by the 
Secretary of Defense. They are prominent leaders in health care, higher 
education and public policy from across the country. Current members 
include:
  Otis Brawley, M.D., Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice 
President, American Cancer Society
  Sheila Burke, Senior Policy Analyst at Baker Donelson and former 
Under Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
  General (Ret.) Ronald Griffith, former Vice Chief of Staff of the 
Army
  Michael Johns, M.D., Chancellor of Emory University
  Haile Debas, M.D., Executive Director of Global Health Sciences at 
the University of California, San Francisco
  Kenneth Moritsugu, M.D., Vice President, Global Strategic Affairs for 
LifeScan, Inc., former Deputy Surgeon General of the United States
  Gail Wilensky, Ph.D., Senior Fellow at Project HOPE and former 
Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration
  Ronald Blanck, D.O., Chairman and Partner of Martin, Blanck & 
Associates, former Army Surgeon General, and former President of the 
University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth. Dr. 
Blanck serves as Chair of USU's Board of Regents.
  Ex-officio members of the Board include:
  Dr. Jonathan Woodson, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health 
Affairs
  Lt. General Patricia Horoho, Surgeon General of the U.S. Army
  Vice Admiral Matthew Nathan, Surgeon General of the U.S. Navy
  Lt. General Thomas Travis, Surgeon General of the U.S. Air Force
  Vice Admiral Regina Benjamin, Surgeon General of the United States
  Dr. Charles L. Rice, President of the Uniformed Services University
  The Board members' experience, knowledge and ideas will enable USU to 
continue its fine tradition of making significant contributions to 
military medicine and public health, helping to create a stronger, more 
effective military and federal health system in service to our nation 
and the global community.
  Our nation is fortunate that USU fulfills well its mission of 
educating future generations of military and public health physicians, 
nurses, dentists and biomedical scientists. Moreover, USU is a 
particularly compelling example of the importance of public investment 
in our nation's future. I look forward to working with my colleagues in 
Congress, the leadership of the Department of Defense and the USU to 
ensure that USU has the support it needs to continue to fulfill the 
vision of its founders.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in congratulating USU, 
its students, alumni, faculty and staff on forty years of extraordinary 
contributions to our nation.

                          ____________________
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