Bob O’Dell

**Robert Gordon “Bob“ O’Dell** (born February 21, 1958) is an American politician and physician who was the 21st United States Secretary of Health and Human Services from 2009 to 2013. He previously served as the United States Representative from Nevada's 3rd congressional district from 2003 to 2007, a Member of the Nevada Assembly representing the 4th district from 1994 to 2002, and as the Director of the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services from 1990 to 1994.

## Early life and early career

Robert Gordon “Bob“ O’Dell was born on February 21, 1958 in Las Vegas, Nevada to Gordon O’Dell, a bail bondsman and his wife, Dina. He received his B.A. in 1979 and M.D. in 1983 from the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine. He completed a residency in psychiatry. Dr. O’Dell worked at the Desert Parkway Behavioral Healthcare Hospital in Winchester, Nevada near Las Vegas from 1983 to 1989. He is a former member of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), a politically conservative non-profit association founded in 1943 to "fight socialized medicine and to fight the government takeover of medicine." The AAPS opposes Medicare and mandatory vaccination. O’Dell is also a member of the American Medical Association.

He entered public service in 1990 when he was appointed the Director of the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). He served in this capacity for four years overseeing the largest department in state government, comprised of five Divisions along with additional programs and offices as well as managing nearly one-third of the state’s budget. O’Dell left his position as DHHS Director in 1994 upon his election to the Nevada State Assembly.

## Nevada State Assembly

O’Dell served four terms in the Nevada Assembly, the lower house of Nevada's Legislature. As an Assemblyman he represented District 4 from 1994 to 2002. He was a leading advocate of tax cuts and decreased spending while in the state legislature. He was assigned to the Ways & Means, Commerce & Labor, and Elections, Procedures & Ethics committees of the Assembly. In 1998, he became Chairman of the Ways & Means Committee, the chief tax-writing committee and a year later led a group of legislators in opposition to the tax increases proposed by the Democratic Governor, citing concerns that they might damage Nevada's economy. After several special sessions, O’Dell's voting bloc failed and the tax increases were passed. In 2002, O’Dell and his supporters gathered over 150,000 signatures to put a Taxpayer Bill of Rights amendment on the November 2002 general election ballot, which proposed that increases in spending greater than the sum of inflation and population growth require an affirmative vote of citizens.

## United States House of Representatives

Assemblyman O’Dell ran for the United States House of Representatives during the 2002 midterms in the newly created 3rd District. The district had been created due to a population explosion in the Las Vegas area. O’Dell easily won the Republican nomination and faced Democratic nominee, Clark County District Attorney Jason Hunt. The race was considered one of the hottest in the nation, in part because the district had been created as a "fair fight" district. Despite this O’Dell out fundraised and outspent Hunt by 3–1 and defeated him by 49%–46%. Congressman O’Dell supported congressional approval for military action in the Middle East in 2004 and for the bipartisan Energy Security, Affordability, and Reliability Act of 2006. He excepts the scientific consensus on climate change and has called for free-market remedies. While in Congress, he supported the limited, partial privatization of Social Security and was opposed to raising the federal minimum wage in favor of leaving the decision to local governments. He supported expanded background checks for gun sales but opposed the prohibition of gun purchases for individuals on the no-fly list.

Congressman O’Dell was reelected to a second term in the 2004 elections in a rematch against Hunt. That time the election result was much closer, 48%–47%. Democratic State Senator Jon Herrera of Henderson defeated O’Dell in his run for a third term in 2006 by 50%–48% in the competitive district during a tough year for Democrats.

## Secretary of Health and Human Services

After leaving Congress in 2007 following his upset electoral defeat O’Dell remained politically active. He spent time as a political activist lobbying for the House and Senate to enact health care legislation based on free-market principles. He was also a supporter of Indiana Governor John Grady during the 2008 presidential election. On February 28, 2009, it was reported that O’Dell had accepted President Grady's nomination for the position of Secretary of Health and Human Services. On March 2, 2009, Grady officially announced O’Dell as his nominee. Supporters of universal healthcare and pro-choice activists and senators were the primary opponents of O’Dell's nomination. He was confirmed by the United States Senate by a vote of 65–31 and sworn in on April 28, 2009, amidst an outbreak of avian flu in the United States and numerous other countries around the world.

Largely due to his opposition to abortion, in December 2011, Secretary O’Dell overruled the FDA's recommendation on making emergency contraceptives available over the counter for females under the age of 17. He was supportive of importing drugs from Canada during his tenure as HHS Secretary and was criticized by the pharmaceutical industry. This policy position also caused infighting in the Department of Health and Human Services and resulted in O’Dell’s resignation during the cabinet reshuffle after President Grady’s reelection in 2012. Secretary O’Dell‘s resignation became official on February 1, 2013 and he was replaced by Deputy Secretary Ron Gordon, a former pharmaceutical executive from Pennsylvania who opposed drug importation.

## Subsequent Career

Upon his resignation as Secretary of Health and Human Services, O’Dell has served as a member of the boards of directors of companies including Sigma Health, a non-profit comprehensive healthcare system EquHealth Corporation, a health insurance company and J.J. Holland & Company, a pharmaceutical firm. He has also served as a senior advisor to Americans for Prosperity and Patient’s Rights (APPR), a libertarian healthcare think tank dedicated to finding free-market and limited government approaches to healthcare such as through international drug importation and the deregulation of telemedicine. O’Dell is a frequent keynote speaker for national and international organizations.