If the President had a surgeon general who could bring him direct information and

[mfcorey1]

coordinate some of the ebola issue, there would be less apprehension on the part of Americans. Thank you republicans for f-ing up everything again.

[cali]

1. The CDC would still have lead on this.

[Earth_First]

2. This has almost no bearing on the role of the Surgeon General's Office nt

[mfcorey1]

3. Why?

[Earth_First]

4. As it was explained to me...

...the CDC would still have control of the situation regardless of vacancy at the Surgeon General's office.

[mfcorey1]

6. At this point the CDC needs an overseer.

Duties of the Surgeon General

The Office of the Surgeon General is comprised of the following:


The office provides advice and support to the Surgeon General on issues relating to public health and represents the Secretary and the Assistant Secretary of Health on topics addressing public health practice. In addition, the Immediate Office of the Surgeon General supervises Public Health Service Commissioned Corps activities and advises the Assistant Secretary of Health on policies required for efficient management of the Commissioned Corps and on matters pertaining to military and veterans affairs.

http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/about/duties/index.html

[Bluenorthwest]

18. Not a word about the CDC because the CDC is not under the Suregon General...

nt

[B2G]

5. What about the Democrats??

They changed the filibuster rules. They control the Senate. Yet they're delaying until after the mid-terms.

WHY??

[KeepItReal]

9. Yep. Save some blame for Harry Reid. He's got 200+ appointments languishing there.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/nominations-and-appointments

[Dreamer Tatum]

11. The rules were changed for just this sort of thing. Tell Harry Reid to quit whining about the Kochs

and wield his actual power.

[spanone]

7. the nra didn't like Obama's nominee

How the NRA is making the Ebola crisis worse

Every day brings more details about the first case of the Ebola virus to be diagnosed in the U.S. And while experts say there is essentially no risk of a significant outbreak here in the states, much of the public remains worried. A poll by Harvard found that 39% of U.S. adults are concerned about a large outbreak here, and more than a quarter fear someone in their immediate family could get sick with Ebola.

If only there was someone around who could educate the American public about the actual level of risk. Someone who was trusted as a public health expert and whose job it was to help us understand what we really need to worry about and what precautions we should take.

Actually, that is one of the primary responsibilities of the United States surgeon general. There’s just one problem: Thanks to Senate dysfunction and NRA opposition, we don’t have a surgeon general right now. In fact, we haven’t had a surgeon general for more than a year now — even though the president nominated the eminently qualified Dr. Vivek Murthy back in November 2013.
The lack of a surgeon general is now becoming more than just one more abstract example of government gridlock.

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/the-nra-making-the-ebola-crisis-worse

[global1]

13. So The NRA Could Kill Without Guns As Well......nt

[Rex]

8. It should be obvious by now, that republicans are anti-life.

They prove it almost on a daily basis.

[Lee-Lee]

10. The CDC is under HHS, a Cabinet level agency. Surgeon General has zero role

Claiming the CDC should be led by the Surgeon General or that the Surgeon General would have any role at all in response doesn't show anything but a failure in understanding basic civics.

[mfcorey1]

12. Ohh! You're so smart, guardian of basic civics. Peace

[Lee-Lee]

15. Well, when people try and make this an issue

They just make out side look like we don't have a clue how the government works.

[mfcorey1]

17. Your perspective. There are many more who ask the same question. To comment is fine, but

to make a snide comment is unacceptable. If you are too brilliant for the post, move on to one that suits your intellect. Peace

[Travis_0004]

14. The. perhaps Obama should find somebody else to nominate.

I think Obama picked the surgen general in March, and the republicans shot it down. So why hasnt Obama nominated a new person yet?

Like it or not, the Senate is not a rubber stamp, even if the reasons for rejecting the nominee is stupid, then Obama needs to find somebody that both parties can agree on.

[onenote]

16. What prevents the acting Surgeon General from doing that?

Answer: Nothing.

42 USC 206(a):

The Surgeon General shall assign one commissioned officer from the Regular Corps to administer the Office of the Surgeon General, to act as Surgeon General during the absence or disability of the Surgeon General or in the event of a vacancy in that office, and to perform such other duties as the Surgeon General may prescribe, and while so assigned he shall have the title of Deputy Surgeon General.