After months of Republican resistance, Senate confirms Dr. Benjamin as Surgeon General

President Obama recently declared a national emergency over the H1N1 flu outbreak that has killed more than 100 children in the U.S. since April -- but at the time he made his declaration, the U.S. still did not have a Surgeon General, the person who serves as the nation's chief health educator.



That's because his July nomination of Dr. Regina Benjamin to the post was blocked by Republicans protesting what they characterized as a "gag order" prohibiting insurance companies from warning Medicare recipients about a possible loss of benefits under health insurance reform legislation.

Last month the Obama administration gave in to Republicans on the matter, allowing insurers to communicate with beneficiaries on proposed legislation as long as they don't spend federal money to do so. But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and other Republican senators continued to block Benjamin's appointment, saying they still had concerns about the issue.

But last week the GOP relented -- and on Thursday the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Benjamin as Surgeon General.

A trailblazing African-American physician with a long record of service to Alabama's rural poor, Benjamin has said that her emphasis will be on disease prevention and public health. In a statement on the confirmation, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said:

Dr. Benjamin will quickly become America's doctor as our next Surgeon General. Her deep knowledge and strong medical skills, her commitment to her patients, and her ability to inspire the people she interacts with every day will serve her well as Surgeon General. She will be an integral part of our H1N1 response effort, and America can expect to see her very soon communicating important information about how to stay healthy and safe this flu season.