Leavitt is sworn in as HHS secretary

WASHINGTON — Dusting off some anecdotal nuggets from speeches as Utah governor, Mike Leavitt took the ceremonial oath of office Friday as the 20th secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, promising to manage the behemoth entity with principles that are "real and right.

"Responsibility to care for the truly needy is real. Fostering self-reliance as we do it is right," Leavitt told a crowd of several hundred that included President Bush, family, invited guests, Cabinet officials and HHS staffers.

"The enabling and ennobling virtue of work is real," he continued. "The responsibility to remember that as we make national policy on human service programs is right.

The responsibility to nurture children, to care for the elderly, to arm future generations with enduring values is real. Strengthening marriages and protecting families is right."

The swearing-in ceremony was a ceremonial event geared more for show; Leavitt took the official oath of office late last month, only hours after his nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Friday's event, which featured a prayer from Leavitt's father requesting divine assistance, was more an opportunity for the president to sing Leavitt's praises and fire off a few warnings to Congress on issues such as health care affordability, liability reform, Medicaid reform and implementation of the Medicare Modernization Act.

Any attempt by Congress to take away prescription drug benefits for seniors — the cost of which has soared, Bush said.

And he urged Congress to pass medical liability reform "this year." Congress is already well on its way toward that end.

Bush tapped Leavitt, who had served the previous year as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency after stepping down after 11 years as Utah governor, to spearhead an aggressive reform agenda for numerous domestic programs.

"I've witnessed his integrity and creativity and compassion," Bush said of Leavitt. "He has a proven ability to move beyond the partisan debate, to work with leaders at all levels of government and to improve the lives of the people he serves."

The most contentious issue will undoubtedly be proposed reforms to Medicaid, the country's safety net insurance program for the poor and disabled. Bush assured HHS staffers that Leavitt's reforms would be more fair and more flexible to the states.

Bush also pledged more money to add poor children to health insurance rolls and reiterated his goal of having a community health center in every poor county in America.

Leavitt said he begins his new job with "enormous optimism and appreciation.