Rep. Henry A. Waxman, a California Democrat who is one of the Medicaid program鈥檚 most vocal 鈥 and effective 鈥 champions, announced Thursday he plans to retire from the House at the end of this year, his 40th on Capitol Hill.
The former Energy and Commerce Committee chairman has been one of his party鈥檚 central figures in the highest profile health care debates, most recently helping to craft the sweeping 2010 health care law, which Waxman said was one of his 鈥渓ifelong dreams 鈥 finally achieved.鈥
In a statement, President Barack Obama said that Waxman 鈥渨ill leave behind a legacy as an extraordinary public servant and one of the most accomplished legislators of his or any era.鈥
Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., speaks during a news conference about preserving Medicaid funding during the 鈥渇iscal cliff鈥 negotiations at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill December 11, 2012 in Washington (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images).
Waxman鈥檚 announcement comes just weeks after fellow California House member and health care advocate George Miller announced that he will not seek reelection. (They are the聽 who were in the Democratic wave聽that swept into Congress in 1974 following the Watergate scandal.) In the Senate, three other Democrats with high-profiles on health care 鈥 long-time Medicaid advocate Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, Finance Committee Chairman of Montana and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Tom Harkin of Iowa鈥攁re also leaving.聽 The departures have caused concern among health care groups that Congress is losing some of its strongest advocates for the poor and underserved.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a whole generation of leadership in health care that we will have to replace,鈥 said John Rother,聽 president and CEO of the National Coalition on Health Care, whose members include the AFL-CIO, CVS Caremark and Verizon. 鈥淲e are losing some giants and it will be hard to replace them. It will take time.鈥
Waxman, 74, has a long and rich legislative history that includes many major health care accomplishments, such as expanding Medicaid to children in families of the working poor, first-time pregnant women in low-income households and families transitioning from welfare to work, as well as increasing the number of services the program provided. He also helped create the Children鈥檚 Health Insurance Program and pushed laws that moved breakthrough orphan drugs and lesser-priced generics more quickly to market. He championed the Ryan White Care Act, which provides medical care and other services to people living with HIV and AIDS.
鈥淔ifty-percent of the social safety net was created by Henry Waxman when no one was looking,鈥 Tom Scully, who headed the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in the George W. Bush administration, once told , according to . (In typical Waxman style, another 10 pages of footnotes follow.)
Waxman is leaving his mark in other areas as well, including laws designed to improve the nation鈥檚 air and water supply, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and remove lead in paint, drinking water and children鈥檚 toys.聽 He pushed for and won tougher health warnings on tobacco packaging and in advertisements for tobacco products.
Throughout his career Waxman has been a passionate advocate for liberal causes and wielded immense power during his chairmanships. Conservatives both fear and revere him for his tireless pursuit of issues he deeply cares about as well as top-notch staff work that often brought to the public鈥檚 attention documents the opposition would prefer be kept secret.
A profile called Waxman a 鈥渃ontender for the title of Scariest Guy in Town鈥 and branded him 鈥渉is party鈥檚 chief inquisitor鈥 who knew how to get headlines. 聽In a piece, Republicans said Waxman was using oversight hearings to bash the Bush administration, but longtime friends and associates maintained that it is policy, not politics, that drives Waxman. 鈥淚 just want to make sure that the government鈥檚 working,鈥 Waxman says in that story.
Waxman鈥檚 oversight investigations are legendary. One of the most memorable included the 1994 hearing where he put chief executive officers of the nation鈥檚 biggest tobacco companies under oath and they testified that nicotine was not addictive. A second hearing with former tobacco company employees revealed secret industry documents that showed the highly addictive properties of nicotine, helping to fuel public outcry against the industry.
鈥淔or decades, he determinedly fought to stop the tobacco industry from preying on our children,鈥 American Lung Association President and CEO Harold Wimmer said in a statement, adding that Waxman鈥檚 work led to legislation that gave the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate tobacco products.
John R. Seffrin, chief executive of the American Cancer Society, said Waxman鈥檚 retirement means that Congress will lose 鈥渁 life-long advocate for public health鈥 and an 鈥渆xtraordinarily effective legislator whose actions have helped to save millions of lives.鈥
In a statement, Waxman said he ran for elected office 鈥渂ecause I believe government can be a force for good in people鈥檚 lives,鈥 a view he said he has maintained throughout his congressional career. While progress 鈥渃an take years of dedication and struggle 鈥 it鈥檚 worth fighting for,鈥 he said.
Medicaid is one of the programs Waxman fought hardest to expand and defend.聽 In 2003, CQ Weekly wrote that 鈥渋nch by inch, budget by excruciating budget, the California Democrat in the 1980s and early 1990s almost singlehandedly expanded Medicaid, the federal health care program for the poor, into the sweeping benefit program it is today.鈥
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., said that while he and Waxman differ over policy, they have worked together to improve public health.
鈥淥ur proudest collaboration was in the 1990s, when we teamed with the late Senator Paul Wellstone and Senator John McCain to double research funding for the National Institutes of Health,鈥 Upton said in a statement. 鈥淧roviding hope for cures and medical breakthroughs is a goal that transcends politics, and one we continue to share today.鈥
Waxman said he is not leaving Congress out of frustration. After four decades in Congress 鈥渋t鈥檚 time for someone else to have the chance to make his or her mark,鈥 Waxman said, adding that the ideal candidate is someone young enough to hang in there for the time it inevitably takes to achieve legislative success. 鈥淧ublic office is not the only way to serve, and I want to explore other avenues while I still can,鈥 he said.