Gay man among Obama’s recess appointments

[Political Tiger]

This afternoon the White House announced President Barack Obama has made recess appointments of four nominees whose confirmations were being held up in the Senate. Among them is Richard Sorian, an openly gay man who will be the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Health and Human Services.

“At a time when our nation faces so many pressing challenges, I urge members of the Senate to stop playing politics with our highly qualified nominees, and fulfill their responsibilities of advice and consent,” President Obama said in a release this afternoon. “Until they do, I reserve the right to act within my authority to do what is best for the American people.”

Obama has appointed hundreds of openly LGBT staff to his administration, with many recommended by the Presidential Appointments Project, the LGBT community’s effort to increase the number of out presidential appointees.

From the White House announcement:

Richard Sorian, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, Department of Health and Human Services

Richard Sorian is currently a Senior Adviser to the Secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services. Previously, he was Vice President for Public Policy and External Relations for the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), where he directed the organization’s media relations, policy development and advocacy, and relations with employers, consumers, and other key stakeholders. Before working for NCQA, Sorian was Director of Public Affairs for the Center for Studying Health System Change and a Project Director at the Georgetown University Institute for Health Care Research and Policy. From 1993 to 1998, Sorian was a Senior Advisor for Health Policy Communications in the Office of Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna E. Shalala. In that capacity, Sorian focused on health care reform, HIV/AIDS policy, and health care quality improvement. From1997 to 1998, he served as Deputy Director of the President’s Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry, where he directed work on the Patient’s Bill of Rights. From 1980 to 1993, Sorian was an award-winning journalist covering U.S. health care policy development. He was editor of Medicine & Health and the Journal of American Health Policy. He is also the author of three books: The Bitter Pill: Tough Choice in America’s Health Policy (1989); A New Deal for American Health Care (1993); and The Health Care 500 (1988). He is a graduate of George Washington University and, in 1989, was awarded a fellowship for Advanced Studies in Public Health at the Harvard School of Public Health.

http://www.gaypolitics.com/2010/08/19/breaking-gay-man-among-obamas-recess-appointments/

[Cha]

1. Good! And, he was no doubt the best one for the job!

:bounce::bounce: Cheerleading for Obama's appointments~ Thank you for the news, PT:bounce::fistbump:

[POAS]

2. Glad to see it for two reasons

First because it is another step in the right direction for the LGBT community and second because Obama seems to have lost patience with the Senate.