President George W. Bush has nominated EPA Administrator Mike Leavitt to replace Tommy Thompson as Health and Human Services secretary. Before joining the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in November 2003, Leavitt, 53, was governor of Utah for 11 years. "He has managed the EPA with skill and with a focus on results," Bush said from the White House Roosevelt Room. Bush said he plans to implement the first prescription drug benefit for seniors and has called for expanding the services provided by faith-based groups and continuing medical research "always ensuring that the work is carried out with vigor and moral integrity." "I look forward, as the president said, to the implementation of the Medicare prescription drug program in 2006, medical liability reform and finding ways to reduce the cost of health care," Leavitt said. "I am persuaded that we can use technology and innovation to meet our most noble aspirations and not compromise our other values that we hold so dear." The Department of Health and Human Services is the biggest in the federal government. According to the HHS Web site, nearly 25 percent of federal outlays go to the agency. HHS has a 2005 budget of $580 billion -- $67 billion of which is discretionary funds.
