Thompson steps down as health secretary
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson resigned Friday, becoming the eighth member of President Bush's 15-member Cabinet to step down since Bush won re-election.
Thompson said he tried to resign during the president's first term, but the administration talked him out of it.
"I had gone to the White House about a year ago ... and asked the chief of staff if it would be problematic if I submitted my resignation," Thompson told reporters Friday.
"Andy Card at that time asked me if I would serve out the term, and since I believe in what the president and what this administration has done, I agreed to do that," he said. "But I always intended to leave."
After nearly 40 years in public service, including 14 as governor of Wisconsin, he said he wishes to join the private sector.
Thompson, 63, leaves a controversial legacy in his department. Citing some of his biggest accomplishments Friday, he named some of the touchiest domestic issues of Bush's first term.
"Our children are healthier than ever with health coverage and immunization rates at record highs and childhood drug usage going down," he said.
But in response to a question from a reporter, he acknowledged that the number of uninsured Americans has gone up under his leadership.
Thompson praised his department for delivering "on our promise to modernize Medicare with prescription drug coverage, the most historic improvement to Medicare since it was created back in 1965."
The sweeping Medicare reform package had substantial support, but also came under attack from Democrats and some Republicans who viewed it as giving a great deal to big drug companies and too little to individual Americans. Many were also concerned about the massive cost.
Thompson also said, "We are spending more on medical research than at any time in our history. And the president opened the door to federal funding of ground-breaking embryonic stem cell research."
Bush signed a law allowing embryonic stem cells to be used for research, but he limited it to those cell lines already in existence at the time, a number that has proven to be lower than originally stated.
Bush has said he was balancing a respect for research with a respect for a "culture of life." But scientists have said the limit severely restricts scientific research, and numerous public figures, including former first lady Nancy Reagan, have publicly implored Bush to change his stance.
Thompson said some of his department's most important actions in office involved its rapid response to the September 11, 2001, attacks, when it helped provide needed assistance in New York, at the Pentagon, and at the plane crash site in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The department also built stronger U.S. defenses against bioterrorism, he said.
Also, Thompson said, "We started making America more cognizant of their public health conditions and the need for lifestyle changes."
President Bush has not named a nominee to succeed Thompson. One name being floated for the post is Mark McClellan, Medicare chief and brother of White House spokesman Scott McClellan.
Thompson served four terms as governor of Wisconsin, starting in 1987. He gained national attention for his welfare reform efforts in the state and for efforts to expand access to health care for low-income people.
Born in Elroy, Wisconsin, on November 19, 1941, he earned a law degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is married with three grown children.
