Dem senator urges vote on surgeon general

Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) is urging his Senate colleagues to ignore special-interest groups who have blocked the president’s surgeon general nominee and to hold a vote in the final weeks of the year.

The role of surgeon general has been unfilled for more than a year after groups led by the National Rifle Association helped block the appointment of Dr. Vivek Murthy over his stance on gun control.

{mosads}“We should not let his confirmation stall over public policy debates unrelated to the position in which he would serve,” Casey wrote in a letter to the Senate late Wednesday; he does not specifically reference the gun control battle.

He said he has been “personally assured” by Murthy, a Harvard and Yale-trained physician, that he would focus on obesity and chronic diseases.

“It is past time to confirm a new surgeon general, and I hope you will join me in supporting Dr. Murthy’s confirmation before the end of the year,” he wrote.

Public health advocates had expected a vote this week, though it could be pushed back as debate continues over the government spending bill.