Statement from Dr. Richard Pan on the Surgeon General Appointment
Sacramento, CA — Dr. Richard Pan is a pediatrician, former California State Senator and former officer of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps who authored landmark vaccine and health equity legislation. He continues to advocate for science-based policy, transparency, and public trust in medicine.
“The nominee for Surgeon General must have the credibility with the American people to make sound recommendations to protect our health including addressing crises such as a thirty-year high in the number of reported measles cases in the United States. The U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, sworn officers who protect Americans from disease, requires its physician officers to be licensed to practice medicine in our country, and the Surgeon General, who will lead them, should meet the same qualifications.
The American people deserve a Surgeon General who they can trust because the Surgeon General must have the qualifications, knowledge, experience and commitment to truth that Americans expect from our nation’s doctor.”
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Dr. Richard Pan is a pediatrician, educator, small business owner and Former State Senator dedicated to keeping California’s families healthy and safe. In the State Senate, he championed landmark child and school safety laws and lowered the uninsured rate among children by two-thirds – taking on RFK Jr. twice after preventable disease outbreaks. A Harvard-trained pediatrician and UC Davis professor, he has cared for underserved children, trained future doctors and co-founded Healthy Kids Healthy Future, providing health coverage to more than 65,000 kids.
Known for flipping his state legislative seat from Red to Blue, Dr. Pan is a proven fighter who brings people together to get results — expanding access to health care, strengthening schools, and improving public safety. A husband, father, and small business owner, he understands the challenges families face and is running for Congress to make government work for people again, so every child and family in California has the chance to succeed.
