Washington, D.C. – US Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minnesota) has been invited by the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), one of the world’s foremost policy think tanks, to join the launch of an exclusive commission to develop recommendations for a long-term, strategic U.S. approach to global health. Ellison, one of only two Commission members from the U.S. House of Representatives, and a Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, joins a distinguished panel that includes Co-Chairs Admiral William J. Fallon, the former Commander of the U.S. Central Command and the U.S. Pacific Command, and Helene Gayle, President & CEO of CARE.
“I am honored to join this Commission on Smart Global Health Policy. I will take every opportunity to underscore the link between healthy, stable states, and our own national security,” Ellison stated.
“Global health is a proven instrument of Smart Power (a preceding CSIS Commission). In addition to being the morally right thing to do; global health enhances our standing in the world by bettering the lives of millions of people who currently live in squalor with no health care and no hope,” Ellison stated.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), one of the world’s preeminent international policy institutions, provides strategic insights and policy solutions to decision-makers in government, international institutions, the private sector, and civil society. A bipartisan, nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, DC, CSIS conducts research and develops policy initiatives.
Ellison’s 5th District of Minnesota is the most ethnically diverse district in Minnesota – home to people speaking over eighty languages from throughout the world. The district contains Minneapolis, Minnesota’s largest city, known for its world-class business climate, and health care technology including Fortune 500 companies like Target Corporation, U.S. Bancorp, General Mills, Medtronic, and many others.
The recommendations made by the Commission on Smart Global Health Policy will culminate in a Commission report to be released in early 2010.
