Donna Shalala
Donna Shalala
Donna Edna Shalalawas the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 2001. She was the president of the University of Miami, a private university in Coral Gables, Florida, from 2001 through 2015. Previously, she was the chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1988 to 1993. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, by President George W. Bush in June 2008. Shalala currently serves as the...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPublic Servant
Date of Birth14 February 1941
CountryUnited States of America
Sure, it is apparent that presidents are looking at polls, but they are also stepping up on issues. President Clinton stepped up on tobacco. He shaped the polls on the tobacco issue.
We have not yet concluded that needle-exchange programs do not encourage drug use.
We can't afford as a nation - not because of money but because of our social fabric - to have large numbers of people who are not working.
We need to drive down requirements for the schools. In the 19th century, we increased the quality of the schools by higher education saying, 'You can't come in unless you have these skills, unless you've taken these courses.' We did that in Wisconsin when I was there, it helped to transform the secondary school system.
Our young people are out on the streets looking for parties, a place to dance, looking for a scene. No institutions are providing them with alternatives, fun things to do that don't necessarily have alcohol at the center.
Asking the government to help you for short periods of time is different than asking the government to take care of you for the rest of your life.
By putting people around me who will calm me down and slow me down and make sure I work through an issue.
I have long ties to the women's community.
I'm pretty disciplined and am almost always on schedule.
I think President Bush tried to step up on Social Security even though the polls showed that was unpopular. He has not been successful and backed off, but I admire people who take on big problems.
Sometimes I'll trust my gut more than my head. Logical information might lead me in one direction and my feelings in another. Whereas I would have followed my head ten years ago, now I'm as likely or more likely to go with my gut feeling. It's ironic - you'd think the opposite would be true as you move to the top but it's not.
The other thing is, I'm one of the handful of people they have that actually knows how to run something, that's an experienced administrator.
We're not talking about mandatory marathons or about Cal Ripken-style workouts,
What we would not want to do is ... take away health insurance for adults for which there is no insurance market. If you're 65 years old, what's the market for health insurance?