BY R. THOMAS BUFFENBARGER
Nearly two months after being nominated, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius was confirmed as Secretary of Health and Human Services. As layoffs mount in the business-jet manufacturing center of Wichita, her leadership will be missed by Machinist union members in Kansas.
What bothers me most about the thousands of layoffs is that public relations gimmicks -- the gotcha approach by politicians and journalists -- are hurting the light-aircraft manufacturing base of this country. Those jets that General Motors, Ford and Chrysler executives flew to Washington, D.C., to beg for their very survival were not play toys. They were the tools used to link global manufacturing processes.
Those executive jets -- manufactured in the heart of America -- were also one of the few big-ticket items that held down our ballooning trade deficits. Unlike the trillions of debt instruments marked "Made in the USA" and now considered toxic by bank regulators across the globe, those jets offered real value to the purchaser. So getting those production lines up and running again offers us a chance to claw our way back into this very competitive international market.
Sebelius knows the light-aircraft industry, and she cares about the Machinists.
Frankly, I would have preferred to see her stay in Kansas . But in my heart, I always knew that the nation needed her leadership at Health and Human Services even more.
That department is a sprawling $750 billion enterprise. Its reach -- health care, Social Security, drugs, disease control and welfare -- touches every American family. And as this mega-recession deepens, the department will need tough, tenacious and tested leadership. Sebelius offers that and more.
Having seen up close the pain of those Wichita layoffs, she has what Washington now lacks: a sense of urgency.
This is no ordinary time, no time for complacency. This is a time for aggressive action.
More than 25 million Americans are unemployed, involuntarily working part time, or have given up looking for work. That's almost one-fifth of our nonfarm work force. The longer they remain unemployed, the more help they will need from the Department of Health and Human Services.
All of Sebelius' leadership and management drive will be tested in the years ahead. As she battles for health care reform, aligns this behemoth department with the promises of President Obama, and delivers much-needed services to the unemployed and working poor, America will learn what we have known for years: Never underestimate her ability to solve the most vexing problems.
