The son of immigrants who fled communist Eastern Europe immediately after World War II, Dr. Andy Harris was as a physician at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, a medical officer in the Naval Reserve, and a state senator before coming to Congress.
Born in Brooklyn in 1957, he studied medicine at Hopkins, where he continued to practice as an anesthesiologist for nearly three decades. Andy specialized in obstetric anesthesiology.
In 1988, Andy answered a recruitment call to fill a critical need for anesthesiologists in the Naval Reserve during the Reagan administration. He went on to establish and command The Johns Hopkins Medical Naval Reserve Unit. In 1990, his unit was called up to active duty in order to assist with Operation Desert Shield (and later Operation Desert Storm) at Bethesda Naval Hospital. Harris attained the rank of Commander (O-5) before leaving the Reserves after seventeen years.
As a veteran, I fully understand the commitment and sacrifice each serviceman and servicewoman makes for our great nation. Our veterans are heroes and deserve our respect and gratitude. However, for many veterans coming home, it is a difficult and painful transition – especially dealing with the VA bureaucracy.
We must keep our promise to those who answered our nation's call by ensuring they have access to the highest quality health care. The VA must be held accountable for failures in the Veterans Health Administration, which must be reformed to improve wait times and quality of care. Regardless of when they served, I believe that every soldier, sailor, Marine, and airman always receive our utmost attention. We need to keep our promise to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice, as well as our POWs and MIAs.