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Mary LaskerMary Lasker
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Part:         Session:         Page of 1143

Lasker:

Oh, there certainly is a shortage of doctors, but the AMA is fighting bitterly against a too great increase of doctors. But the last Medical School Construction bill, I saw, had some provision for loans as well, and there was some provision that you got more advantage if the number of medical students in your school were increased. Now, whether that will be in the present bill or not, I don't know. But none of this has passed in all these years that we've been fussing with this; it was proposed, after all, in the late '40s.

Q:

And it wasn't passed why? Specifically, can you...

Lasker:

Because the deans really never got behind it and because we had all we could do with trying to get research legislation and then the funds and then the research facilities construction bill passed, and we felt that the general Medical Schools Construction bill was up to the deans and the presidents they? of universities who had medical schools. And we never gave our last, ultimate drop of energy to doing it, really.

Q:

Now, why?

Lasker:

They just didn't give it, that's all. Extraordinary?

And during Eisenhower's Administration, you see, there was no real drive to do anything. Everything was to conserve, and don't get big ideas and don't do too much, you know.





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