BRIAN CRESTA APPOINTED AS HHS SECRETARY'S REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVE

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced the appointment of Massachusetts Republican Party Chairman and State Rep. Brian Cresta as the secretary's Regional Representative for Region I, covering six New England states.

In his new position, Cresta will be the secretary's direct representative for the six states in Region I and responsible for guidance and coordination of HHS policies in the region. The region includes the states of Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont and Massachusetts.

"We are very pleased to have Brian Cresta joining the HHS team," Secretary Thompson said. "His record of public service in the Massachusetts Legislature makes him the right choice to represent HHS on the health care and human services issues facing New England."

Cresta has served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives since 1994. He is currently the ranking minority member of both the Federal Financial Assistance Committee and the Education Committee. He is a past ranking member of the Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee. He was the author and primary sponsor of the Health Care Protection Act, which protects whistleblowers who provide information related to quality of care at health institutions. Former Massachusetts Gov. Paul Cellucci signed the bill into law in 2000.

Cresta, 32, has a bachelor's degree from Merrimack College and is working on a master's in public administration from Suffolk University. He lives in Wakefield, Mass., with his wife, Michelle, and daughter, Olivia.

He will assume the regional representative's post effective Sept. 17.

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