Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson voiced concerns about the possibility of the nation's food supply being poisoned in a terrorist attack while announcing his resignation Friday as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

"I, for the life of me, cannot understand why the terrorists have not attacked our food supply because it is so easy to do," Thompson said at a press conference in Washington D.C.

In response, the federal government issued new rules Monday designed to help investigators discover where along the supply chain, food might have been tainted, the Associated Press reported.

Thompson plans to work in the private sector after he leaves his cabinet position Feb. 4. He is the eighth member of President Bush's cabinet to resign.

Thompson said it was time for him and his family to move into a new chapter of their lives.

"While these years have been challenging, they've also been really rewarding," Thompson said.

Thompson mentioned several difficulties he encountered in his term, including 9/11, the anthrax scare, SARS and most recently the flu vaccine shortage.

"Together, we helped lead America through each of these crises, and we helped our nation emerge from them stronger and healthier," Thompson said.

Thompson said reworking the Medicare system was one of his proudest accomplishments, and acquiring prescription drug coverage in the plan was the most historic improvement to Medicare since its creation.

"Now seniors and the disabled will get substantial help paying for the modern medicines and the preventative services that extend and expand their quality of lifes," he said.

He called the unprecedented $15 billion the department spent toward fighting HIV and AIDS globally a jewel in the administration's legacy.

"There is still much to do to better the well-being of Americans," Thompson said. "I will be working as aggressively as ever until the minute I walk out of these doors. And I know my friends at this department will continue leading the country forward."

Alison Barnes, professor of law, said Thompson may be resigning because he was not able to implement some things he wanted to get done.

"But he did as much as you can do in one term," she said.

Thompson's resignation marks the end of a 38-year career as a public servant, beginning as a representative in the Wisconsin State Assembly.

Thompson was governor of Wisconsin from 1987 to 2001. He was the first Wisconsin governor to be elected to a third and then a fourth term.

While governor, Thompson initiated the Wisconsin Works Program, designed to help people transition from receiving welfare to having jobs.

"Thompson's welfare reforms in Wisconsin were very influential in changing the nature of social protection for single-parent families, children and others in the state," said Duane Swank, professor of political science.

Swank said the reforms were innovative at the time, and contributed significantly to President Clinton's 1996 Welfare Reform Act.

In 1990, Thompson created the nation's first parental school choice program, the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, which allowed low-income families to send their children to a private school of their choosing. BadgerCare, Wisconsin's Medicaid Program, was also initiated under Thompson's watch in 1999. Medicaid provides insurance to low-income families.

Thompson left his post as governor in 2001 after President Bush asked him to take the cabinet post.

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Dec. 7 2004.