John E. Fogarty

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In 1940 Fogarty was a successful Democratic candidate for the United States House of Representatives. He served from January 3, 1941 until his death.

From December 1944 to February 1945 he traveled and worked with a Seabee battalion in the Pacific Theater as a member of the Naval Affairs Committee.

In January 1947, he was assigned to the Appropriations Committee and served on the subcommittee providing funds for the Departments of Labor, Health, Education and Welfare longer than any other member in the history of Congress. As Chairman of the subcommittee for 16 years, Fogarty became nationally known as the spokesman for medical research in the Congress. He is often referred to as the "Champion of Better Health for the Nation."

During his years on the Committee, appropriations for the National Institutes of Health rose from $3.5 Million in 1946 to $1.5 Billion for fiscal 1967. It was in 1955, at the instigation of Fogarty, that Federal funds in the amount of $750,000 were first appropriated for activities in the field of the mentally retarded and by 1967 was increased to $334 Million. This increase in available funds permitted the Institutes to take great strides forward in their constant search to find the cause and cure of today's killing and crippling diseases.

Fogarty worked with Senator Lister Hill to establish the Library Services Act (1956). The history of this effort is highlighted in James Healey's monograph: John E. Fogarty: Political Leadership for Library Development. Congressman Fogarty was impressed by the pioneer work of Rhode Island state librarian, Elizabeth Myer, and went on to champion extension of library service.

Congressman Fogarty, in conjunction with Senator J. Lister Hill (D-Alabama), was the sponsor of the Hill-Fogarty "Health for Peace" Bill, which opened up further opportunities for support of research and training on an international basis that would improve the health of the American people. Fogarty was responsible for the enactment of authorizing legislation and the appropriation of funds for construction of the National Institute of Dental Research. The Fogarty bill to provide for the expansion of teaching and research for mentally retarded citizens was enacted into law, as were his bills to authorize wide distribution of books and other special instruction materials for the blind, and to provide teachers for the deaf and educational films for the deaf. The White House Conference on Aging was the result of legislation successfully sponsored by Mr. Fogarty and led to the enactment into law in the 89th Congress of his bill to establish an Administration of Aging [1] in the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. He was the original sponsor of legislation that established the Older Americans Act of 1965.

Other legislation sponsored by Fogarty, which was enacted into law in the 89th Congress, provides for a National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Control of Drug Abuse, Community Mental Health Centers Act Amendments, Community Health Service Amendments, Health Research Facilities Amendments, Water Pollution Control Act, Medical Complex Centers for Heart Disease, Cancer and Stroke, Medical Library Assistance Act, Library Services Act Amendments, The Model Secondary School for the Deaf Act and the Vocational Rehabilitation Act. Fogarty was the original sponsor of the legislation providing for the National Foundation on Arts and Humanities and was instrumental in the enactment of the Manpower Act of 1965 and the Economic Opportunity Amendments of 1965 http://www.answers.com/topic/economic-opportunity-act.

Fogarty introduced several bills which gained nationwide support, including PREVENTICARE aimed at providing multiphasic health screening tests for all Americans age 50 and over to help detect chronic diseases and legislation to amend the Social Security Act which would increase benefit payments by an average of 50% and provide other benefits, as well as extend and improve programs of child welfare services and bills to furnish improved health education by providing that qualified health educators be placed in schools to teach health education as an academic subject.

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