John Porter (Illinois politician)

John Edward Porter (born June 1, 1935) is an American former politician who served a U.S. Representative for Illinois's 10th congressional district for 21 years.[1] During his tenure, Porter served on the United States House Committee on Appropriations and as chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies. Under his subcommittee’s jurisdiction were all the health programs and agencies, including National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), except U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and all of the education programs and agencies of the federal government. During his chairmanship he led efforts resulting in doubling funding for the NIH.

John Porter
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 10th district
In office January 22, 1980 – January 3, 2001
Preceded by	Abner Mikva
Succeeded by	Mark Kirk
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 1st district
In office January 1973 – January 1979
Preceded by	multi-member district
Succeeded by	multi-member district
Personal details
Born	John Edward Porter June 1, 1935 Evanston, Illinois, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Education	Massachusetts Institute of Technology Northwestern University (BA) University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (JD)
Military service
Branch/service	United States Army Reserve
Years of service	1958-1964

He was founder and Co-Chairman of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus,[2] a voluntary association of more than 250 Members of Congress working to identify, monitor, and end human rights violations worldwide. He co-authored legislation creating Radio Free Asia and served as Chair of the Global Legislators Organized for a Balanced Environment (GLOBE USA).

He was a partner and now serves as Senior Advisor to the international lawfirm Hogan Lovells. He served as Research!America Chair Emeritus and was Vice-Chair of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health. He is member of the National Academy of Medicine and for 32 years, was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Porter is also a member of the Inter-American Dialogue.[3] He was Chairman of PBS, a trustee of the Brookings Institution and served on the boards of the RAND Corporation, the American Heart Association, the PBS Foundation, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Among over 275 awards for his service in Congress is the Mary Wood Lasker Award for Public Service. In 2014, he was awarded the Public Welfare Medal from the National Academy of Sciences.

Before his election to Congress, Porter served in the Illinois House of Representatives and prior to that as an Honor Law Graduate Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice in the Kennedy Administration. He attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is a graduate of Northwestern University and, with distinction of the University of Michigan Law School. Porter has ten honorary degrees.

The 845,00 square foot John Edward Porter Neuroscience Research Center on the campus of the National Institutes of Health is named in his honor. It was dedicated on March 31, 2014. Porter is the 2014 recipient of the National Academy of Sciences Public Welfare Medal, the Academy’s highest honor.

Involvement in science

In 2000, he was awarded The Mary Woodard Lasker Public Service Award "for wise and perceptive leadership on behalf of medical research funding and a deep commitment to strengthening the science enterprise." He has also received the Albert Sabin Hero of Science Award from Americans for Medical Progress for his consistent advocacy for medical research.

References

1. 'Illinois Blue Book 1977-1978, Biographical Sketch of Representatives John Edward Porter, pg. 69
2. "About the Committee". Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. Archived from the original on 2 July 2011. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
3. "Inter-American Dialogue | John Porter". www.thedialogue.org. Retrieved 2017-04-13.

External links

• United States Congress. "John Porter (id: P000444)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Lasker foundation essay
• Appearances on C-SPAN