Philadelphia, Pa., December 11, 2005
– The American Public Health Association awarded its 2005 Distinguished Public Health Legislator of the Year Awards today to U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-New Mex., Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawaii, and Maryland State Rep. Shirley Nathan-Pulliam.
The awards, established by APHA's Executive Board in 1997, honor individuals each year at the federal, state or local levels who support public health issues and have taken action in the name of public health. The awards were presented here during APHA's 133 rd Annual Meeting & Exposition.
Bingaman is being honored for his lead in Medicaid reform debates, including work to remove cuts from the Medicaid budget and improve the enrollment process of Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. He also has introduced several bills aimed at improving Medicare, including a measure to expedite the entry of people with disabilities into the program.
Bingaman has been supportive of increasing the capacity of the public health infrastructure, supporting public health funding increases and introducing and supporting legislation to increase the number of trained professionals entering the public health work force. He serves on the Senate Finance Committee; the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee; and is the Deputy Democratic Whip.
Huckabee has been a leader in improving the health care for the citizens of Arkansas for many years. In 2000, he led a ballot initiative that devotes all of the state’s tobacco settlement money to improving state residents’ health. He recently created the Healthy Arkansas initiative to encourage Arkansans to stop smoking, exercise more and eat healthier.
Serving as a personal example of living a healthier lifestyle, Huckabee gained national attention for his weight loss success. He was diagnosed with type II diabetes in 2003 and that same year lost 110 pounds. This year, he completed the Little Rock Marathon, and the Road Runners Club of America named him Southern Region Runner of the Year. A book about his healthier lifestyle, “Stop Killing Yourself With a Knife and Fork,” was released earlier this year.
Inouye has been a lifelong supporter of health, the environment and Native American and Native Hawaiian issues. First elected to the U.S. Senate in 1962, he is serving his eighth consecutive term and continues to champion eliminating health disparities and the interests of vulnerable and disadvantaged people and people of color. He has been instrumental in the passage of key legislation that has improved health care access for all, particularly children and indigenous people.
A strong supporter of building public health capacity at both the community and university level, Inouye has sponsored legislation on such topics as area health education centers, rural health center planning and development and emergency medical services for children. He also serves as a personal example of triumph over adversity after losing his right arm in World War II.
Shirley Nathan-Pulliam’s contributions to public health include support for legislation addressing health disparities and attention to health and minority issues in Maryland. A registered nurse, Nathan-Pulliam has sponsored more than 32 bills that went on to become law, and most of these are addressed at eliminating or reducing health disparities.
She engineered the passage of House Bill 883, also known as the Health Care Services Disparities Prevention Act, which called for the development and implementation of a plan to reduce health care disparities on gender, race, ethnicity and poverty through collaboration among key groups in Maryland. In keeping with her commitment to cultural sensitivity, cultural competency and health literacy of health care providers, she included in the bill a strong recommendation that health care professionals take courses that address the elimination of disparities of health care services among minority populations.