American Heart Association Honors Sen. Kennedy, Rep. Shimkus, Sen. Specter and Sen. Harkin

4/28/2003

From: Charles Hodges of the American Heart Association, 202-785-7931, or 410-493-9331 (cell), Charles.hodges@heart.org

WASHINGTON, April 28 -- The American Heart Association will honor four members of Congress for their contributions in the fight against heart disease and stroke. Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) will both be recognized with the association's National Public Service Award at a reception held in Washington, D.C., tonight. In addition, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) will both receive the association's Special Recognition Award.

"We applaud these public servants for their exemplary efforts to improve the overall health of our nation," said Robert O. Bonow, president for the American Heart Association. "Whether increasing funding for medical research and prevention, helping to improve the recognition and treatment of cardiovascular diseases, or making sure more Americans have access to lifesaving automated external defibrillators (AEDs) -- each of them has played an integral part in some way."

Senator Kennedy has been integral in advancing proposals to advance the fight against heart disease, the No. 1 killer in our country, and stroke, the No. 3 killer. During the 107th Congress, Senator Kennedy championed several key issues on the association's legislative agenda, such as the Stroke Treatment and Ongoing Prevention Act (STOP Stroke Act), the Community Access to Emergency Defibrillation Act (Community AED Act) and legislation to provide the Food and Drug Administration with authority to regulate tobacco products.

Representative Shimkus was the lead sponsor of the Community Access to Emergency Defibrillation Act (Community AED Act) -- legislation which authorizes funds to establish public access defibrillation programs. He spearheaded a successful effort to attach this legislation to the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act, signed into law by President Bush in June 2002.

Sen. Specter, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education, and Senator Harkin, ranking member on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor-HHS, - Education, were champions of the successfully completed five-year campaign to double the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget. In addition to securing record funding increases for the NIH, both worked to greatly expand the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) State Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program.

The American Heart Association is dedicated to reducing disability and death from heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases. The association works to improve public health by advancing public policy on a variety of issues, including research funding, tobacco control, access to emergency care, nutrition and physical activity.