John Edward Porter (June 1, 1935 – June 3, 2022) was an American lawyer and politician who served as

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

for

Illinois's 10th congressional district The 10th congressional district of Illinois lies in the northeast corner of the state, and mostly comprises northern suburbs of Chicago. It was created after the 1860 census. The district is currently represented by Democrat Brad Schneider. ...

from 1980 to 2001.

Career before Congress

Before his election to Congress, Porter served in the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

and prior to that as an Honor Law Graduate Attorney with th
U.S. Department of Justice
in the Kennedy Administration. He attended

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

and was a graduate of

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

and, with distinction of the

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a Public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of C ...

. Porter had ten honorary degrees.

Tenure

During his tenure, Porter served on the

United States House Committee on Appropriations The United States House Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives that is responsible for passing appropriation bills along with its Senate counterpart. The bills passed by the Appropriations Commi ...

and as chair of th
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 The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

(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. He was founder and Co-Chairman of the

Congressional Human Rights Caucus The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission (formerly known as the Congressional Human Rights Caucus) is a bipartisan caucus of the United States House of Representatives. Its stated mission is "to promote, defend and advocate internationally recogniz ...

, 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 Radio Free Asia (RFA) is a United States government-funded private non-profit news service that broadcasts radio programs and publishes online news, information, and commentary for its audiences in Asia. The service, which provides editoriall ...

and served as Chair of the Global Legislators Organized for a Balanced Environment (GLOBE USA). A protégée and former member of Porter’s staff was

Mark Kirk Mark Steven Kirk (born September 15, 1959) is a retired American politician and attorney who served as a United States senator from Illinois from 2010 to 2017, and as the United States representative for Illinois's 10th congressional district fr ...

, who would later replace Porter in the

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

and be elected to the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Later life and death

He was a partner and served 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 The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) is a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) charitable organization established by the US Congress in 1990. Located in North Bethesda, MD, the FNIH raises private-sector funds, and creates and manage ...

. He was member of the

National Academy of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly called the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, En ...

and for 32 years, was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Porter was also a member of the Inter-American Dialogue. He was Chairman of

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

, a trustee of the

Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as simply Brookings, is an American research group founded in 1916. Located on Think Tank Row in Washington, D.C., the organization conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in ec ...

and served on the boards of the

RAND Corporation The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is financed ...

, the

American Heart Association The American Heart Association (AHA) is a nonprofit organization in the United States that funds cardiovascular medical research, educates consumers on healthy living and fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and death ...

, the PBS Foundation, and the

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

. 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 The Public Welfare Medal is awarded by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences "in recognition of distinguished contributions in the application of science to the public welfare." It is the most prestigious honor conferred by the academy. First awar ...

from the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

. Porter was a resident of

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...

. He died from pneumonia at a hospital in

Fairfax County, Virginia Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...

, on June 3, 2022, aged 87.

Legacy

The 84,500 square foot John Edward Porter Neuroscience Research Center on the campus of the

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 Albert Bruce Sabin ( ; August 26, 1906 – March 3, 1993) was a Polish-American medical researcher, best known for developing the oral polio vaccine, which has played a key role in nearly eradicating the disease. In 1969–72, he served as the ...

Hero of Science Award from Americans for Medical Progress for his consistent advocacy for medical research.

References

External links

Lasker foundation essay
* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, John 1935 births 2022 deaths 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians Deaths from pneumonia in Virginia Evanston Township High School alumni Illinois lawyers Members of the Illinois House of Representatives Members of the Inter-American Dialogue Military personnel from Illinois Northwestern University alumni People associated with Hogan Lovells People from Evanston, Illinois People from Wilmette, Illinois Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois University of Michigan Law School alumni Virginia Republicans Members of the National Academy of Medicine