Aime Joseph Forand (May 23, 1895 – January 18, 1972) was an American politician. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, Forand served in the

United States House of Representatives 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

for

Rhode Island's 1st congressional district Rhode Island's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It includes all of Bristol and Newport counties, along with parts of Providence County, including most of the city of Providence. The dis ...

from 1937 to 1939 and 1941 to 1961.

Early life and career

Aime Forand was born in

Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...

, on May 23, 1895 and later grew up in

Cumberland, Rhode Island Cumberland is the northeasternmost town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States, first settled in 1635 and incorporated in 1746. The population was 36,405 at the 2020 census, making it the seventh-largest municipality and the largest t ...

. He attended the public and parochial schools of Fall River, Magnus Commercial School in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

, and Columbia University Extension. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Forand served in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

as a sergeant first class of the Army's

Motor Transport Corps The Motor Transport Corps (M.T.C.) was formed out of the United States Army Quartermaster Corps on 15 August 1918, by General Order No. 75. Men needed to staff this new corps were recruited from the skilled tradesmen working for automotive man ...

under General

John J. Pershing General of the Armies John Joseph Pershing (September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948), nicknamed "Black Jack", was a senior United States Army officer. He served most famously as the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) on the Wes ...

. From 1924 to 1930, Forand was a reporter for the ''Providence News and News-Tribune''.

Political career

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, he was a member of the

Rhode Island House of Representatives The Rhode Island House of Representatives is the lower house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the upper house being the Rhode Island Senate. It is composed of 75 members, elected t ...

from 1923 to 1926, and congressional secretary for Representative

Jeremiah E. O'Connell Jeremiah Edward O'Connell (July 8, 1883 – September 18, 1964) was a U.S. Representative from Rhode Island. Born in Wakefield, Massachusetts, O'Connell attended the public schools. He was graduated from Boston University in 1906 and from the la ...

from 1929 to 1930 and Francis B. Condon from 1930 to 1935. In 1935 and 1936 Forand was Chief of the Rhode Island Division of Soldiers' Relief and Commandant of the Rhode Island Soldiers' Home. He was elected as a Democrat to the

from

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

in 1936 and served from January 3, 1937, to January 3, 1939, having lost his re-election campaign in 1938. He sought election to the House in 1940 and won, and won re-election nine subsequent times, serving from January 3, 1941, to January 3, 1961. In the 1950s, Forand was a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. He repeatedly introduced comprehensive legislation to reform public assistance. He and

Cecil R. King Cecil Rhodes King (January 13, 1898 – March 17, 1974) was an American businessman and politician. King, a Democrat, served as the first member of the United States House of Representatives from California's 17th congressional district fo ...

first proposed legislation in 1957 that became known as Medicare and was enacted in 1965.

Post-political career

After leaving Congress Forand lived in

Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...

and was the founder and first president of the National Council of Senior Citizens from 1961 to 1972. He died in Boca Raton on January 18, 1972, and was interred at Boca Raton Municipal Cemetery and Mausoleum.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Forand, Aime 1895 births 1972 deaths American people of French-Canadian descent Politicians from Fall River, Massachusetts People from Cumberland, Rhode Island People from Boca Raton, Florida United States Army personnel of World War I Democratic Party members of the Rhode Island House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Rhode Island Burials in Florida 20th-century American politicians