John Breaux - John Berlinger Breaux is a former United States senator from Louisiana who served from 1987 until 2005. He was also a member of the U.S. House from 1972 to 1987. Breaux was a member of the New Democrat Coalition.
Dr. Elmer Huerta - Dr. Elmer E. Huerta is the Principal Investigator (PI) of the Latin American Cancer Research Coalition (LACRC) and a member of the LACRC Steering Committee. He is currently the Founder and Director of the Cancer Preventorium at the Washington Cancer Institute in the Washington Hospital Center, the only cancer prevention/screening service for Latinos in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. The goal of the clinic is to encourage preventive screenings; therefore, the clinic is open to patients who do not have any disease symptoms.
Senator Bob Menendez - Bob Menendez grew up the son of immigrants in a tenement building in Union City. A product of New Jersey's public schools and a graduate of the state's universities, he has served as a school board member, a mayor and a state legislator. Since 1992, he has been fighting for New Jersey families in Washington, where he rose to become the third-highest ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives before taking office in the Senate in 2006.
Joe Schwartz - John J. H. "Joe" Schwarz, M.D., a Republican from Michigan, was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2004. He represented the state's 7th Congressional district from January 2005 to January 2007.
James A. Thurber - James A. Thurber is Distinguished Professor of Government and Director of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies. Dr. Thurber has been on the faculty at American University since 1974 and was honored as the University Scholar/Teacher of the Year in 1996. He is author and co-author of numerous books and more than seventy-five articles and chapters on Congress, congressional-presidential relations, congressional budgeting, congressional reform, interest groups and lobbying, and campaigns and elections. Dr. Thurber is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.
Ceasefire on Healthcare: Patient Navigator Outreach and Chronic Disease Prevention Act of 2005 with Former Senator John Breaux moderating a discussion between: U.S. Representative Robert Menendez,U.S. Representative Joe Schwarz, Professor James A. Thurber, and Dr. Elmer E. Huerta.
Senator John Breaux will lead a discussion on Capitol Hill on improving health care through incremental, meaningful public policy reform. The briefing is the first event in the "Ceasefire on Health Care" series and will focus on H.R. 1812, "The Patient Navigator Outreach and Chronic Disease Prevention Act of 2005," sponsored by Representatives Robert Menendez (NJ-13) and Deborah Pryce (R-15). On June 13, 2005, the House passed H.R. 1812 by voice vote and a companion bill is expected to pass in the Senate.
This event was the first in a series of discussions being presented by American University's Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies featuring Senator Breaux. The series is made possible by a grant from Pfizer Inc.