FORA.tv Speaker - Tommy G. Thompson

Tommy Thompson is a Senior Partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, a Washington, D.C., law firm, and is former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In his position as Secretary, he served as the nation's leading advocate for the health and welfare of all Americans. He worked to modernize and add prescription drug coverage to Medicare for the first time in the program's history. A leading proponent of welfare reform, Secretary Thompson also focused on expanding services to seniors, the disabled and low-income Americans. Additionally, he was Chairman of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and as such helped elicit unprecedented investment to stop the spread of these diseases worldwide. Prior to these positions, Secretary Thompson served as the Governor of Wisconsin, working to expand health care access across all segments of society. He earned his law degree from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He is a Republican candidate for the 2008 presidential election.