Paul Rogers

Paul Grant Rogers (June 4, 1921 – October 13, 2008) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida from 1955 to 1979, succeeding his father, Dwight L. Rogers. He was chairman of Research America from 1996 to 2005.

During his tenure in Congress, Rogers supported racial segregation in the United States.

He attended the University of Florida, where he was President of Florida Blue Key and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1942. After graduating he joined the U.S. Army, serving in World War II from 1942 to 1946 during which he rose to the rank of Major and received a Bronze Star Medal. 1960, 1964, and 1968, but voted in favor of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Later career Rogers was a resident of West Palm Beach, Florida, and a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Hogan & Hartson. He was also active in the National Osteoporosis Foundation, Friends of the National Library of Medicine, and the National Leadership Coalition on Health Care (now the National Coalition on Health Care).

Mark Foley has said that a meeting with Rogers when Foley was three years old inspired him to go into politics. After suffering from lung cancer and undergoing an operation, Rogers died of the disease in Washington, D.C., on October 13, 2008, at a rehabilitation hospital.

Personal life In 1962, Rogers married Rebecca Bell (born 1931), daughter of Joseph Vernon Bell and Clara Elinor "Nell" Ballard, of Andalusia, Alabama. They had one daughter;

Rebecca "Laing" Rogers (born 1963), who married John Michael Sisto, Jr. (born 1957), of Watchung, New Jersey and Hillsboro Beach, Florida. They have three daughters, Alexandra Sisto Daniel (born 1990), Lilly Rogers Sisto (born 1995) and Rebecca Rogers Sisto (born 1998) and a son, Cole Sisto (born 1992). Rogers died October 13, 2008 aged 87 in Washington, D.C.

Awards and honors

Public Welfare Medal from the National Academy of Sciences (1982). National Health Lawyers Association Health Policy Award (1991) Albert Lasker Public Service Award (1993) American Pharmaceutical Association Hugo H, Schaefer Award (1994) AlliedSignal Achievement Award in Aging (1994) Distinguished Leadership Award from the University of Florida Health Sciences Center (1994) National Osteoporosis Foundation Leadership Award (1995) Maxwell Finland Award for Scientific Achievement (1996) National Cancer Institute "Year 2000" Award Edwin C. Whitehead Award for Medical Research Advocacy from Research!America. (2005)

In June 2001, by an act of Congress, the main plaza at the National Institutes of Health was named in his honor. Recently, Research America established the Paul G. Rogers Society for Global Health Research, which honors Rogers' dedication to the health care policy and advocacy.