Former Senator, Cabinet Secretary, ACLI President, Richard Schweiker Dies
Aug. 03-- Richard Schultz Schweiker, 89, a political novice who rose from the unlikely incubator town of Norristown to become a U.S. congressman, senator, and secretary of health and human services, has died.
Mr. Schweiker died Friday, July 31, of complications from an infection at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in South Jersey. He had lived in McLean, Va., since 1969.
In 1960, at age 34, Mr. Schweiker, a little-known tile company president, won election to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served on the Government Operations and Armed Services Committee. He represented Pennsylvania's 13th congressional district in Montgomery County.
He authored the Schweiker Act of 1965, which provided cash awards to military personnel who suggested money-saving ideas. The act resulted in substantial savings to taxpayers. He was re-elected to the House in 1962, 1964, and 1966.
Mr. Schweiker ran for the U.S. Senate in 1968 against Joseph S. Clark, Jr., a well-known incumbent and former Philadelphia mayor. He won, in part by buying billboards that proclaimed, "Vote Clark out." Clark agreed to a series of debates which gave Mr. Schweiker a lot of visibility, the late Arlen Specter told The Inquirer in a 2011 interview.
Both men were considered liberal, although Clark was a strong gun-control advocate; Schweiker was not.
Specter told The Inquirer that while in Armstrong County for a speaking engagement, he recalled seeing a line six blocks long outside a courtroom for an NRA meeting. "I knew Joe Clark was losing that election," Specter said."
The victory vaulted Mr. Schweiker onto the national stage in a big way.
He won re-election in 1974 with 53 percent of the vote, garnering the highest vote total of any U.S. senator from Pennsylvania since 1946.
He served as ranking Republican on both the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee and the Labor-Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee, the two Senate units which controlled both legislation and appropriations for labor, health, education, aging and public welfare matters.
Few senators, especially Republicans, have reached such a key dual position, his family said in a tribute.
In 1976, he was selected by Ronald Reagan to be his GOP vice presidential running mate. Reagan lost the Republican nomination to Gerald Ford.
In 1980, he served as Reagan's Northeastern states campaign chairman. When Reagan won the general election, he rewarded Mr. Schweiker by naming him the 14th secretary of health and human services, serving in President Reagan's first cabinet.
He was sworn in on Jan. 22, 1981. As secretary, Mr. Schweiker led the effort to set up a prospective payment system to control Medicare costs. The move marked the first reform of Medicare since its inception.
Born in Norristown, Mr. Schweiker was the son of the Malcolm Alderfer Schweiker and Blanche Reiner Schultz Schweiker.
Mr. Schweiker was valedictorian of Norristown High School. At 17, he enlisted in the Navy and served in World War II on the aircraft carrier USS Tarawa. In 1950, he graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a major in psychology. He was a member of Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity and the Lion's Paw.
From 1950 to 1960, he served as president of American Olean Tile Co., the Schweiker family business in Lansdale, a leading manufacturer of ceramic tile.
On Sept. 10, 1955, he married Claire Joan Coleman. Coleman was the original Miss Claire on The Romper Room, a daily, hour-long TV program for preschool children aired by Philadelphia TV station, WFIL.
The two met on a blind date, and six weeks later were engaged. They enjoyed a 57-year marriage until her death in 2013 at age 81.
"Richard and Claire deeply believed that they were put on this earth to be of service to God and their fellow man," said his family in a tribute. That belief, as well as the death of his older brother, Malcolm, in World War II, motivated him to run for Congress.
He coauthored the book, How to End the Draft, which proposed a formula later used in creating a volunteer army.
As ranking Republican on the Senate Health Subcommittee, Mr. Schweiker developed a passion for health issues. He worked on legislation to combat diabetes, cancer, heart disease, sickle cell anemia, and lead paint poisoning.
He led the fight against diabetes and authored bills creating the National Commission on Diabetes Advisory Board and pushed for passage of the National Diabetes Act in 1972. These efforts led to increased federal funding for diabetes and became a prototype for legislatively constructing a research effort across all NIH institutes and the CDC.
Some of those who benefited from his diabetes initiatives, called him "the patron saint of the pancreas," his family said.
His other major legislative initiatives included job training for the unskilled, civil rights, tuition tax relief, controlling imports, pension reform, black lung disease benefits, mine safety, conversion of coal to natural gas and fuel oil, economy in government, skyjacking protection, and halting federal support for abortion.
He was one of the first GOP senators to call for Richard Nixon's resignation during the Watergate era.
"Throughout his government career, he proved to be a man of deep faith, strong convictions, and a tenacious advocate," his family said
When he retired in 1983 after 22 years of public service, he became president of the American Council of Life Insurance, a post he held until 1994. During his tenure, Mr. Schweiker preserved the accrual of payout benefits to consumers on life insurance policies and he blocked proposed taxes on annuities and corporate-owned life insurance.
After stepping down from the council, Mr. Schweiker was a board member for many health-related groups, including Tenet Healthcare and Partnership for Prevention.
His faith was the catalyst for his community and church work, his family said. Mr. Schweiker worshipped at Central Schwenkfelder Church in Lansdale, and later at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Washington. He received nine honorary doctoral degrees as well as dozens of awards and honors.
He enjoyed golf and skiing, and his favorite activity was spending time with his five children and 23 grandchildren in Ocean City, N.J. It was there that Mr. Schweiker spent his last week visiting with his family.
"He was a dad who always spent time with his family despite his political career," said daughter Kyle Hard. "He came to our ballet recitals, sports events, concerts -- even if it meant missing a dinner at the White House."
Besides his grandchildren and daughter, he is survived by sons Malcolm and Rich; daughters Lani Shelton and Kristi Carey; a great-grandchild; and a sister.
Services were pending.
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