In 1928, the Honorable Claude Denson Pepper (1900-1989) began his distinguished career of public service in the Florida House of Representatives. In 1936, he was elected to the U.S. Senate where he served for 14 years. In the Senate, he served on numerous committees and chaired both the Subcommittee on Wartime Health and Education and the Committee on Patents. Senator Pepper was a cosponsor of legislation creating the first of 13 National Institutes of Health, 12 of which were either directly sponsored or cosponsored by Senator Pepper. He was a key legislator in the enactment of the first minimum wage law, worked for the rights of women by introducing one of the nation’s first equal rights amendments, and wrote the “Lend-Lease Act”. Prior to being elected to the U.S. Congress, Senator Pepper worked earnestly for causes he supported including being the only southern Congressman to support civil rights and voting rights legislation. During his Congressional career, he chaired the Select Committee on Crime and the Select Committee on Aging and its Subcommittee on Health and Long-Term Care. He was chairman of the Committee on Rules and a member of the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. Senator Pepper was also one of the principal sponsors of the Older Americans Act.