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Joe Califano | |
|---|---|
 Califano in 2008 | |
| 12thUnited States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare | |
| In office January 25, 1977 – August 3, 1979 | |
| President | Jimmy Carter |
| Preceded by | F. David Mathews |
| Succeeded by | Patricia Roberts Harris |
| White House Domestic Affairs Advisor | |
| In office July 26, 1965 – January 20, 1969 | |
| President | Lyndon B. Johnson |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Pat Moynihan (Urban Affairs) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Joseph Anthony Califano Jr. (1931-05-15)May 15, 1931 (age 94) New York City,New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 5 |
| Education | College of the Holy Cross (BA) Harvard University (LLB) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1955–1958 |
| Rank | Lieutenant |
Joseph Anthony Califano Jr. (born May 15, 1931) is an American attorney, professor, and public servant. He is known for the roles he played in shapingwelfare policies in the cabinets of PresidentsLyndon B. Johnson andJimmy Carter and for serving asUnited States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in theCarter administration. He is also the founder and chairman ofThe National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASAColumbia), anevidence-based research organization, which is now thePartnership to End Addiction, where Califano holds the title of Chair Emeritus.
He has been an adjunct professor of public health atColumbia University Medical School and is a member of theInstitute of Medicine of theNational Academy of Sciences.
Califano was born inBrooklyn, New York, on May 15, 1931, the son of Joseph Anthony Califano, and Katherine (Gill) Califano.[1][2][3] He attended St. Gregory's Elementary School andBrooklyn Preparatory School inBrooklyn, New York City.[4] He married Hilary Byers in 1983.[5]
Califano received aBachelor of Arts degree from theCollege of the Holy Cross, inWorcester, Massachusetts, in 1952, and hisLL.B. fromHarvard Law School in 1955.[5][1] In law school, he was a member of theHarvard Legal Aid Bureau and an editor of theHarvard Law Review.[5]
In 1955, Califano enlisted in theUnited States Navy as anofficer candidate. He was commissioned anensign in November 1955, served three years in theOffice of the Judge Advocate General inWashington, D.C., and was released to inactive duty in October 1958, as alieutenant. He associated with the law firm ofDewey Ballantine in New York City from October 1958, until April 1961.
In April 1961, Califano became Special Assistant to the General Counsel of theU. S. Department of Defense. In July 1962, he was appointed Special Assistant to theUnited States Secretary of the Army. On July 1, 1963, he was appointed General Counsel of the Army. He also served as Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Army for Civil Functions, supervising theU.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Civil Works Program and was a member of the President'sAppalachian Regional Commission. In early 1964, Califano was selected to serve as the principal legal advisor to the United States Delegation to the Investigating Committee of theOrganization of American States on the Panama riots of January 1964. Subsequently, he was also selected to present the United States case before theInternational Commission of Jurists during hearings held inPanama dealing with those riots. In recognition of his work as General Counsel of the Department of the Army, Califano was awarded theDistinguished Civilian Service Medal, the highest civilian award of the Army.
On April 1, 1964, Califano was appointed Special Assistant to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense. He had special responsibilities for Department of Defense liaison with theOffice of the President of the United States. He also acted as Executive Secretary of the President's Advisory Committee onSupersonic Transport, as the Department of Defense representative on the President's Committee on the Economic Impact of Defense and Disarmament, and as a member of the Federal Radiation Council. In recognition of his work as the Special Assistant to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense, Califano was awarded theDefense Distinguished Service Medal of the Department of Defense. Between March 21 and 25, 1965, Califano was assigned to monitor the progress of the historicMarch from Selma to Montgomery which helped ensure the passage of the landmarkVoting Rights Act of 1965.[6]
Califano was appointed Special Assistant to PresidentLyndon B. Johnson on July 26, 1965. In this position, Califano served as LBJ's chief domestic aide, developing the President's legislative program as well as helping coordinate economic policies and handling domestic crises. He also worked on a variety of domestic problems, includinglabor-management relations,balance of payments,health care,education,environmental andurban issues, andcivil rights. He served in this position until January 20, 1969. While in this post,The New York Times called him "The Deputy President for Domestic Affairs."[7]
Califano was a member of the Washington law firm ofArnold & Porter from March 1969 until May 1971.[1] He was a member of the Washington law firm of Williams, Connolly & Califano from June 1971 until January 1977.[1]
In January 1977, Califano became Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. He served in that Cabinet post until August 1979. He put the department through the most complete reorganization in its twenty-five year history; created theHealth Care Financing Administration (HCFA) to runMedicare andMedicaid; mounted majorhealth promotion anddisease prevention programs, includingchildhood immunization, the first national anti-smoking campaign, analcoholism initiative, and issuance ofHealthy People, the initial Surgeon General's Report on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention which for the first time set health goals for the American people; began the collection of hundreds of millions of dollars of defaultedstudent loans, and instituted computerized techniques to police welfare, Medicare and Medicaid programs; worked with the Congress to maintain the financial integrity of theSocial Security system, contain health care costs, and restructure Federal aid to elementary, secondary and higher education; and issued the first regulations to provide equal athletic opportunity to women underTitle IX and to provide equal opportunity to the handicapped.
As Secretary, Califano opposed theBurger Court'sRegents of the University of California v. Bakke decision limitingaffirmative action and pressed the Carter administration to administer strongerdesegregation policies.[8] However, initially he refused to sign meaningful regulations forSection 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which was the first U.S. federal civil rights protection for people with disabilities.[9] After an ultimatum and deadline, demonstrations took place in ten U.S. cities on April 5, 1977, including the504 Sit-in at the regional HEW offices. This sit-in, led byJudith Heumann and organized byKitty Cone, lasted until April 30, 1977, 25 days, with more than 150 people refusing to leave. It is the longest non-violent sit-in at a federal building to date. Califano signed the revised regulations on April 28, 1977.[10][11][12][13][14][15]
As Secretary, Califano also funded the nation's first free standing hospice inBranford, Connecticut, and issued regulations to make Medicare reimbursement available forhospice care.
In 1979, as Secretary, Califano directed thePublic Health Service to eliminate its official characterization ofhomosexuality as "a mental disease or defect" which immigration authorities had used to deny individuals entry to the United States solely because of their sexual orientation.
In 1979, Califano led a United States delegation to China on a trip which resulted in long-term institutionalization of health and education links between the two countries.[16]: 103 The CIA sought to send a covert agent on the trip but Califano refused, insisting that a CIA agent would have to be identified as such to the Chinese government.[16]: 108 This occurred, and China consented to the identified CIA agent as part of the delegation.[16]: 108
Despite his accomplishments, Califano did not get along with PresidentJimmy Carter because his policies needed increasedsocial spending and interfered with Carter's campaign pledge to eliminatedeficit spending by 1980.[8] Califano also opposed Carter's commitment to create a separate Department of Education, because in Califano's view the federal government's comparatively limited education funding was better protected as part of a huge institution like the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.[16]: 102–103 Likewise, Califano and Carter's most senior aides had disagreements.[16]: 104 Carter dismissed Califano on July 19, 1979, replacing him with Secretary of Housing and Urban DevelopmentPatricia Roberts Harris.[17][18] Afterwards, CongressmanCharlie Wilson said of Califano's firing- "Good grief! He's cut down the tall trees and left the monkeys."[19]Ralph Nader compared it to "firingMickey Mantle because he couldn't get along with the bat boy."[16]: 105
In January 1980, Califano formed thelaw firm of Califano,Ross & Heineman inWashington, D.C. From 1983 until 1992, he was senior partner and head of the Washington office ofDewey Ballantine LLP.
In 1987,New York governorMario Cuomo appointed Califano Chair of the New York State Commission on Government Integrity; he was replaced a few months later byJohn Feerick, allegedly because Califano no longer resided in New York.[20]
In 1992, he foundedThe National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, which is now the Partnership to End Addiction.
Califano has written articles forThe New York Times,The Washington Post,The Wall Street Journal,Reader's Digest,New Republic,Journal of the American Medical Association,The New England Journal of Medicine,America,The Washington Monthly, and other publications.
He was Founding Chairman of the Board of the Institute for Social and Economic Policy in the Middle East at theJohn F. Kennedy School of Government atHarvard University.
Califano has served as a director ofCBS Corporation andWillis Group Holdings, Ltd. He is a Trustee ofNew York-Presbyterian Hospital, theUrban Institute, theDitchley Foundation, theLBJ Foundation, and theNational Health Museum; Trustee Emeritus of theJohn F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Mr. Califano is a member of theCouncil on Foreign Relations. He is also a former trustee ofThe Century Foundation and a former member of the advisory council of theAmerican Foundation for AIDS Research.
In 2010, Califano received the Gustav O. Lienhard Award from the Institute of Medicine for his contributions to improving public health, his leadership in catalyzing federal action to curb smoking and his broader efforts to reduce the toll of addiction and substance abuse.[21]
In November 2011, theColumbia Spectator editorial board published a piece titled "Cut ties to CASA", stating that "the methods that CASA uses to research substance abuse are shoddy and questionable, and reports of CASA's "findings" are often misleading and sensationalized" and that "Califano's outlandish claims reflect on the integrity of the organization, and unfortunately on Columbia's as well."[22] Contrary to the claims made in the Spectator article, the organization's research staff has published more than 190 articles or book chapters in professional and peer-reviewed publications, including 121 articles in peer-reviewed journals including theJournal of the American Medical Association,[23] theJournal of Adolescent Health,[24] theAnnals of Internal Medicine[25] and theNew England Journal of Medicine.[26]
Califano is the author of fourteen books. In early 1969, he traveled around the world on a study of the "student-youth-and-establishment" problem under a Ford Foundation grant. He wrote about those travels in his book,The Student Revolution: A Global Confrontation, published by W. W. Norton in 1969. Califano's second book,A Presidential Nation, was published by W. W. Norton in 1975. His third,The Media and the Law, was published by Praeger Special Studies in 1976 and was co-authored and co-edited with Howard Simons, Managing Editor ofThe Washington Post. His fourth,The Media and Business, was published by Random House in 1978 and was also in collaboration with Mr. Simons.
In May 1981, Simon and Schuster published Califano's fifth book,Governing America: An Insider's Report from the White House and the Cabinet, about his years as Secretary of HEW. In June 1982, Warner Books published his sixth,The 1982 Report on Drug Abuse and Alcoholism. Califano's seventh book,America's Health Care Revolution: Who Lives? Who Dies? Who Pays?, was published by Random House in 1986. His eighth book,The Triumph and Tragedy of Lyndon Johnson: The White House Years, was published by Simon and Schuster in 1991 and republished by Texas A & M University Press in 2000. His ninth book,Radical Surgery: What's Next for America's Health Care, was published by Random House in January 1995.
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | General Counsel of the Army 1963–1964 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| New office | White House Domestic Affairs Advisor 1965–1969 | Succeeded byas White House Urban Affairs Advisor |
| Preceded by | United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare 1977–1979 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Cabinet Member | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Cabinet Member | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Cabinet Member |
| Health, education, and welfare |   | |
|---|---|---|
| Health and human services | ||
