The American Public Health Association named Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich) and Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) as its 2004 Distinguished Health Legislators of the Year at its 132nd annual meeting earlier this month.

Established in 1997, the award honors individuals at the federal, state or local levels who support public health issues and take action in the name of public health. Ohio state Sen. Ray Miller (D) also received the award this year.

Conyers was honored for his work on universal health care and his current bill, the United States National Health Insurance Act. Lautenberg received the award for his efforts in championing tobacco control, authoring legislation to protect the environment and co-authoring the Ryan White CARE Act for person’s with HIV and AIDS. Miller has sponsored some of Ohio’s most significant health and human services legislation and worked to create the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services.

The APHA is the world’s largest and oldest public health association, representing more than 50,000 members from more than 50 occupations of public health.

— John McArdle