MaxwellFinland Award ReciPient o succeed in public life takes a anddrew high praise from Miss Furness strong driving force and sense both for her abilityand her willingness of purpose.In the caseof Eliza- to work hard. beth Hanford Dole this has Shewas speakingfor the voiceless, meant speakingfor those who do not againstunfair and deceptivebusiness havetheir own voice."Underdogs have practices,promoting legislation to per- ,,1 always appealed to me," she says. mit the FederalTrade Commission to have seen how fraud or deception can issueinjunctions against businesses ac- victimize the elderly and others too cusedof fleecingconsumers, also to young or impoverishedto fight back.,, authorizethe government to reviewand Over a quarter of a century, Mrs. evaluatestandards used by privatetest- Dole has worked for six Presidents- ing laboratoriesof consumerproducts. from LyndonJohnson to CeorgeBush- from Democratsto Republicanswhich demonstratesher ability to gain and "Over a quarter of a keep the confidenceof thoseshe works century, Mrs. Dole with and survive intact. As one of her has biographersnotes, she has the reputa- worked for six Presidents- tion of being among the most capable and politicallyastute women in Wash- from Lyndon lohnson to ington. GeorgeBush-from Bornin July1936 in Salisbury,North Carolina,Elizabeth Hanford took a B.A. Democratsto Republicans, degree with honors in politicalscience in 1958 at Duke Universityin Durham. which demonstratesher Shewent on to HarvardUniversity, and ability to gain and keep spent a summer doing postgraduate work at Oxford Universityin England, the confidence of those taking her M.A. degree in education in 1960. sheworks with and survive When SenatorMargaret Chase Smith intact.,, of Mainetold her shecould accomplish more in public policy work with a law degree, Elizabeth Hanford entered "A simple philosophyguided us. For Harvard Law School and graduated consumers '1965. in to make wise choices thev musthave access to allrelevant informa- Her first governmentjob was in the tion,"Mrs. Dole saysof thosedays, in her Department of Health, Educationand autobio graphy Unl i m ited Partners (writ- Welfare where she used her educa- ten with her husband). tional background to organize a na- One outcome was the creationof the tional conferenceon training the deaf, Consumer lnformationCenter, a clear- a pioneer federal conference. inghousefor government publications In 1968,the young ElizabethHanford on health, safety and money manage- joined the President'sCommittee on ment. A newsletter, Consumer News, Consumer lnterests,first under Betty was also started,filled with useful tios Furnessand later,during the firstNixon culled from federal agencies and the administration,with Virginia Knauer. FederalRegister. ElizabethHanford was ultimatelynamed At thistime she met Robert Dole, the the committee's ExecutiveDirector, RepublicanSenator from Kansas,whom shemarried in December 1975.|n1973, dentialnomination. Again she hit the PresidentNixon had appointedher to campaigntrail hard. However, Ceorge the FederalTrade Commission for the Bushbecame the Republicancandidate usualseven-year term. But when her and won the election.This time there husbandran as vice-presidentwith was no two-year wait for a Cabinet Cerafd Fordin 1976,she took a leaveof post. He was hardlyelected before he absenceto avoid chargesof conflictof announcedin January 1988 that his next interest.The issue came up againthree Secretaryof Laborwould be Elizabeth yearslater when Mr. Doletried, unsuc' HanfordDole. cessfully,for the Republicanpresiden- Bothof the departmentsshe has rep- tial nomination.At thattime Mrs.Dole resentedin the Cabinethave potentially resignedfrom the commission. significantinfluence on injuryprevention A well-establishedeffective adminis' and health.As Secretaryof Transporta- trator,she now demonstratedher capac- tion, Mrs. Dole, againstconsiderable ity as a politicalcampaigner. Support' industry opposition,led the effort to ing her husband'sbids for office she make air bagsand automaticseat belts mandatoryfor all new passengercars. Shealso pressed for the passageof state "During her first yearas safetybelt laws. The regulation known as Secretary,Mrs. Rule 208 was, she says,"the toughest [Lahor] policy issueI have ever encountered- Dole issueda proposed andthe mostfar-reaching in itsimpact on livessaved and injuriesprevented." major new regulation In the early1980s, less than 14 per- aim ed at contro I I i ng th e cent of Americansused safety belts. Todaythe percentageis 63 percent.No exposureof an estimated state in thosedays had a safetybelt law; now there are 46. Then,few cars were 5.32 million workers to equippedwith safetybelts or air bags; b I o o d-bo r n e p atho ge n s, today there are millions."Her initiative changedthe climateof automotivesafety the causeof an estimated in America,"runs a citationby the Safety 9,200 and HealthHall of Famehonoring her 200 deathsand over with itslnternational Award last October. infections annualIy." "This sweepinginitiative under Mrs. Dole'sleadership and direction has saved tens of thousandsof lives, prevented often attractedmore attentionthan the hundredsof thousandsof injuriesand candidatehimseli and when Mr. Dole savedhundreds of billionsof dollars." losthis bid for the presidentialnomina- Anothermove was the requirement tion she campaignedtirelessly for of an additionalbrake light mounted in Ronald Reagan.After he took office, a car's rearwindow. Studiesshowed, Mrs. Dole receiveda White House saysMrs. Dole, that this could elimi- appointmentas Assistantto the Presi- nate some 900,000 rear-endcrashes year.Known as the Dole light,it dent for PublicLiaison. every '1986. lnJanuary 1983, Reagan raised her to becamestandard equipment in the Cabinetas Secretary of Transporta- The OccupationalSafety and Health tion,an appointmentshe held for four' Administration(OSHA) is part of the and-a-halfyears before resigning when Labor Department.During her first Mr. Dole once more ran for the presi- year as Secretary,Mrs. Dole issueda proposedmajor new regulationaimed at ing will be standardized,and a clear controllingthe exposureof an estimated organizationalstructure will be imple- 5.32 millionworkers to bloodborne mentedto ensureaccountability. pathogens,the causeof an estimated Testinglaboratories which screen 200 deathsand over 9,200 infections for agentslike hepatitisand AIDS are annually.Employees in hospitalsand being consolidatedto ensureuniform medicaloffices were directlyaffected as quality control, and alreadyhalf the were workersin law enforcement,fire blood collectedis testedin thesenew and rescue,correctional facilities, re- facilities. searchlaboratories, blood banks,even thosein the funeralindustry. This was the first regulatorypro- "As Secretaryof posalby OSHAagainst biological haz- Transportation,M rs.Dole, ardslike hepatitis B andthe AIDSvirus. "AIDSand hepatitisB arefacts of life," againstconsiderable said Mrs. Dole when she issuedthe i n d ustry oppositi on, I ed new proposal,"but we can do some- thingto reducethe incidenceof these the effort to make air bags diseasesamong American workers." Not only did the regulationrequire and automaficseaf belts employersto takesteps to reducethe mandatoryfor all new riskof exposureto thesediseases, but it alsomandated that exposed workers passengercars. she a/so be offeredimmunization against hepa- titis B. pressedfor the passageof Thefull storyof how Mrs.Dole suc- statesafety belt laws." ceededin implementingthese and other initiatives,both at Transportation and at Labor,remains to be told.She was not WhenElizabeth Dole speaks to youth- operatingin a politicalclimateconducive ful audiences,she says that, after gradu- to regulation. atingfrom collegeand poundingthe By the time the OSHA bloodborne pavementslooking for a summerjob, standardsregulation was finalizedin she learnedher own personalpriori- December1991, Mrs. Dole had moved ties."l couldn'tsettle for observersta- on into the privatesector. In February tus,"she writes in her biography."Life of that year she acceptedthe presi- was more than a spectatorsport." dencyof the AmericanRed Cross. Shetells the next generation that they In lessthan four monthsshe per- canfind no highercalling in lifethan that suadedher Board of Covernorsto under- of public service."fhey may not get take a sweepingoverhaul of the Red rich,but they'll enrich the lives of count- Cross'sblood collecting, processing and lessothers. Along the way they can distributionsystem-a $148 millionef- raise society'ssights and elevateits fort to incorporatenewly evolving standards.And when the time comes medicaltechnologies. for them to look back,they can take The Red Crosscollects about half pride in havingbeen an activepart of thenation's blood supply, in additionto the struggleof theirtimes. Because of its high profiledisaster relief activities. them,the world is a littlebetter." Underthe newplan, all its blood opera- Shemight have been describing her tionswill eventuallybe controlledby a own career.E singlenational computer system, train- H