Since his election to the House of Representatives in 1974, Henry Waxman has been a progressive crusader, tackling some of the most confrontational issues in Washington. His patience, perseverance and ability to seek compromise with Republicans, made him one of the most highly regarded politicians in the country. Here is a look at some his most important accomplishments.

1. Health Care

As a leader on health issues, Waxman has been a staunch supporter of the Affordable Care Act. But his work on health care reform began decades ago as he fought for universal health insurance and comprehensive Medicare and Medicaid coverage. He has sponsored a long list of health bills which have been enacted into law, some of which include: the Nutrition Labeling and education Act, the Breast and Cervical Cancer Mortality Prevention Act, the Orphan Drug Act, and the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009. 

More recently, Waxman released a headlines-grabbing report revealing that federally funded abstinence-only sex-ed programs peddle false information to teens. (One claimed condom use does not prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.) 

2. Environment

A champion of environmental protection, Waxman introduced the first bill in Congress to stabilize the climate in 1992. Since then, he has worked to pass the House of Representatives of he American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 and is one of the primary authors of the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments, which addressed the problems of urban smog, toxic air pollution, acid rain, and the depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer. He has also sponsored the 1986 and 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments, the 1996 Food Quality Act, and the Lead Contamination Control Act. He has mounted high-profile investigations and hearings on toxic emissions and pesticides in drinking water. 

After the 1984 disaster at a Union Carbide chemical plant in Bhopal, India, Waxman realized that the toxic air pollutants were unregulated in the U.S. His investigation of the pollution from a chemical plant in West Virginia concluded that the valley was being exposed to high amounts of toxic emissions. This report was used to push for the passage in 1990 of a measure that reduced toxic air pollution. 

3. Big Tobacco

In the mid-1990s, Waxman spent two years privately preparing a tobacco bill with Republican Representative Thomas Bliley, a champion of the tobacco industry. Although the two representatives reached a compromise, the GOP House leadership rejected the measure. Waxman continued to mount investigative reports on the industry to draw attention to the issue and build a case for legislation. On April 14, 1994, during a hearing, Chairman Waxman put the seven tobacco executives under oath and then each and every one of them proceeded to deny that nicotine is addictive. 

Other hearings by Mr. Waxman's subcommittee revealed proof that tobacco companies buried internal research showing nicotine was addictive and that they knew cigarettes caused cancer, heart disease and other serious diseases. He was the author and the driving force behind the landmark 2009 Family Smoking Tobacco Control and Prevention Act, which gave the Food and Drug Administration regulatory authority over the manufacturing, marketing and sale of tobacco products. 

4. Bush's Abuse of Intelligence on WMDs in Iraq

During George W. Bush's first term as President, Waxman established himself as the Democrats' chief pursuer of purported wrongdoing within the Bush Administration. As the senior Democrat on the Government Reform Committee, he has produced reports on secrecy in the Bush Administration and misleading prewar assertions made by the President's officials about Iraq's WMDs. In 2003, Waxman proposed setting up an independent commission to investigate Bush's abuse of the intelligence on WMDs.

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