Aime Forand

{{Short description|American politician (1895–1972)}} {{use mdy dates|date=December 2023}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Aime Forand | honorific_suffix = | image = Aime Forand (Rhode Island Congressman).jpg | alt = | state = Rhode Island | district = 1st | term_start = January 3, 1941 | term_end = January 3, 1961 | predecessor = Charles Risk | successor = Fernand St. Germain | term_start2 = January 3, 1937 | term_end2 = January 3, 1939 | predecessor2 = Charles Risk | successor2 = Charles Risk | office3 = Member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives | term3 = 1923-1926 | pronunciation = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1895|05|23}} | birth_place = Fall River, Massachusetts, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|1972|01|18|1895|05|23}} | death_place = Boca Raton, Florida, U.S. | death_cause = | resting_place = Boca Raton Municipal Cemetery and Mausoleum | resting_place_coordinates = | party = Democrat | other_party =  | height =  | spouse = {{marriage|Gertrude Bedard|1931}} | partner =  | relations = | children = | parents =  | mother =  | father =  | relatives = | education = | alma_mater = Magnus Commercial School | occupation = | profession = | known_for = | salary = | net_worth =  | cabinet = | committees = | portfolio = | awards =  | blank1 = | data1 = | blank2 = | data2 = | blank3 = | data3 = | blank4 = | data4 = | blank5 = | data5 = | signature = | signature_alt = | website =  | nickname = | allegiance = {{flagicon|USA|1914}} United States | branch = {{flagicon|USA|army}} United States Army | service_years = | rank = 17px Sergeant first class | unit = Motor Transport Corps | commands = | battles = World War I | mawards =  | military_blank1 = | military_data1 = | military_blank2 = | military_data2 = | military_blank3 = | military_data3 = | military_blank4 = | military_data4 = | military_blank5 = | military_data5 =  | module = | module2 = | module3 = | module4 = | module5 = | footnotes = }}

'''Aime Joseph Forand''' (May 23, 1895 – January 18, 1972) was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, Forand served in the United States House of Representatives for Rhode Island's 1st congressional district from 1937 to 1939 and 1941 to 1961.

==Early life and career==

Aime Forand was born in Fall River, Massachusetts, on May 23, 1895, and later grew up in Cumberland, Rhode Island.<ref name="NYT">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/01/20/archives/aime-j-forand-is-dead-at-76-served-22-years-in-the-house.html|title=Aime J. Forand Is Dead at 76; Served 22 Years in the House|work=The New York Times|date=January 20, 1972|accessdate=April 1, 2022}}</ref> He attended the public and parochial schools of Fall River, Magnus Commercial School in Providence, Rhode Island, and Columbia University Extension.<ref name="Congress">{{cite web|url=https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/F000255|title=Forand, Aime Joseph|work=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|accessdate=April 1, 2022}}</ref><ref name="Congress 1941">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vSGHAAAAMAAJ&dq=aime+forand+%22Magnus+commercial%22&pg=PA106|title=Official Congressional Directory|page=106|year=1941|place=Washington|publisher=Government Printing Office}}</ref>

During World War I, Forand served in France as a sergeant first class of the Army's Motor Transport Corps under General John J. Pershing.<ref name="RI Heritage">{{cite web|url=http://riheritagehalloffame.com/Congressman-Aime-Forand/|title=Congressman Aime Joseph Forand|publisher=Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame|accessdate=April 1, 2022}}</ref>

From 1924 to 1930, Forand was a reporter for the ''Providence News and News-Tribune''.<ref name="RIAMCO">{{cite web|url=https://www.riamco.org/render?eadid=US-RPPC-forand&view=biography|title=Aime J. Forand papers |publisher=Rhode Island Archival and Manuscript Collections Online|accessdate=April 1, 2022}}</ref>

==Political career== A Democrat, he was a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives from 1923 to 1926, and congressional secretary for Representative Jeremiah E. O'Connell from 1929 to 1930 and Francis B. Condon from 1930 to 1935. In 1935 and 1936 Forand was Chief of the Rhode Island Division of Soldiers' Relief and Commandant of the Rhode Island Soldiers' Home.<ref name="Congress"/>

He was elected as a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives from Rhode Island in 1936 and served from January 3, 1937, to January 3, 1939, having lost his re-election campaign in 1938. He sought election to the House in 1940 and won, and won re-election nine subsequent times, serving from January 3, 1941, to January 3, 1961.

In the 1950s, Forand was a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. He repeatedly introduced comprehensive legislation to reform public assistance. He and Cecil R. King first proposed legislation in 1957 that became known as Medicare and was enacted in 1965.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/medicare-made |date=February 15, 2015 |title=How Medicare Was Made |first=Julian E. |last=Zelizer |magazine=The New Yorker |access-date=July 14, 2021 |archive-date=March 4, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150304221801/https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/medicare-made |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Post-political career== After leaving Congress Forand lived in Boca Raton, Florida and was the founder and first president of the National Council of Senior Citizens from 1961 to 1972.

He died in Boca Raton on January 18, 1972, and was interred at Boca Raton Municipal Cemetery and Mausoleum.<ref name="Congress"/>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{congbio|F000255}} *{{Find a Grave|7117364}}

{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state= Rhode Island | district=1 | before=Charles Risk | after=Charles Risk| years=1937–1939}} {{US House succession box | state= Rhode Island | district=1 | before=Charles Risk | after=Fernand St. Germain| years=1941–1961}} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forand, Aime}} Category:1895 births Category:1972 deaths Category:American people of French-Canadian descent Category:Politicians from Fall River, Massachusetts Category:People from Cumberland, Rhode Island Category:Politicians from Providence County, Rhode Island Category:Politicians from Boca Raton, Florida Category:United States Army personnel of World War I Category:Democratic Party members of the Rhode Island House of Representatives Category:Democratic Party United States representatives from Rhode Island Category:20th-century United States representatives Category:20th-century members of the Rhode Island General Assembly