His compassion made compassion a public policy. At the Department of Health. Education and Welfare. he helped Presidents Kennedy and Johnson create the social legislation that transformed American life. He was a leader in the War on Poverty and Great Society efforts to put a safety net under all Americans. He stood up for migrant farmworkers. and he helped create the Social Security Disability Program. Right up until his recent death. he was speaking out for the 37 million Americans who have no health insurance. He died in Korea. where he had gone to speak on welfare for the aging.