Knox FocusMaking a New Senator
By Ray Hill Estes Kefauver, Tennessee’s senior United States senator, was having a bad day on Thursday, August 8, 1963. Kefauver was in the midst of the rough and tumble of debate while the Senate considered an appropriation bill for NASA. The Tennessean was hoping to attach an amendment to the NASA appropriation bill, which involved research done by the space agency. The Kefauver amendment required companies that reaped a profit from research subsidized by NASA to reimburse the agency for that research. Washington’s sweltering heat and oppressive humidity, as well as Senator Kefauver’s heavy smoking and fondness for drink, all contributed to his suffering a heart attack on the floor of the Senate that day. Fortunately, it was a mild attack, and the senator was rushed