For nearly thirty years, Ed Long has been involved in every significant health policy debate. He has built a broad network of relationships with key Members, staff, and Agency officials throughout the government, which clients have come to rely on. His expertise in health policy and funding matters is unmatched.
As a Vice President at VSA, Ed’s practice focuses on academic health centers, medical research, public health, wellness, and disability policy. Recognizing there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution to government affairs, Ed customizes his approach to address each client’s specific needs.
Both in and out of government, one of Ed’s strengths has been creating large Federal initiatives. As Legislative Director for Senator Tom Harkin, Ed was instrumental in the creation of the Department of Defense breast cancer program. Since joining the private sector, Ed has created and expanded Department of Defense medical research programs for neurofibromatosis, autism and melanoma. Also, after leaving the government, Ed worked with an ad hoc group of Atlanta-based businesses to help secure $1.6 billion over ten years to rebuild the Atlanta-based campuses of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Working with Rotary, Ed helped secure more than $3 billion in Federal funding for the global polio eradication campaign, which has put ending polio within reach. For this work, the Rotary Foundation honored Ed with its Paul Harris award.
Ed worked in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate for 13 years, including services as the Majority Staff Director of the U.S. Senate Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee for three years. In addition to overseeing the budgets of the Departments of Health and Human Services, Education, and Labor, he was responsible for preparing the budget for the National Institutes of Health.
