ARTHUR FLEMMING, 91; ADVOCATE FOR SOCIAL ISSUES.

Byline: Associated Press

Arthur Flemming, an aide to every president from Franklin Roosevelt to Ronald Reagan who was known for his thoughtful approaches to welfare, Medicare, integration and other key social matters of his age, has died of congestive heart failure. He was 91.

Flemming was a Republican who worked for Democrats and Republicans. His true commitment was to the causes he believed in - helping to make the American dream come alive for all citizens, regardless of their race, religion or national origin.

He was known for a calm but outspoken manner and for the unflinching way in which he examined America's social ills and proposed ways to fix them.

``Arthur Flemming was a close friend to me and the first lady,'' President Clinton said in a statement Sunday. ``He transcended party, generation and race in search of consensus on some of the great issues of our day.''

In 1994, Clinton awarded Flemming the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor.

Dr. Philip Wogaman, Flemming's pastor at Foundry United Methodist Church, said Flemming had suffered in recent weeks from heart and kidney problems. He died Saturday.

After serving as secretary of Health, Education and Welfare from 1958 until 1961, Flemming headed the U.S. Commission on Aging in 1973-78. He also chaired the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights from 1974 until 1982, when President Reagan fired him after Flemming's six-member panel issued a report harshly critical of the administration's record on desegregation.

Despite his ouster, Flemming found it impossible to remain silent on what he feared was an attempt by the Reagan administration to roll back on America's civil rights record.

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PHOTO Arthur Flemming

Aide to presidents