lying and was arrested. When he refused to plead guilty, federal prosecutors charged Butler with many confusing charges concerning grant accounting and sample shipping. Despite support from Agre and other scientists, Butler was convicted in a jury trial, lost his medical license, and served 2 years in prison. Occurring at a time of large national fear following the 9/11 attacks, the incident has been seen by some as an overreaction by the FBI due to public fear of bioterrorism. 2008 Minnesota U.S. Senate race In the spring of 2007, Agre announced that he would explore the US Senate race in his home state of Minnesota being contested by two residents originally from New York – incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman and challenger comedian Al Franken. Agre emphasized health care and environmental issues rather than the Iraq war. He said, "The issues that were important to us at the millennium are still important today." He also felt that the US Senate would benefit from the perspective of a medical scientist. Despite polls indicating that he could win, Agre announced in August 2007 that he would not enter the race for the Minnesota Senate seat, calculating the huge personal cost and the termination of his federally funded scientific research program and humanitarian service. An advocate for increased representation of science in government, he would not rule out the possibility of seeking public office in the future. Although Barack Obama carried Minnesota by a landslide, the senate election was a statistical tie resulting in a recount and six months of legal fights before the Minnesota Supreme Court awarded Al Franken the victory by only 312 votes out of 2.9 million ballots cast. The outcome was important as Franken was sworn in as Senator in July 2009 and provided the 60th vote necessary to end debate on the Affordable Care Act. Other activism In addition to being a founding member of Scientists and Engineers for Change, Agre was one of 48 Nobel laureates who signed a letter endorsing Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry for president. Agre criticized many policies of the Bush Administration. "The Bush administration has been a disaster for the environment. They're playing Russian roulette by not signing the Kyoto Accord. If we wait until there's unequivocal proof that this is the cause of global climate change, it will be too late," he said. He has said that he admired Linus Pauling, another Nobel