The Committee for a Democratic Majority

A touching reflection from a 9/11 widow

Cindy McGinty, a 9/11 widow, talked to the New England Cable News network about how much Senator Kennedy helped her and her family after the tragedy of September 11. Watch the touching tribute.

Senator Edward Kennedy introduces “Affordable Health Choices Act”

Senator Kennedy continues championing the necessity of health care reform today, as he and the staff of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) released legislation that would dramatically improve American health care.

The "Affordable Health Choices Act" would reduce health costs, allow Americans to maintain their current coverage if that is their preference and make health insurance affordable to every American who does not currently have it. Senator Kennedy is committed to reforming health care in America and believes this piece of legislation is the answer:

"Our health care system is a crisis for American families and President Obama and members of Congress of both parties recognize the urgency of the problem. Our goal is to strengthen what works and fix what doesn’t. Over the next few days, we will continue working with our Republican colleagues on common sense solutions that reduce skyrocketing health care costs, assure quality care for all and provide affordable health insurance choices. Much work remains, and the coming days and weeks won’t be easy. But we have a unique opportunity to give the American people, at long last, the health care they need and deserve."

The HELP Committee will discuss the "Affordable Health Choices Act" and other proposed legislation that aims to fix America’s health care crisis at public hearings on Thursday, June 11 at 3 pm. For more information go to the HELP committee’s website.

Fixing a broken healthcare system

Senator Kennedy penned an op-ed for the Boston Globe today that outlines his bipartisan plan to reform the healthcare system.

"We have the greatest doctors and medical innovations in the world, but more and more Americans are on the outside looking in to a world of progress and discovery that is denied to them because they cannot afford quality healthcare," writes Sen. Kennedy. "That’s wrong - and it’s about to change."

Read the rest of the op-ed here.

Globe: Sept. 11 families reaching out to military families

The Boston Globe, today, published a touching story about the families of September 11th victims and their efforts to comfort the families of fallen soldiers.

The Massachusetts Military Heroes Fund, a private, nonprofit organization, will be funded with part of the revenue raised from the "United We Stand" license plate, as well as private donations, said Coombs, 48, a mother of three from Abington.
The organization, which the families and other concerned citizens set up with help from US Senator Edward M. Kennedy, will assist service members’ families with a variety of issues that arise after their loved ones’ deaths, said Coombs.
It will help them get mental health, legal, and social services; insurance payments; and military benefits, among other things, she said.

Click here to read the full story in the Globe.

Reducing health care costs by $2 trillion

Senator Kennedy praised a new plan to reduce healthcare costs by $2 trillion in the next ten years.

The proposal - put forward by a group of insurers, hospitals, physicians, pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers and providers - would cut the health care spending growth rate by 1.5 percentage points. President Barack Obama is receptive to this proposal, as he continues to meet with leaders in Congress, the Health Care Industry and others about health care refrom.

"This is an extraordinary moment of opportunity for real reform in health care. The President knows it’s time to act and is providing impressive leadership," said Senator Kennedy. "Members of Congress from both parties and leaders of the insurance industry know that the time has come to reduce costs and expand access to quality health care for all. The American people are right to call on Congress and the Administration to delay no longer in easing the heavy burden of ever-increasing health costs that crush the budgets of families and businesses alike."

STATEMENT OF SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY ON HOUSE PASSAGE OF HATE CRIMES LEGISLATION

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy released the following statement on passage by the House of Representatives of the Matthew Shepard hate crimes legislation. Kennedy is the sponsor of similar legislation in the Senate.

“I commend the House for its action to strengthen the inadequate existing federal law on hate crimes. No members of society – none – deserve to be victims of a violent crime because of their race, their religion, their ethnic background, their disability, their gender, their gender identity, or their sexual orientation. It’s long past time for Congress to do more to prevent hate crimes and insist that they be fully investigated and prosecuted when they occur. This important legislation is supported by a broad coalition of over 300 law enforcement, civic, religious and civil rights organizations and I look forward to prompt action by the Senate.”

STATEMENT OF SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY ON CONFIRMATION OF KATHLEEN SEBELIUS AS HHS SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, DC— Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, today released the following statement on the Senate’s confirmation of Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services:

“With the confirmation of Governor Sebelius, the commitment of the Administration and Congress to passing health care reform this year now moves into high gear.

“In his first 100 days in office, President Obama has taken large steps toward putting America back on track. His leadership has produced a strong new investment in education, established the principles needed to guide the United States into a more energy efficient world, and made opportunities for national and community service far more available to all Americans. In the next 100 days, I’m confident that President Obama will have us well on the way to the landmark enactment of quality, affordable health care as a right for all Americans.”

House passes Serve America Act

The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed the Serve America Act - a bill sponsored by Senator Kennedy to increase the funding for volunteerism programs in the United States.

Senator Kennedy praised the House, saying:

"Today’s House vote again demonstrates the high priority Congress gives to encouraging citizens of all ages in all communities across America to participate in public service. This legislation will enable many more Americans to do something for their country to meet the many challenges facing us. I look forward to the President signing this bill into law so that a welcome new era of national and community service can begin."

President Obama is also a big supporter of the bipartisan bill and is "looking forward to signing it into law when [he] returns to Washington." The president continued, "Because of this legislation, millions of Americans at all stages of their lives will have new opportunities to serve their country. From improving service learning in schools to creating an army of 250,000 Corps members a year dedicated to addressing our nation’s toughest problems. From connecting working Americans to a variety of part-time service opportunities to better utilizing the skills and experience of our retirees and baby boomers. This legislation will help tap the genius of our faith based and community organizations, and it will find the most innovative ideas for addressing our common challenges and helping those ideas grow."

SENATE PASSES BIPARTISAN BILL TO EXPAND AND STRENGTHEN NATIONAL SERVICE

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), today applauded Senate passage of the Serve America Act (S. 277), the most sweeping overhaul and expansion of national service programs in 16 years. Continuing the bipartisan tradition of national service legislation, the bill was written by Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Kennedy and Senator Hatch. Senators Enzi and Mikulski were also integral in crafting the bill, and bringing it to a quick vote on the Senate floor.

“Even in the midst of the greatest economic crisis in a generation, Americans everywhere are looking to serve and give back to their country. They want to know how they can give and how they can help. They want to be part of an effort to improve society,” Senator Mikulski said. “This bill makes use of this new, invigorated spirit to serve, while putting people to work in specific areas of national need. This is a public investment that will pay dividends long beyond anything we can imagine.”

“Today’s Senate passage of the Serve America Act demonstrates welcome bipartisan agreement on the often neglected but indispensible value of citizen service in addressing some of the most urgent challenges facing America and the world. The bill is a major expansion of existing national and community programs. Its goal is to tap much more deeply into Americans’ enthusiasm to serve, and direct it to areas and issues where it can make the biggest difference. I commend Senator Mikulski, Senator Hatch, and Senator Enzi for their impressive bipartisan cooperation in achieving such prompt Senate action, and I look forward to it becoming a significant part of President Obama’s strategy for getting America back on track,” Senator Kennedy said.

“The passage of the Serve America Act is a significant milestone for our country. By increasing opportunities nationwide for Americans to serve and, thus, enabling private citizens to do more for their communities, personal and community responsibility will take the place of direct government aid,” said Senator Hatch. “Volunteer service is a keystone to our country’s traditions, and it is becoming increasingly important in these troubled economic times that we help our neighbors. I am honored to be a part of the bipartisan group of Senators who joined together to support this important legislation.”

“A comprehensive reauthorization of our national service statutes is long overdue,” Senator Enzi said. “This is a fiscally responsible bill that will improve accountability, reduce bureaucracy and eliminate waste in our national service programs. This bill will leverage the efforts of a few to mobilize millions of faith-based organizations, church groups, non-profits, and individuals to volunteer their time and energy freely to serve their communities. It does not include any mandates of any kind for individuals or groups to volunteer.”

Senator Mikulski added, “When Alexis De Tocqueville wrote about America, he said ‘America is great because she is good.’ He noticed the spirit of volunteerism, neighbor-helping-neighbor, habits of the heart that bred habits of humanity. This bill rekindles the great American spirit of volunteerism, providing more opportunities for all Americans to answer the call of service. I want to thank Senator Kennedy, Senator Hatch and Senator Enzi for their hard work crafting this legislation.”

The Serve America Act updates and strengthens national service programs administrated by the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency created in 1993. The bill also allows for new service corps focused on areas of national need, and within AmeriCorps supports innovative entrepreneurs who are solving our real challenges.

Specifically, the Serve America Act:

· Puts AmericaCorps on a growth path from its current level of 75,000 volunteers a year to

250,000 volunteers a year. Last month, more than 9,700 online applications were submitted to AmeriCorps, more than triple the number submitted at the same time last year.

· Creates new programs to address America’s most pressing challenges, such as tackling the dropout crisis and strengthening our schools; improving health care for low-income communities; assisting veterans and military families; boosting energy efficiency; and cleaning up parks.

· Increases the Eli Segal AmeriCorps Education Award and links it to the maximum PELL grant in the future, currently $5,350, to increase incentives for service and postsecondary education.

· Creates a “Summer of Service” program to encourage middle and high school students to engage in a summer of community service and put them on a path to a lifetime of service.

· Creates “Encore Fellowships” to put the skills and experience of older Americans to work. This one-year fellowship gives Americans aged over 50 the opportunity to transition into part-time or full-time service to carry out projects of national need.

· Creates a Social Innovation Fund to support the work of successful and dynamic nonprofits, and help them bring their innovative ideas to scale.

The Serve America Act now heads to the U.S. House of Representatives for final approval, before going to President Obama to be signed into law.

Renewing the War on Cancer

The following op-ed appeared on Thursday in the Houston Chronicle and on Boston.com.

Renewing the War on Cancer
By Edward M. Kennedy and Kay Bailey Hutchison

Cancer is a relentless disease. It doesn’t discriminate between men and women, wealthy or poor, the elderly or the young. In 2008, over 1.4 million Americans were diagnosed with some form of the disease. If it wasn’t you, it may have been a spouse or sibling, a parent or a child, a friend or a coworker. We, too, have known the challenges of cancer diagnoses for ourselves or our family members or friends. And while there are many stories of survival, this disease still takes far too many lives. More than half a million Americans lost their battle with cancer last year.

Since the War on Cancer was declared in 1971, we have amassed a wealth of knowledge about the disease. Advances in basic and clinical research have improved treatments significantly. Some of the most important progress has been made in prevention and early detection, particularly screening, including mammography and colonoscopy. Behavior modifications, such as smoking cessation, better eating habits, regular exercise, and sunscreen have been found to prevent many cancers. Continued focus must be placed on prevention, which will always be the best cure.

Though heightened awareness and prevention should be emphasized, alone they don’t translate into adequate progress for those with cancer. Since 1971, the cancer mortality rate has decreased by only 6 percent. In the same period, by contrast, mortality rates have dramatically declined for heart disease (by 56 percent) and stroke (by 66 percent). Today, cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, exceeded only by heart disease. If the current trend continues, the National Cancer Institute predicts that one in every two men and one in every three women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes, and that cancer will become the leading killer of Americans.

The solution isn’t easy, but there are steps we should take now if we hope to see the diagnosis rate decline substantially and the survival rate increase. To do so, we must identify and remove the numerous barriers that obstruct our progress in cancer research and treatment.

First, it is essential that cancer be diagnosed at an initial, curable stage. One of the most promising breakthroughs is the monitoring of biomarkers, which leave evidence within the body that alerts clinicians to hidden activity indicating that cancer may be developing. Identification of such biomarkers can lead to the earliest possible detection of cancer in patients.
Second, even if we significantly improve early detection, lack of health insurance and other impediments to care will preclude many Americans from undergoing routine screening. With early screening, the disease may be detected at a treatable stage and dramatically increase the rate of survival. Greater outreach is clearly needed to make screening more available to all, and especially to underserved populations.

Third, we must adopt a more coordinated approach to cancer research. Establishing an interconnected network of biorepositories with broadly accessible sources of tissue collection and storage will enable investigators to share information and samples much more effectively. Integrated research will help accelerate the progress of lifesaving research. The search for cures should also be a cooperative goal. The current culture of isolated career research must yield to more cooperative arrangements to expedite breakthroughs. Our national policy should encourage all stakeholders in the War on Cancer to become allies and work in concert toward cures.

Fourth, as our nation’s best and brightest researchers seek new ways to eradicate cancer, we must improve treatment for those who have it today. Raising awareness of clinical trials would result in more patients and their doctors knowing what promising trials are available. Doing so will expand treatment options for patients, and enable researchers to develop better methods for prevention, diagnosis, and therapy. Today, less than five percent of the 10 million adults with cancer in the United States participate in clinical trials. Disincentives by the health insurance market, preventing patients from enrolling in clinical trials, must be eliminated.

Finally, as our knowledge of cancer advances and patients live longer, we need a process that will improve patient survivorship through comprehensive care planning services. There is great value in equipping patients with a treatment plan and summary of their care when they first enter remission, in order to achieve continuity of therapy and preventing costly, duplicative, or unnecessary services.

We have introduced bipartisan legislation to bring about these necessary changes, and we hope to see the bill enacted in the coming weeks and months. These policy initiatives cannot be fully implemented without broad support and sufficient resources, and we are committed to leading this effort to completion.

It’s time to reinvigorate the War on Cancer, and more effective coordination of policy and science is indispensible for rapid progress.

SENATORS EDWARD M. KENNEDY AND KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON INTRODUCE CANCER LEGISLATION

Bill will Renew America’s Commitment to Fighting Cancer and Finding Cure

WASHINGTON, DC— Senators Edward M. Kennedy and Kay Bailey Hutchison today introduced the 21st Century Cancer Access to Life-Saving Early detection, Research and Treatment (ALERT) Act, a bill to comprehensively address the challenges our nation faces in battling this disease. This is the first sweeping cancer legislation introduced since the National Cancer Act in 1971, authored by Kennedy.

The 21st Century Cancer ALERT Act will provide critical funding for promising research in early detection, and supply grants for screening and referrals for treatment. These measures will also ensure patient access to prevention and early detection, which is supplemented by increased access to clinical trials and information.

The bill places an emphasis on strengthening cancer research and the urgent need for resources to both prevent and detect cancers at an early stage. The bill strives to give scientists the tools they need to fight cancer and to understand more thoroughly how the disease works. Through fostering new treatments, increased preventative measures and funding for research, the ALERT Act begins a new chapter in how Americans will live with and fight cancer.

Senators Kennedy and Hutchison first proposed the idea for comprehensive cancer legislation last May, when the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a hearing to discuss the need for a renewed focus on the deadly disease. Elizabeth Edwards, Lance Armstrong and Hala Moddelmog from Susan G. Komen for the Cure testified at the hearing.

Senator Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, said, “We’ve come a long way in fighting cancer since we passed the National Cancer Act thirty-eight years ago, but not far enough. Americans still live in fear that they or someone they love will be affected. Today, we’re better equipped for the fight— learning each and every day a little bit more about the disease and what we can do to fight it. Cancer is a complex disease and it requires comprehensive strategies to fight it— strategies that integrate research, prevention and treatment. This bill will renew our efforts to make progress in the battle against cancer, and to give patients and their families a renewed sense of hope.”

“Our nation declared the War on Cancer in 1971, yet, nearly 38 years later, cancer is expected to become the leading killer of Americans. We must bring renewed focus and vigor to this fight.” said Senator Hutchison. “The prescription isn’t simple, but there are steps we must take if we are going to see the cancer diagnosis rate decline, while raising the prognosis for survival among those who do have the disease. Our legislation will enact those necessary steps so we may see more progress and coordination in cancer research and treatment.”

"We know how to lengthen and improve the lives of people with cancer, but we’ve chosen as a nation to turn our backs on some of us who have the disease,” said Elizabeth Edwards. “I urge the United States Senate to embrace the ALERT Act and get it to the President’s desk as soon as possible."

“In 2010, cancer is expected to be the leading cause of death worldwide. Every American is touched by this disease,” said Lance Armstrong, chairman and founder of the Lance Armstrong Foundation. “The 21st Century Cancer ALERT Act and its authors’ leadership in reforming our nation’s approach to the war on cancer are a very welcome step forward to every member of the LIVESTRONG movement.”

“It’s been 38 years since our nation first declared war on cancer, and yet we are still facing a significant cancer crisis. The Kennedy-Hutchison Cancer ALERT Act will reignite the war on cancer," said Nancy G. Brinker, founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. "We must all work together and let nothing stand in the way of discovering and delivering the cures to cancer.”

Senate action on this bill is expected this Congressional session.

A section-by-section summary of the legislation is below as well as an op-ed authored by Senators Hutchison and Kennedy that appeared this morning in the Houston Chronicle http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/6342313.html and on the Boston Globe’s website, http://www.boston.com.

21st Century Cancer ALERT Act

Senators Kennedy and Hutchison

Section by Section Summary

The 21st Century Cancer ALERT Act is a comprehensive approach to cancer prevention and detection, research and treatment. It invests in cancer research infrastructure and improves collaboration among existing efforts. Prevention and early detection for those most at risk are emphasized through support for innovative initiatives and new technologies such as biomarkers. The legislation addresses the need to increase enrollment in clinical research by increasing access and removing barriers to patients’ participation in clinical trials. The bill also includes a plan designed to improve care for cancer survivors. Additional provisions regarding prevention and screening initiatives will increase access to care for underserved populations and reduce the burden of disease and cost of healthcare to the nation.

Section 1 and 2 - Findings and Declaration of Purpose

Section 3- Advancement of the National Cancer Program (NCP)

Modernize the role of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in coordinating the NCP

Identifies relevant federal agencies to coordinate with NCI

Improves the annual budget estimate for the NCP by including the needs of the entire NCP and submitting the budget annually to House and Senate Budget and Appropriations Committees

Increases participation of other federal agencies in the National Cancer Advisory Board

Encourages early detection and translational research opportunities

Biological Resource Coordination and Advancement of Technologies for Cancer Research

Establishes an entity within NCI to support an interconnected network of biorepositories with consistent, interoperable systems for collection, storage, annotation, and information sharing

Facilitates research by linking cancer registries to other federal data sources including those at Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Social Security Administration, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Requires hospitals and ambulatory care centers that receive federal funds to offer patients the opportunity to contribute their biospecimens and clinical data to a clinical registry

Section 4 – Comprehensive and Responsible Access to Research, Data, and Outcomes

Calls for guidance from the Office of Human Research Protection on the use of a centralized Institutional Review Board

Improves privacy standards in clinical research by clarifying when de-identified patient information may be disclosed

Calls for HHS to study the advantages and disadvantages of the synchronization of the standards for research under the Common Rule and the Privacy Rule

Clarifies the application of the Privacy Rule to external researchers

Section 5- Enhanced Focus and Reporting on Cancer Research

Calls for NCI to report annually on plans and progress regarding research on cancers with low incidence and low survival rates

Establishes grants program to conduct research on cancers with low incidence and low survival rates

Section 6 – Continuing Access to Care for Prevention and Early Detection

Screening and Early Detection

Establishes a grant program to states for colorectal cancer screening and referrals for medical treatment (similar to the national breast and cervical cancer early detection program). States are given the option to cover screened persons found to have cancer under Medicaid.

Cancer Prevention

Authorizes grants for a medical mobile van program to conduct cancer screening and prevention education activities in communities that are underserved and suffer from barriers to preventative cancer care

Access to Prevention and Early Detection for Certain Cancers

Calls for the Secretary to include cancers with especially low survival rates in the Cancer Genome Atlas Consortium

Calls for the Secretary to establish formal working groups for cancers with especially low survival rates in the Early Detection Research Network

Calls for the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering to ensure that the Quantum Grant program and the Image Guided Interventions program expedite the development of interventions for cancers with low survival rates

Section 7– Early Recognition and Treatment of Cancer Through the Use of Biomarkers

Promote the Discovery and Development of Biomarkers

Establishes and coordinates federal agencies to establish a highly directed, contract based program that will support the development of innovative biomarker discovery technologies

Calls for FDA and CMS to work together to create guidelines for clinical study designs that will enable sponsors to generate clinical data that will be adequate for review by both agencies

Conducts a demonstration project to provide limited regional coverage for biomarker tests and establish procedures for independent research entities to conduct high quality assessments of the efficacy and cost effectiveness of biomarker tests

Section 8: National Cancer Coverage Guidelines

Ensure Patient Access to Clinical Trials

Facilitates expanded access to clinical trials by requiring ERISA governed health plans to continue to provide coverage of routine care regardless of whether a patient enrolls in a clinical trial

Section 9: Health Professions Workforce

Ensure a Stable Workforce for the Future

Supports retired nurse military officers to work as nurse faculty

Directs Secretary of Health and Human Services to identify oncology workforce gaps

Section 10: Patient Navigator Program

Improve Upon Existing Patient Navigator Programs

Ensures that patient navigators meet minimum core proficiencies

Reauthorizes the Patient Navigator program through 2015

Section 11: Cancer Care and Coverage Under Medicaid and Medicare

Improvements in Coverage of Cancer Services

Codifies current Medicare policy to reimburse for routine care while patients are enrolled in clinical trials

Conducts a demonstration project to evaluate the cost, effectiveness, and potential savings to Medicare of reimbursing providers for comprehensive cancer care planning services to the Medicare population

Directs states to offer tobacco cessation medications and counseling to pregnant women enrolled in Medicaid

Section 12: Cancer Survivorship and Complete Recovery Initiatives

Childhood Cancers

Establishes priority areas for NIH activities related to childhood cancer survivorship

Authorizes grants for research on the causes of health disparities in childhood cancer survivorship and to evaluate follow up care for childhood cancer survivors

Complete Recovery Care

Defines “complete recovery care” which includes care to address secondary effects of cancer and its treatment, including late and psychosocial effects

Coordinates complete recovery care activities across federal agencies

Establishes a Collaborative that will develop a plan for workforce development for complete recovery care

Section 13: Activities of the Food and Drug Administration

Sense of the Senate

Encourages the FDA to harmonize policies to facilitate the development of drugs; explore clinical trial endpoints; and, modernize the Office of Oncology Drug Products

Renewing the War on Cancer

By Edward M. Kennedy and Kay Bailey Hutchison

Second, even if we significantly improve early detection, lack of health insurance and other impediments to care will preclude many Americans from undergoing routine screening. With early screening, the disease may be detected at a treatable stage and dramatically increase the rate of survival. Greater outreach is clearly needed to make screening more available to all, and especially to underserved populations.

It’s time to reinvigorate the War on Cancer, and more effective coordination of policy and science is indispensible for rapid progress.

Serve America Act receiving praise from press

The Serve America Act - a bill that would dramatically increase service opportunities and funding for service-oriented programs that was co-sponsored by Senator Kennedy - has received overwhelmingly positive stories from some of the top newspapers and magazines in the country.

Expanding National Service
New York Times - Mar. 23, 2009

"The bill was introduced in September. President Obama helped put it on a fast track by calling on lawmakers to act when he addressed Congress last month. The bill’s progress also owes much to a hard-working Congressional cadre—Representatives George Miller and Carolyn McCarthy, and Senators Edward Kennedy and Barbara Mikulski, all on the Democratic side; and Representatives Howard McKeon and Todd Platts, and Senators Orrin Hatch and Mike Enzi, on the Republican side.

"This is a chance to constructively harness the idealism of thousands of Americans eager to contribute time and energy to solving the nation’s problems—a chance not to be missed."

An Ideal that Crosses the Aisle
Washington Post - Mar. 16, 2009

"Every politician speaks glowingly about service to country, but few see national service as an important political issue. The temptation is to dismiss service proposals made by someone in the other political party as trivial or part of some hidden agenda."

Supporting the helping habit
Boston Globe - Mar. 23, 2009

"The bill combines the best of George H.W. Bush’s "points of light" notion with Bill Clinton’s AmeriCorps. And Massachusetts can take particular pride in propelling it over the finish line. Prime movers include the indefatigable Alan Khazei, who co-founded City Year and now runs the civic engagement organization Be The Change; Alan Solomont, the new chairman of the Corporation for National and Community Service; and, of course, Kennedy, who has promoted the service ethic since writing the first National Community Service Act, in 1989."

A Time to Serve
Time - Feb. 26, 2009

"But there is something else we are seeing in the land. Polls show that while confidence in our democracy and our government is near an all-time low, volunteerism and civic participation since the ‘70s are near all-time highs. Political scientists are perplexed about this. If confidence is so low, why would people bother volunteering? The explanation is pretty simple. People, especially young people, think the government and the public sphere are broken, but they feel they can personally make a difference through community service. After 9/11, Americans were hungry to be asked to do something, to make some kind of sacrifice, and what they mostly remember is being asked to go shopping. The reason private volunteerism is so high is precisely that confidence in our public institutions is so low. People see volunteering not as a form of public service but as an antidote for it."

Sen. Kennedy’s national service legislation heads to Senate

The Serve America Act, a bipartisan piece of legislation written and sponsored by Senator Kennedy, passed through committee and will be voted on by the entire Senate next week.

The bipartisan bill will greatly expand the domestic service opportunities available to all Americans.

Co-sponsored by Senators Barbara Mikulski, Orrin Hatch and Mike Enzi, the bill builds on the lessons from the National Community Service Act of 1990, which created the program that is now AmeriCorps.

"This legislation represents the best of America’s ideals - offering a helping hand to our neighbors and to our country. Today’s action brings us closer to our goal of giving Americans of all ages greater opportunities to serve their communities and their nation. I commend Senator Mikulski, Senator Hatch and Senator Enzi for their effective bipartisan leadership in moving this important measure forward," Senator Kennedy said.

The Serve America Act will provide $5 billion over 5 years to fund 250,000 volunteers for targeted service in areas of national need, such as: energy conservation, health care and education. It will also strengthen key AmeriCorps components.

Senator Kennedy receives prestigious Profile in Courage Award

On Sunday March 8, 2009, Senator Edward M. Kennedy was presented with the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award at a celebration for his 77th birthday.

Senator Kennedy had not been eligible for the award in years past - despite being nominated repeatedly - due to his service on the selection committee. His selection this year was unanimous.

"Every year Senator Edward M. Kennedy is nominated for his statesmanship and leadership on the most pressing issues facing our nation," said the Senator’s niece, Caroline Kennedy. "His passionate advocacy on behalf of civil rights, human rights, voting rights, economic, social and environmental justice - and his long battle to achieve quality affordable health care for all Americans - are each deserving of an award."

The Profile in Courage Award is named for the Pulitzer Prize-winning book President Kennedy wrote in 1956 about the grace and courage of eight U.S. Senators who risked their careers to stand up for American ideals. The award has been given out annually to public servants who "have made courageous decisions of conscience without regard for the personal or professional consequences."

Caroline Kennedy and renowned journalist Al Hunt, who head up the Profile in Courage Award Ceremony, presented the award at an event at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

"The political valor of Edward Moore Kennedy exceeds what can be told in a single volume," read the citation that accompanied the award. "… He carries the nation on his shoulders through the most important struggles of our time - for justice, for equality, for opportunity, for freedom."

A venerable cast of political and non-political celebrities, including comedian Bill Cosby, singer James Taylor, many Senators, Congresspersons, Cabinet Members, Vice President Joe Biden and President Barack Obama, attended the ceremony.

Senator Kennedy receives prestigious Profile in Courage Award

On Sunday March 8, 2009, Senator Edward M. Kennedy was presented with the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award at a celebration for his 77th birthday.

Senator Kennedy had not been eligible for the award in years past - despite being nominated repeatedly - due to his service on the selection committee. His selection this year was unanimous.

Caroline Kennedy and renowned journalist Al Hunt, who head up the Profile in Courage Award Ceremony, presented the award at an event at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Statement of Senator Edward M. Kennedy on Honorary Knighthood

WASHINGTON D.C. – Senator Edward M. Kennedy today released the following statement after the British government announced he will be designated a Knight Commander, Order of the British Empire:

“I’m deeply grateful to Her Majesty the Queen and to Prime Minister Brown for this extraordinary honor. I have always prized the opportunity to work with the British government and strengthen and deepen the role of our two countries as leading beacons of democracy in the world. I am proud that I was able to play a part in the decades-long effort to bring peace to Northern Ireland. I also think of my ties to Britain that stretch back across the years—from my childhood to the Kennedy Scholars today who come from Britain to study in America. It was from Britain that my oldest brother left for his last mission during World War II. It is in Britain that a portion of land at Runnymeade, where the Magna Carta was signed, is now designated as American soil and dedicated to President Kennedy as a gift of the British people.

“So for me this honor is moving and personal— a reflection not only of my public life, but of things that profoundly matter to me as an individual. I accept this honor in the spirit in which it is given, with a continuing commitment to be a voice for the voiceless and for the shared ideals of freedom and fairness which are so fundamental to the character of our two countries.”

KENNEDY ON PRESIDENT OBAMA�S FISCAL YEAR 2010 BUDGET

WASHINGTON – Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, today released the following statement on President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2010 Budget:

“I commend President Obama for presenting Congress with an honest budget that makes the tough but necessary choices to get our country back on track. This budget ends an era of irresponsibility and accounting gimmicks, cuts taxes for middle class Americans and makes sound investments essential for a strong economic future for our nation.

“With this budget, the President also makes an historic commitment to the goal of quality, affordable health care for all Americans. I’m optimistic that Congress is now ready to answer the challenge of enacting legislation to reach that goal, and the funds proposed in the budget are an essential starting point for our effort.

“For the millions of American families increasingly worried about whether they can afford the health care they need, the President’s budget is a strong statement that help is on the way. It takes important steps to improve public health, reduce health disparities, strengthen the health workforce, improve food safety, and build on the important investments in the economic recovery bill on prevention, health information technology, and health care quality.

“The education provisions in this budget will bring a world of new opportunity for millions of students. The doors to college will be far more open. The larger Pell grants, the more reasonable student loans, and the tax credit for low- and middle-income families will go a long way toward preventing the dream of college from becoming a nightmare of rising costs for students across the nation.

“This budget promises a helping hand for working families struggling during our economic crisis. It will fund the programs that hardworking Americans need most – help for the unemployed, retraining for the dislocated, protections against job discrimination, and stronger enforcement of health and safety standards in the workplace. For millions of families throughout the nation, President Obama’s budget is clearly designed to restore the American Dream.”

STATEMENT OF SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY ON INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE: A VITAL PART OF THE NEW HEALTH CARE

The American health care system urgently needs repair and reform. Today as a nation, we spend 16% of our gross domestic product on health care, more per capita than any other country in the world. Yet health outcomes of Americans are ranked 37th in the world by the World Health Organization. Our system is often called a “sick care” system, not a health care system, because it is designed to treat diseases and illnesses, instead of promoting good health and wellness over the life spans of our people.

Genuine health reform therefore requires a major transformation in our national mindset on how we care for ourselves and others. It must incorporate and encourage disease prevention activities and lifestyle changes that promote long-term health and well-being. The current incentives in our health care system that lead to over-treatment and mistreatment must be changed to promote high-quality, appropriate, and coordinated health care. The nation’s alarmingly high and growing rates of obesity and chronic disease today are a clear call to action.

By preventing diseases before they start and adopting a broader approach to medicine, we will actually reduce costs in the long run, and we will extend and improve the quality of life as we do it.

To achieve this fundamental shift in our nation’s health care mindset, it will be necessary to reform how medicine is practiced. Low-cost or even free health screenings and vaccinations will encourage individuals to take part in preventive medicine. Patient-centered and coordinated care that addresses the whole person – from genetic predispositions, to life-style choices to potentially harmful conditions – is essential for treating acute diseases and managing chronic conditions. We must also adopt a more integrated approach to medicine, through health care that addresses the mental, emotional, and physical aspects of the healing process in order to improve the depth, breadth, and patient choice in clinical practice.

Further, we must incorporate prevention, wellness, and more patient-centered approaches as fundamental components of medical education and the training of health providers. In order to reach the patient effectively, integrative practices must be accepted throughout our health care system, and especially in the education of health care providers and the consumers who will benefit.

Finally, we can look beyond the traditional health care system to the community itself – to local environments, where we can build sidewalks and bike lanes; to workplaces, where wellness programs can help employees include healthy nutrition and exercise in their lives; and to schools, where we can provide preventive screenings and lay a strong foundation for students to lead healthy lifestyles from an early age.

Americans deserve a health care system that provides this kind of high-quality, patient-centered care, and encourages individuals’ choices and control over their health. The result, as I have said, of this new focus on prevention and health promotion will be lower health care costs and longer, healthier lives.

I commend Senators Harkin and Mikulski for their continuing leadership on this important issue, and I look forward to working closely with my colleagues on the HELP and Finance Committees and with President Obama to achieve our fundamental goal of improving the quality of health care, expanding access to such care for all our people, and reducing the financial burden of such care.

STATEMENT OF SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY ON SENATE PASSAGE OF ECONOMIC RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT

WASHINGTON, DC— Senator Edward M. Kennedy released the following statement today in response to passage by the Senate of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The bill passed the Senate today by a vote of 61-37 and will now go into conference with the House of Representatives.

“Now, more than ever, we need a strong economic recovery package that creates jobs, strengthens the safety net, and invests wisely in the nation’s future. I’m pleased that my colleagues in the Senate have passed such a strong bill, and I look forward to prompt and successful negotiations with the House to send the final bill to President Obama to sign. It’s time to end this economic nightmare and begin a new era of prosperity and growth for our country.”

The bill will help jump-start the economy now and strengthen it in the long-run as well. It will create good new jobs, invest in our future, and cut taxes for those who need help the most. It also includes funds for infrastructure projects, education and job training, energy efficiency, law enforcement, unemployment benefits, and relief for children and families struggling during these difficult economic times.

Below is a summary of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee priorities in the bill, as well as information on how the funds in the bill with help Massachusetts directly.

HELP COMMITTEE PRIORITIES IN THE AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT

HEALTH

HIT and Community Health Centers

· Health Information Technology: $21 billion to jumpstart efforts to computerize health records to cut costs and reduce medical errors. Health IT will increase the efficiency and quality of health care, thus reducing costs. This investment in health IT will also help American innovative industries compete in the global marketplace.

· Community Health Centers: Community Health Centers: $1.8 billion to construct and renovate clinics, and make health information technology improvements. Community health centers serve 20 percent of the nation’s uninsured population.

Scientific Research

· National Institutes of Health Biomedical Research: $2 billion, including $1.5 billion for expanding jobs in biomedical research to study diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, cancer, and heart disease - NIH is currently able to fund less than 20% of approved applications – and $500 million to implement the repair and improvement strategic plan developed by the NIH for its campuses.

· Comparative Effectiveness Research: $1.1 billion for AHRQ, NIH and other health agencies to expand existing initiatives to compare the effectiveness of different medical treatments. Finding out what works best and educating patients and doctors will improve health care quality.

· Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: $412 million for construction and renovation and equipment.

· Biomedical Advanced Research and Development, Pandemic Flu, and Cyber Security: $900 million to prepare for a pandemic influenza, support advanced development of medical countermeasures.

COBRA and Medicaid

· COBRA Healthcare for the Unemployed: Senator Kennedy authored the original provisions to allow unemployed workers to retain their health care coverage. The economic recovery legislation expands on this idea by providing a 50 percent COBRA premium subsidy for 12 months to eligible workers made unemployed in the recent economic crisis to help them afford that coverage. The subsidy will be administered by Treasury through mechanism that allows employers (or health plans if they administer COBRA benefits) to receive a credit against payroll taxes. This provision is estimated to cost $20 billion.

· Increase in Medicaid Funding: In the recession during the early part of this decade, Senator Kennedy fought for assistance to state Medicaid programs to aid those who cannot otherwise afford coverage to stay healthy and remain productive. Studies confirmed that this investment was one of the most direct and immediate ways to provide an economic boost, while helping lower income Americans remain healthy and stay in the work force. The current legislation builds upon and expands this idea by providing $86.7 billion for hard-pressed Medicaid programs.

EDUCATION, TRAINING AND SERVICE

Total education spending: $87 b (not including tax credit)

EARLY EDUCATION

$2 billion for child care assistance under the Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG) to enable states to serve an additional 300,000 children of low-income working families who have been hurt by the economic downturn.

$1.05 billion for Head Start and Early Head Start, $500 million for Head Start, and $550 million for Early Head Start, to help provide coverage to eligible preschoolers, infants and toddlers who are not served by existing Head Start and Early Head Start providers, as well as create thousands of jobs for new faculty and staff.

K-12 EDUCATION

$39 billion in K-12 education aid to states to prevent state cutbacks and bridge budget shortfalls in K-12 education, higher education, and early childhood education. $7.5 billion of this $39 billion will be set aside to create a State Incentive Fund, of which $650 million will be set aside for establishing an Innovation Fund, for Secretary Duncan to award bonus grants and implement key K-12 education reforms (teachers, standards, assessments).

Over $27 billion to shore up existing K-12 education programs that support needy students, including:

· $12.4 billion for Title I to meet the needs of low-income children, $1.6 billion of which must be used by school districts to expand early childhood education programs and services and $1.4 billion used to support struggling schools under ESEA (school improvement).

· $13.5 billion for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to assist schools in meeting their commitment to educating students with disabilities. $1.9 billion of these funds will be dedicated to preschool services under section 619, and $500 million will be set aside to serve infants and toddlers with disabilities.

· $1 billion in funding for education technology through Title IID of the No Child Left Behind Act

· $70 million to improve educational services for homeless children through the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Act

HIGHER EDUCATION

$13.9 billion for Pell Grants, to fill the discretionary shortfall in the program, maintain current grant levels, and increase the Pell award by $281 next academic year (max award $5,012) and by $400 in the following year (max award $5,331).

$50 million to develop teacher preparation and induction partnerships through Title II of the Higher Education Act.

$61 million in student aid under the Perkins Loan Program.

$12.9 billion to establish the American Opportunity Tax Credit, expanding the existing Hope tax credit into a new $2,500/year higher education credit that is 30 percent refundable and phases out for taxpayers making $80k/year.

NATIONAL SERVICE

$200 million for national service programs, including $160 million to expand AmeriCorps.

JOB TRAINING

$3.4 billion for job training through the WIA system and other existing programs, including $1.2 billion to create up to one million summer jobs for youth, meet the needs of dislocated workers, and provide training in new high growth and emergency industry sectors. This figure also includes increased funding for Job Corps and YouthBuild programs.

$900 million in other training supports, including $400 million in employment services to match unemployed individuals to job opportunities through state employment agencies, and $500 million to help individuals with disabilities gain employment through the state Vocational Rehabilitation systems.

MASSACHUSETTS EDUCATION, TRAINING AND SERVICE

EARLY EDUCATION

· Massachusetts is expected to receive an additional $24 million in federal child care assistance to support an additional 1, 250 children and effectively double the state total allocation (raising it to nearly $49 million).

· Massachusetts would receive an additional $5.1 million in combined Head Start and Early Head Start funding to serve an additional 584 children.

K-12 EDUCATION

State Fiscal Stabilization Fund

· Massachusetts stands to receive $647 million to bridge state budget cuts and future shortfalls in K-12 education, early childhood education, and higher education.

· In addition, the fund includes $7.5 billion in new education grants to states, school districts, and schools to promote closing the achievement gap, scale up best practices, and develop partnerships with the private sector and the philanthropic community.

Education for Low-Income and Disadvantaged Students

· Massachusetts would receive an additional $198.5 million in Title I funding, of which nearly $23 million will be focused on efforts to improve low-performing schools under ESEA (based on CRS calculations).

· Boston stands to receive about $35.2 million over FY09 and FY10 in new Title I funding, based on the proportion of state Title I funding (17.7 percent) that the district received in FY08.

· Massachusetts would receive $16 million in new funds to improve education technology in schools.

· Massachusetts would receive $1.2 million in new funds to support the education of homeless children throughout the state.

IDEA

· Massachusetts would receive an additional $334 million in federal funds to support special education and related services for students with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

HIGHER EDUCATION AND JOB TRAINING

Pell Grants

· Under the recovery package, Massachusetts residents attending college will receive an additional $194.2 million in Pell Grants, based on the amount the state now receives as a proportion of total Pell aid.

· About 85,000 Massachusetts residents will receive about $244 more in Pell Grant aid.

Employment and Training

· Massachusetts would receive an additional $15 million to assist dislocated workers through the Workforce Investment Act.

· Massachusetts would receive an additional $25 million to create new jobs and training opportunities for youth.

· Massachusetts would receive an additional $7.8 million to help transition individuals with disabilities from school to work, and create new jobs and training opportunities.

JOB CREATION AND ASSISTANCE TO WORKING FAMILIES

Help for the Unemployed

Unemployment Insurance Modernization Act: $7 billion to expand unemployment insurance coverage to over 500,000 workers, many of whom are low-wage earners and women. An additional $500 million in aid to states to help them pay for program administration and keep their unemployment offices and phone lines open.

Extended and increased benefits: $35 billion to continue providing extended unemployment benefits (up to 20 weeks nationally, and 33 weeks in high unemployment states) through the end of 2009. Provides $25 more in weekly benefits to all recipients.

KENNEDY STATEMENT ON THE ECONOMIC RECOVERY PLAN

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, today released the following statement:

“Although we need no other indicator, Friday’s job loss report confirms that our economy remains in a free-fall. Now, more than ever, we need a strong economic recovery package that creates jobs, strengthens the safety net, and invests wisely in the nation’s future. Americans are hurting far too much already. Without this action, the consequences will be even more disastrous for our workers and their families.

“I returned to the Senate today to do all I can to support our President and his plan to get our country back on track. We face a historic crisis and must act quickly, boldly and responsibly to enable our economy to begin growing again in Massachusetts and across America.”

STATEMENT OF SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY ON CHILDREN�S HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM BEING SIGNED INTO LAW

WASHINGTON, DC— Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, today released the following statement on the signing of the Children’s Health Insurance Program into law:

“Our country has just made a clear commitment to guarantee quality, affordable health care to 4 million more American children. Four million more children will have a family doctor and enjoy the opportunities in life that come from a childhood lived in good health. Four million more families will no longer have to make impossible choices between paying for medical care of a sick child or meeting other urgent family needs. I commend President Obama for making this bill one of his earliest priorities and Congress for answering that call in a bipartisan way. It bodes well for our goals of enacting comprehensive health reform for all our people.”

STATEMENT OF SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY ON TOM DASCHLE

WASHINGTON, DC—Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, today released the following statement after former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle withdrew his name from consideration as Secretary of Health and Human Services:

“Tom Daschle is a public servant of high character and deep devotion to this country. He is strongly committed to health care reform and would have been an outstanding Secretary of Health and Human Services. Even though he has withdrawn his name, I know that Tom remains dedicated, as am I, to achieving quality, affordable health care for all Americans. Tom will remain a respected voice in this important debate, and I look forward to continuing to work with him.”

New York Times Praises Kennedy-Hatch Serve America Act

The New York Times ran the following editorial in this morning’s editions:

EDITORIAL
The Moment for National Service
President Obama used his Inaugural Address to summon the nation to "a new era of responsibility" and personal engagement to solve the nation’s problems. He set an example by spending part of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday painting walls and furniture at a shelter for homeless teenagers.
As Mr. Obama recognizes, there are certain tasks that cannot be accomplished by volunteers showing up occasionally or contributing a few hours a week. Worthy service programs, like Teach for America, have too few slots to accommodate the rising number of applicants.
Now is the moment for the new president and Congress to harness the sense of idealism and unity evident amid the huge crowds that massed in the nation’s capital by greatly expanding the opportunities for sustained and productive national and community service.
A smart blueprint for doing exactly that was just introduced in the Senate by Edward Kennedy, the Massachusetts Democrat, and Orrin Hatch, Republican of Utah. Building on the ongoing success of AmeriCorps, Bill Clinton’s signature domestic service program, and relying on its administrative framework, their Serve America Act would rapidly expand the number of full-time and part-time national service volunteers eligible for minimal living expenses and a modest educational stipend at the end of an intensive year of work by 175,000 from the current level of 75,000.
The new positions would be devoted to meeting challenges in a handful of targeted areas: tackling the dropout crisis, strengthening schools, improving health care and economic opportunity in low-income communities, cleaning up parks, aiding efforts to boost energy efficiency, and responding to disasters and emergencies.
The Serve America Act is structured to invite participation by people of all income levels and ages, including retirees. It would offer tax incentives for employers who allow employees to take paid leave for full-time service, and permit older individuals to transfer their education awards to a child or grandchild. A new Volunteer Generation Fund would help nonprofit groups recruit and manage an expanding pool of volunteers. Much as President Franklin Roosevelt created the Civilian Conservation Corps during the early days of his first term in 1933, Mr. Obama should tell Congress he considers the Serve America Act a top priority.
Truly, there is no reason for delay. The measure largely fleshes out ideas that Mr. Obama promoted on the campaign trail and that are currently posted on his White House Web site. In his previous job representing Illinois in the Senate, Mr. Obama co-sponsored the bill when it was proposed at the end of the last Congress.
Understandably, Mr. Obama is now concentrating on gaining quick passage of a $825 billion stimulus package aimed at creating new jobs and aiding the nation’s ailing economy. At a price tag of about $5 billion over five years, the Serve America Act is an apt companion piece. Its prompt approval would create tens of thousands of meaningful new positions for people ready to work hard for the public good, making tangible the "spirit of service" Mr. Obama spoke of in his Inaugural Address.

STATEMENT OF EDWARD M. KENNEDY ON DECLINING JOB NUMBERS

WASHINGTON, DC— Today’s report shows a loss of 524,000 jobs – it’s now a full year of consecutive monthly job losses. The national unemployment rate rose to 7.2% and the number of unemployed Americans rose to 11.1 million.

“Today’s depressing news highlights the magnitude of the challenge we face in revitalizing our economy. The nation’s strength has always come from its workforce, and we need to take major steps now to get our citizens back to work. With President-elect Obama, we’ll certainly do all we can to create millions of needed jobs and set a strong new course for our economy and our country.”

STATEMENT OF SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY AT THE NOMINATION HEARING FOR HILDA SOLIS

STATEMENT OF SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY AT THE NOMINATION HEARING FOR SECRETARY OF LABOR- DESIGNATE HILDA SOLIS

I am pleased to welcome our distinguished nominee for Secretary of Labor, Representative Hilda Solis. And I thank Senator Feinstein for her gracious introduction.

This is not an ordinary hearing, because we do not live in ordinary times. American families are suffering in ways we haven’t seen in many years. And the crisis is growing worse every day.

Every morning working families wake up to more bad news. More jobs lost. More pensions gone. More dreams that disappear.

Just this morning, we learned that we lost another 524,000 jobs last month. That is not just a number. It is families like Paula Stein’s. Paula worked hard for 30 years. A year ago, she lost her job. Now she can’t find work.

She struggles to pay her bills. She stopped taking her medication because she can’t afford it. She almost lost her home. Paula played by the rules. She took care of her family. And now everything is gone. Her dignity. Her pride. Her life savings. All gone.

The sad fact is that Paula is not alone. There are millions more Americans just like her. Men and women who can’t sleep at night. Parents who look into their children’s eyes wondering if they can make it through another day.

They wonder how can we afford health care? How can we pay the rent? How can we put food on the table?

Throughout our history, Americans have come together in times of crisis. Our neighbors, our families, our communities, our churches all pitching in.

But we need leadership in our government, too. We need leaders who understand what working families are facing in today’s economy.

I believe that Hilda Solis is just such a leader. She comes from a working family. Her parents sacrificed to give her greater opportunity.

Throughout her career, Hilda has given back to her community and to her nation. She has fought for working families all her life.

In the California Senate and now in Congress, she has been a voice for the voiceless with a true passion for fairness and justice. For her dedication and leadership, she received the Profile in Courage Award. No one could be more deserving of that great honor.

The task before us is great. But Hilda Solis has overcome great challenges all her life. I have no doubt that she can do it again to help our families reclaim the American dream.

Hilda, I thank you for answering the President-Elect’s call to serve our country. I look forward to hearing more today about your plans for helping American workers.

Kennedy ties helped secure waiver: Bosts Bay State healthcare law

By Kay Lazar, Globe Staff | October 7, 2008

It was the dog days of summer, and secret negotiations between Massachusetts leaders and federal officials had dragged on for months.

The word was that future funding for the state’s first-in-the-nation healthcare law looked bleak.

But then, something shifted in the talks. And now, four months later, state leaders are jubilant that Washington will send more money than most had dreamed possible to keep the state’s pioneering program afloat.

News of the $10.6 billion in federal aid arrived last week.

At a time when many other states are lamenting the lack of support from Washington for health programs, how was it possible for a state known for its liberal leanings to win such backing from a conservative administration?

An unlikely bond forged years ago between Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, an icon of the left, and US Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, a conservative former governor of Utah, is part of the answer. The friendship set a collegial tone for the negotiations.

It was crucial in salvaging talks when the White House threatened to slash nearly $2 billion from the state’s health financing package, key players familiar with the negotiations said in interviews last week.

The package, known as a Medicaid waiver because it offers not only money but flexibility in federal regulations, allows Massachusetts to provide subsidized health insurance to some residents with incomes higher than would typically be allowed under traditional Medicaid rules. It authorizes Massachusetts to spend up to $21.2 billion, half of it federal money, over the next three years on health programs. That’s an increase of $4.3 billion over the state’s last Medicaid waiver package.

Leavitt, who oversees the agency that negotiated the waiver with Massachusetts, said he has privately sought Kennedy’s advice on reconciling Democrats and Republicans over health insurance issues.

"What I appreciate about him is he is unvarnished on what the political pressures on his side are and what needs to happen to progress," Leavitt said.

He traces their friendship to 2003, when President Bush nominated Leavitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency. Leavitt asked for Kennedy’s support, to which the Senator suggested Leavitt come to New Bedford to tour some polluted sites. Leavitt agreed and, after winning confirmation, visited the city.

"We are in different parties and have different ideas on the issues, but no one can fail to admire his devotion and that day, and others, formed the basis of our relationship," Leavitt recalls.

That friendship was tested in early June, when the Office of Management and Budget stepped into the waiver negotiations because, the regulators said, they discovered that Massachusetts for 10 years had incorrectly listed many children in its Medicaid program when they should have been counted under a program called the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, which is not funded by the waiver. The state’s way of counting those children had, by Washington’s estimate, given Massachusetts about

$2 billion more than it was entitled to over the last decade.

"We are talking about having to write a check for $2 billion and having to send it to the federal government," said Governor Deval Patrick. "It was a big problem."

The clock was ticking. Federal funding for Massachusetts’ last waiver package was set to expire June 30. Negotiations had hit an impasse.

That’s when Leavitt went to bat for Massachusetts, said a source familiar with the negotiations, calling Joshua Bolten, President Bush’s chief of staff and former director of the Office of Management and Budget, to argue the state’s case.

Kennedy also called Bolton from his cellphone on June 19, while en route to Hyannis Port from Boston, where he was receiving cancer treatments.

"We were all very conscious of his very personal challenges," said Dr.

JudyAnn Bigby, Massachusetts secretary of Health and Human Services, who helped negotiate the state’s waiver. "We wanted to respect the fact that even though he was very committed to this and we wanted to make sure he was kept informed about what was going on, that we would only use him when we needed him," Bigby said.

In his conversation with Bolton - and with $2 billion on the line - Kennedy suggested that if Massachusetts universal healthcare initiative was successful, it could be a model for the rest of the country, and a legacy for the Bush White House.

"The senator and Josh definitely did talk," said White House deputy press secretary Tony Fratto. "And Josh communicated to OMB the interest, and then they were able to work out their agreement in a way that was mutually satisfactory."

That agreement on the $2 billion difference came after several more weeks of tense talks, with Washington agreeing to extend the June 30 deadline. During that stretch, the normally restrained Leavitt posted on his blog a candid entry about a phone conversation he had with Kennedy.

"He sounded great! We talked briefly about his health. He was forward looking, crisp and as passionate as always," Leavitt wrote. "There wasn’t a single hint of negativity or worry. I’m sure he has moments when both creep in, but the call was an unexpected lift to my spirits."

Ultimately, Washington allowed Massachusetts to keep the disputed $2 billion but insisted that it change its accounting method.

So why was Washington so generous with the Bay State?

"We are all going to learn from what Massachusetts is doing," said Leavitt of the state’s innovative attempt at near-universal health coverage. "We will learn from things that don’t work and do work, and every state will benefit from what is going on in Massachusetts."

Kennedy was not available last week to talk about his role in the negotiations, but heralded the outcome in a statement: "Any reduction in commitment would have put our reforms at risk."

Final details of the agreement are being worked out and officials say a signed deal is expected soon. Health policy specialists underscored the unusual nature of the agreement, in the context of shrinking federal dollars.

"You have bad relationships between the states and the administration around Medicaid recently, and in the middle of an economic meltdown and an environment where the federal government is not looking to spend money, Massachusetts’ waiver stands out as truly unusual," said Drew Altman, president and CEO of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit that researches and analyzes health policies.

Several other states are cutting back their programs to reform healthcare, Altman said, because of a lack of funding.

"That’s the reason Massachusetts, from a national perspective, is so significant," he said. The new waiver "allows the most sweeping health reform plan in the country to continue."

Kay Lazar can be reached a klazar@globe.com.

SENATE PASSES LEGISLATION TO GUARANTEE ACCESS TO STUDENT LOANS

Washington, DC-The Senate passed legislation today to guarantee that students will have continued access to the loans they need for college. The legislation extends for one year Senator Kennedy’s Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act, which was signed into law last May and has stabilized the student loan market, so that students currently attending college will have the resources they need to stay in college. The extension means this needed financial assistance will continue to be available through the 2009-2010 college year. The House passed the legislation earlier this week.

Melissa Wagoner, spokeswoman for Senator Edward M. Kennedy, released the following statement on today’s Senate action: "As the financial markets continue their downward spiral, Congress has taken action to guarantee ensure that college students will have the financial assistance they need. Despite the turmoil on Wall Street, we must send the message to students and families that their college dreams won’t be ruined. This legislation ensures that the loans students rely on to pay for college will continue to be available."

KENNEDY STATEMENT ON MEDICARE VOTE

WASHINGTON, DC— Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, today released the following statement on the Medicare vote:

“I return to the Senate today to keep a promise to our senior citizens – and that’s to protect Medicare. Win, lose or draw, I wanted to be here. I wasn’t going to take the chance that my vote could make the difference.

Medicare should not be a partisan issue. Illness and age know no party boundaries. The 44 million Americans who rely on Medicare to meet their health care needs are both Democrats and Republicans. Like all Americans, they have worked hard all their lives. They’ve raised their families. They’ve built our towns and cities and farmed the land. They’ve served in our military.

We owe them so much for the part they have played in making America a great country. So today I proudly cast this important vote for them – a vote to keep the Medicare program strong and effective for the future.”

STATEMENT FROM THE OFFICE OF SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY

STATEMENT FROM THE OFFICE OF SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY

“Senator Kennedy is returning to his home in Hyannis Port today. His doctors are pleased with his progress since surgery a week ago, and he will continue to recuperate at home before starting the next phase of his treatment. He is thankful for the extraordinary care of the doctors and nurses at Duke, and also for the continued prayers and well wishes from the people of Massachusetts and all over the country. In the interest of family privacy, there will not be regular updates regarding the Senator’s daily schedule or treatment plans moving forward.”

Against the Wind

This story was published in the Harvard Crimson today.

Against the Wind
Published On 6/5/2008 5:01:19 AM
By ADAM CLYMER

For Americans of a certain age, Ted has been the Kennedy we saw grow old, in contrast to his martyred brothers, whom we remember for their vibrancy, and whose precluded later years we can only guess at. But for the majority who are too young to recall his brothers, he has been, as one interviewer put it to me last month, a symbol of permanence in politics.

For myself, it seems that I have been writing about him forever, back to when John F. Kennedy ‘40 was only a first-term senator and Ted was a starting end for Harvard, catching a deflected pass in a snowstorm for a touchdown against Yale.

Anyone covering Congress—as I did for much of 40 years—covered Ted Kennedy. He was always accessible to explain what he was trying to do, the obstacles, why compromise was needed to get anything done. Sometimes his syntax was too awkward to quote directly, as if his mind was moving faster than his mouth, but you knew what he meant.

Newspaper headline writers use the word "lawmaker" to describe members of Congress, most of whom can claim the title only by voting on bills. But Ted has made laws that changed the nation, building coalitions on issues from discrimination to campaign finance to health to education. I have covered a few of his failures, notably his attempts to enact national health insurance. But there were more successes, like the 1965 immigration bill that ended national origins quotas, the creation of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (now SCHIP) in 1997, and battles to raise the minimum wage. ("If you’re not for raising the minimum wage," he told a nervous colleague, John Kerry, in 1995, "you don’t deserve to call yourself a Democrat."

In the late ‘70s and ‘80s, as an editor in New York, I could only read and hear about his triumphs, fighting off the Reagan Administration’s attempts to retreat on civil rights and his legislative landmark, the Americans with Disabilities Act. Kennedy is a commanding orator, and I heard some of his greatest speeches. The best known is his 1980 Democratic Convention speech, when he promised that "the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die." In his health care speech in 1978, I heard him excite even the Carter supporters in the room when he attacked the President’s caution: "Sometimes a party must sail against the wind. We cannot afford to drift or lie at anchor. We cannot heed the call of those who say it is time to furl the sail."

While these speeches taught me much about him, I got to know Ted best in the ‘90s while writing his biography. In 21 lengthy interviews—except for Chappaquiddick, which he would not discuss—he answered every question, personal or political, that I asked.

How did a rich young man become so interested in the poor? He talked about his grandfather, Honey Fitz, and his concern about people down on their luck, and his "mother’s basic religious beliefs, Sermon on the Mount, and those obligations that we all had," especially the passage from Luke: "of everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required."

Why did he argue against Robert’s running for President? A key reason, he told me though he never said it to his brother, was the fear of a second assassination. "We weren’t that far away from ‘63, and that was still a factor."

But I learned about him from interviews with others, too. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Robert’s oldest child, told me that in the year following his death, her uncle Ted often called to talk about her younger brothers’ problems. He inspired, too. "He made it his mission, I think, to make sure we felt connected to my father and to John Kennedy."

He has also made it his mission to keep Harvard connected to President Kennedy. The Institute of Politics (IOP) is a living memorial to his brother. Its mission "to unite and engage students, particularly undergraduates, with academics, politicians, activists, and policymakers" mirrors the commitment to public service Ted’s own father set for his children. At the IOP, Kennedy has missed only two or three board meetings in 38 years; he speaks frequently, meets with students, and has them as interns in his office.

Harvard is an important part of his life. Ted made lifelong friends at college. Several worked with him early in his Senate career, and he goes to football games with them. At his 50th reunion in 2004, he spoke to his classmates about how the Senate has changed since he was first elected in 1962.

His other continuing Harvard connection is the faculty. He picks their brains, whether it is Robert Blendon on attitudes towards health care, David T. Ellwood ‘75 on poverty, Jennifer L. Hochschild on the American dream or many others on their particular expertise.

Ted made the Senate his life’s work in 1982 when he decided not to make a second try for the presidency. And for all the millions the Republican Party has raised by promising to protect the nation from him, he has made the Senate work by finding allies in the other party, from Howard Baker to Bob Dole to Lauch Faircloth.

Two weeks ago, when the presidential candidates joined other senators in expressing their sorrow at the news of his brain tumor, they shared a special reason: For the next president to get anything done, Kennedy’s talent at working across party lines is essential and exceptional. McCain, Obama, and Clinton know it.

His life has had its setbacks, personal and political. Perhaps the most memorable summing up came from an interview former President Bill Clinton gave me during his impeachment trial, describing Ted’s message in that troubled time. He said of the sailor who has always raced at his best in rough weather: "You couldn’t have a better friend. I mean, he is loyal. People have been loyal to him, and understanding, and he’s had to ask for forgiveness a time or two… His advice is always simple. It’s just sort of get up and go to work, just keep going, and remember why you wanted the job in the first place."

KENNEDY ON IMMIGRATION DETENTION HEALTH CARE

An urgent aspect of the immigration issue is the appalling lack of medical care available for immigrants held in custody of the Department of Homeland Security’s Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Senator Menendez and I have introduced legislation today, the Detainee Basic Medical Care Act of 2008, to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to deliver timely and effective medical and mental health care to individuals in its custody.

In the past week, the Washington Post, 60 Minutes, and the New York Times have documented the shameful state of medical care in immigration detention facilities. Each day, approximately 33,000 immigrants, including those fleeing persecution and torture, are detained in facilities run by ICE or one of its private or local government contractors. It appears that ICE and the Division of Immigration Health Services, the agency charged with delivering medical care to immigrant detainees, have engaged in a pattern of gross negligence and intentional cover-ups that shock the conscience.

The results have been predictable—in the past five years, at least 83 detainees have died in custody or shortly after release. Thousands of others have been denied treatment, access to medications, and even the most basic compassion and decency in the custody of our government.

These are people who come to the United States from all corners of the world. Some come to join family and others come in search of jobs. Still others come as refugees. Some may be eligible to remain in the United States, and others may be subject to deportation. But at a minimum, they all deserve basic medical care in detention pending the outcome of their immigration proceedings, which can often take years. None deserve a death sentence.

Congress has an obligation to act and the bill’s introduction is an important first step. I urge the Senate to join Senator Menendez and me in expeditiously moving this legislation. The range of other immigration challenges we face are complex, but this is different. It goes to our basic responsibility to protect human life. It’s a measure of our worth as a country and as a people, and we need to act.

KENNEDY PRAISES SENATE PASSAGE OF STUDENT LOAN BILL

WASHINGTON, DC—Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, issued the following statement on Senate passage of the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008:

“I’m grateful that the Senate has acted so quickly to pass this needed legislation. The bill expands federal grant and loan assistance and reduces the reliance of students on high-cost private loans. It also helps prevent the turbulence in the credit markets from blocking access by students and their families to low-cost federal loans by giving them additional options to obtain these loans,” Kennedy said. “Millions of families are facing difficult economic challenges at every turn, with this legislation, their children’s college dreams won’t become the next victims of today’s troubled economy.”

Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008

(As passed in Senate)

· Increases the amount of federally subsidized loans available to students in order to reduce students’ reliance on higher cost non-federal private loans.

· Provides parents with improved access to low-cost federal loans (PLUS loans) as alternatives to private educational loans and home equity lines of credit by—

o Allowing for deferral of repayments on parent PLUS loans until the student graduates from school; and

o Ensuring parents who are impacted by the mortgage crisis can still qualify for PLUS loans.

· Ensures that students can access low-cost federal loans by stabilizing the private student loan program (FFEL program) by allowing the Department of Education to serve as the secondary market of last resort for loans originated in the FFEL program. Allowing lenders to sell outstanding loans to the Department will free up lender capital to make new loans for the upcoming school year and keep lenders from dropping out of the program.

· Ensures that students can access low-cost federal loans by shoring up the “lender of last resort” program already in law by—

o Allowing the Secretary of Education to advance capital to guaranty agencies to make these loans to students, if lenders won’t; and

o Making it easier for students to get these loans by allowing the Secretary to designate entire schools as “lender of last resort schools,” under limited circumstances where many students at a specific school are having trouble accessing loans (Senate bill sunsets this authority at the end of the 2008-2009 school year).

· Decreases students’ reliance on loans to pay for college by using savings generated by the bill to expand eligibility for need-based aid. 100,000 more students will qualify for up to $4,000 per year in additional grant aid. This provision was added to the bill by the Senate amendment.

Recession Takes a Toll on America’s Women

Crossposted at The Huffington Post

Every American has been hit by the current economic recession in one way or another—home foreclosures, lost jobs, and rising costs of food, gas, and health care. But now it’s becoming clear that the recession is affecting one group particularly hard—women.

Last week the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee released a report [PDF] that found America’s women are facing a perfect storm of economic risk. It found:

In contrast to previous recessions, in which women have typically fared somewhat better than men, this recession is hitting women harder than men. They are suffering more job losses and larger reductions in wages than the general population.

Like all workers, women are suffering from falling wages, rising prices, job fears, and housing troubles. But the effects of the recession on women have been more severe. The unemployment rate among women is rising faster than among men. Women’s wages fell six times the rate of men’s wages last year.

The housing crisis has also had a disproportionate effect on women. Despite their better overall credit scores, women are over 30 percent more likely to have expensive subprime loans, and are therefore much more likely to face foreclosure. Not surprisingly, many women are falling into bankruptcy at alarming rates. Single women, including those with children, account for 40 percent of all bankruptcies.

Making the problem worse, their current economic troubles are piling on top of the longstanding discrimination that women face in the workplace. Despite our equal pay laws, women earn just 77 cents for every dollar earned by men and have lower savings, fewer assets, and smaller pensions. Unmarried women in the United States have, on average, less than half the net worth of unmarried men.

Together, these problems have put many American women on the verge of financial ruin, and it will be very difficult for them to recover. That’s why Congress must take decisive action to help working families—and women in particular—cope with the troubled economy and create new opportunities for the future.

To start, we must make it clear there must be zero tolerance in the United States for pay discrimination. When women earn less than men, it makes them more vulnerable to economic downturns. To ease this burden, the Senate will act this week on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, an important bill to help them hold their employers accountable for pay discrimination.

A Supreme Court decision last May reversed decades of established law guaranteeing equal pay for equal work. Workers who have been illegally paid less have just 180 days from the discriminatory pay-setting decision to file a claim for the back pay they deserve. Such a requirement is patently unfair, since workers often do not find out for many months or years that their pay is too low.

The Fair Pay Restoration Act corrects this unfair ruling and protects millions of American workers from pay discrimination. You can help us pass this needed legislation by signing my petition calling for equal pay for equal work.

In addition to combating discrimination, we must also strengthen our nation’s economic safety net to deal with the modern reality of women’s lives and careers.

The unemployment insurance system, for example, does not live up to its promise for many women. Because of outdated eligibility requirements, only one-third of unemployed women receive benefits, although almost all workers pay into the system. It’s essential to make sure that all unemployed men and women receive the benefits they deserve. Dollar-for-dollar, it’s one of the most potent forms of stimulus for our economy.

Congress must amend current law to reflect the fact that women shoulder by far the greatest responsibility for child and family care. In these difficult economic times, few women can afford to lose a day’s wages—or even their jobs—to stay at home with a sick child. But many women face that impossible choice every day, since nearly half of private-sector workers don’t have even one paid sick day. The Healthy Families Act—which is currently pending in the Senate—would change that by guaranteeing seven paid sick days a year for most American workers.

We as a nation can get through this recession. But to do so, we must make sure that the livelihoods of all Americans—particularly women—are protected by sound laws and policies. With the economy so bleak today, now is the time for strong economic leadership by Congress to give hope and opportunity to all our nation’s working families.

KENNEDY ON PETRAEUS ANNOUNCEMENT

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy released the following statement in response to the announcement that General David Petraeus will become the next commander of the U.S. Central Command.

“In his new position, General Petraeus will have a much larger regional and strategic responsibility especially as to how our mission in Iraq affects Afghanistan and our role in the Middle East as a whole. For too long, President Bush has pursued an open-ended commitment of our troops in Iraq, with no regard for the impact it has on them, their families or other critical national security challenges. That’s not a plan for success. It’s simply a delaying tactic to hand off the problem to the next President. I look forward to hearing the views General Petraeus has on these and other important questions during his confirmation hearing.”

KENNEDY COMMENDS ADMINISTRATION�S SUPPORT OF STUDENT LOAN PROGRAM

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement in response to the letter sent by Margaret Spellings, Secretary of Education, Henry M. Paulson, Secretary of the Treasurer, and Jim Nussle, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, stating the Administration’s support of the student loan program amidst the credit crisis.

“I welcome the Administration’s support for prompt Senate action on our legislation to prevent the crisis in the credit markets from becoming a crisis for students and families already struggling to pay for college. Obviously, we can’t allow access to college and the American Dream to depend on quarterly earnings of the nation’s banks.”

KENNEDY ON EQUAL PAY DAY, IN SUPPORT OF LILLY LEDBETTER FAIR PAY ACT

Today is Equal Pay Day. It is a time to rededicate ourselves to the core principle of equal pay for equal work, a principle at the heart of this nation’s commitment to fairness in the workplace. When President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act in 1963, he reminded us that protection against pay discrimination is “basic to democracy,” and those words are still true today.

Equal pay for equal work is a fundamental value for our nation. Unfortunately, we continue to fall well short of living up to that goal. Much of our nation’s workforce still puts in a fair day’s work, but goes home with less than a fair day’s pay. Women, for example, bring home only 77 cents for each dollar earned by men. The pay gap also affects minority workers. African-American workers make only 82 percent of what white workers make and Latino workers make only 72 percent of what white workers make.

Tomorrow we will have the opportunity to do something about this gross unfairness when we vote on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to restore the basic protections against pay discrimination as part of our nation’s ideals of fairness and justice.

Fighting pay discrimination is not only about standing up for justice, it is also about addressing the real challenges faced by real Americans to make ends meet. With so many workers struggling daily to provide for their families, pay discrimination makes their struggles even harder.

It’s particularly important to focus on equal pay in light of the relentless economic bad news we’re facing. All signs show that our economy is now in a recession. We’ve lost almost a quarter of a million jobs in the first three months of the year. The unemployment rate has climbed to 5.1%. Workers are earning less, and losing the overtime hours they need to stay above water. Those who are out of work can’t find a job. And the mortgage crisis has put many in danger of becoming homeless. Without doubt, we’re in tough economic times.

These problems mean even less money in workers’ pockets and more of a struggle just to get by. In such dire times, workers and their families can’t afford to lose more economic ground – but that’s just what is happening to untold thousands of Americans who still face pay discrimination.

In a harsh combination of events, the groups most likely to face pay discrimination are also the most at risk in this recession. Women are being particularly hurt by the recession. In the past year, the unemployment rate among adult women workers has gone up more rapidly than for men – rising from 3.8% in March 2007 to 4.6% in March 2008 – an increase of 21% compared with a 15% increase among adult men.

The downturn has also caused women’s wages to fall significantly more than men’s. In 2007, the real median wage for adult women workers dropped 3%, while the wages for adult male workers dropped half of a percent over the same period. Women are also disproportionately at risk in the current foreclosure crisis, since women are 32% more likely to have subprime mortgages.

These distressing trends are especially serious for women, because they typically have less of a financial cushion to fall back on during hard times. Lower wages for women means they make less over the course of their careers, and so are less able to save. As a result, non-married women have a safety net worth 48% lower than non-married men, and women are less likely than men to save for retirement through work.

At the same time that women are being buffeted by these negative economic trends, they are also being subjected to widespread pay discrimination. In 2007, women filed more than 2,400 pay discrimination claims with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission – more than any other group of workers protected by our pay discrimination laws.

People of color are also victims of pay discrimination and the souring economy. In fact, in 2007, there were more than 2,300 federal claims of race-based pay discrimination in our country. The unemployment rate for African Americans has risen to 9%—almost twice the rate for the rest of the population.

Latino workers have an unemployment rate of 6.9%—still significantly higher than for workers overall. In addition, minorities are being particularly hard hit by the foreclosure crisis, because they are more likely to hold subprime mortgages. In 2005 and 2006, more than 50 percent of all mortgage loans sold to African-Americans and 40 percent of those sold to Latinos were high-cost subprime loans.

Like women, people of color, and other victims of pay discrimination, Lilly Ledbetter knows the toll that pay discrimination can take. Her case demonstrates just how great the burden can be. At the end of her career, she made 20% less than her lowest paid, least experienced male colleague and almost 40% less than her highest paid male colleague. For Lilly, and other victims like her, the cost of pay discrimination over the course of a career is tens of thousands of dollars in lost wages. Not only that, but her lower wages also mean her pension and Social Security benefits are lower.

The same is true for every victim of pay discrimination. Over a career, discrimination can rob its victims of staggering sums. For many workers today, that difference in pay can mean the difference between getting by and falling into financial crisis. It could be the difference between being able to pay the mortgage and becoming homeless. Or the difference between being able to keep one’s child in college or using the college account to pay household bills. No worker should have to bear this burden at any time, but during an economic downturn it is particularly troubling.

We will never make real progress in achieving our goal of fair pay for all Americans unless we vigorously enforce our laws against pay discrimination. But the Supreme Court has thrown a serious obstacle in the path of workers who try to assert their rights.

The Supreme Court’s decision last May in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company means that even more American workers will have to endure pay discrimination – and won’t have the means to stop it. The decision has undermined the ability of workers to hold employers accountable for pay discrimination.

Basically, the Ledbetter ruling says that if an employer can hide its illegal pay decision for 180 days, it is then free – year after year – to discriminate by paying women less than men, people of color less than whites, older workers less than younger ones, adherents of one religion less than others, and people with disabilities less than their coworkers, and these employees can never get relief.

Clearly, the rule leaves a gaping loophole in our civil rights laws. Our legislation closes this loophole by making clear that as long as the discrimination continues, a worker’s right to challenge it continues as well. There’s nothing radical about this, it simply restores the law that employers and workers had lived with for decades, until May 29, 2007, when the Ledbetter case was decided. It makes no changes in the time limit on damages for back pay, which is still two years.

At its heart, this legislation is about fairness and decency and rewarding work. Lilly Ledbetter wasn’t rewarded for her work – she was cheated and disrespected. Too many hard-working Americans are like Lilly Ledbetter. We shouldn’t make life harder for them by taking away their ability to demand fair treatment.

This legislation will restore our civil rights laws and help Americans weather this economic storm. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

KENNEDY ON RESTORING EQUAL PAY, CIVIL RIGHTS FOR ALL

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act will ensure that the bipartisan equal pay laws enacted by overwhelming majorities in Congress do what they are supposed to do—protect workers against pay discrimination.

Until last May, companies shortchanging workers because of gender, age, race, national origin, religion, or disability could be held accountable as long as the discrimination continued, no matter when the discrimination began. Unfortunately, in a 5-4 decision last May, the Supreme Court misconstrued the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the clear intent of Congress. Under the Ledbetter decision, the time limit for filing a pay discrimination claim begins to run when an employer decides to discriminate – not whenever workers receive a discriminatory paycheck. So if an employer’s discrimination action goes undetected initially, its illegal behavior can continue, and workers have no way to hold their employer accountable. It’s like a get out of jail free card. No one should have a free pass to violate our civil rights laws.

The pending bill will restore the fair and reasonable rule that applied until last May. By enacting this legislation, we will restore the long-standing rule that the clock begins to run for filing a pay discrimination claim each time a worker receives a discriminatory paycheck – not the day the employer first decides to discriminate.

That was the rule applied by the vast majority of states and by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under both Republican and Democratic administrations until the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Ledbetter case last May.

Some who oppose this legislation have tried to create confusion about what the bill does. I’ve heard some claim that it will open the floodgates to new litigation. That couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office reviewed the bill, and had this to say:

“The Fair Pay Restoration Act would not establish a new cause of action for claims of pay discrimination . . . . CBO expects that the bill would not significantly affect the number of filings with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.” So there will be no flood of new lawsuits if we pass this law, but there will be a fair rule for workers.

There will be no surprises with this legislation. It simply restores the law as it existed before the Supreme Court ruling. Employers, workers, and the courts know exactly what to expect and how to apply the rule.

Some have also claimed that this proposal will force employers to pay damages on old, stale claims for events that occurred decades ago. That’s not true. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 clearly states that employees can receive backpay for no more than two years before the date on which they filed a charge of discrimination. Our bill reaffirms that this time limit will stay in place. Employers will have no more liability in the future than they had before the Ledbetter decision.

There could be no clearer explanation for why this bill is necessary than the story of Ms. Ledbetter herself. She is a working mother with two children, and she had served for almost two decades as one of just a handful of women supervisors at the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company’s plant in Gadsen, Alabama. It was not an easy job. She worked twelve hour shifts, and her workday often stretched much longer. As she told our Senate Committee, she often had to pitch in when other supervisors were away, and her workday sometimes stretched to 18 hours or even longer.

She did it for her family, so that she and her husband could afford to send their children to college, and to retire in dignity. She did it despite blatant mistreatment by her bosses, who resented having to work with a woman in a traditionally male job.

After almost two decades of this work, Ms. Ledbetter finally realized that she had been the victim of pay discrimination. The difference in pay was not small. It turned out that even the lowest paid male supervisors were earning 20% more than she was earning for exactly the same job, even though they had far less experience and seniority than she did. The pay difference was magnified even further, because she was also shortchanged on bonuses, retirement benefits, and overtime pay, which were all tied to her basic salary.

The jury in Alabama that heard her case understood the basic injustice, and holds her employer accountable in its verdict. There was no question whatever that Goodyear had discriminated against her. But a narrow majority of the Supreme Court denied any relief at all for Ms. Ledbetter because she had not challenged the discrimination within 180 days after Goodyear first began the discrimination against her.

That result opened an enormous loophole in our equal pay laws. The result in Ledbetter creates an obvious injustice, and Congress cannot allow it to stand.

The discrimination she suffered for so long was shameful. We can’t undo what happened to her, or change the outcome of her case. But we must not add insult to injury by failing to pass this bill to prevent such flagrant discrimination in the future.

Ms. Ledbetter realizes that this bill won’t benefit her. But she’s said this “I hope that . . . Congress won’t let this happen to anyone else. I would feel that this long fight was worthwhile if, at least at the end of it, I knew that I played a part in getting the law fixed so that it can provide real protection to real people in the real world.”

That’s what our civil rights laws are all about – real solutions to the real problem of real discrimination. We can’t afford to let the law move backward on this issue. On all aspects of civil rights, there has been a march of progress over many years, and the great civil rights acts of the past half century have brought this nation closer to its ideal of fairness and justice for all. It makes no sense to allow the Supreme Court or anyone else to reverse that march of progress. This issue is too important to the American people.

Over the years, the Senate has gone on record time and time again in favor of fairness and against discrimination. The original Equal Pay Act was signed by President Kennedy in 1963 to protect women from pay discrimination, and support for it was so strong that the bill passed the Senate by a voice vote.

The landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 is renowned for its ban on racial discrimination on public accommodations, but it also gave Americans other important protections, including the specific ability to hold employers accountable for pay discrimination. After a long and passionate debate, the Senate passed the bill by a vote of 73 to 27.

We went on record again in 1967 when we passed the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, to protect older workers from job discrimination. That bill passed by a voice vote, representing the overwhelming bipartisan consensus of the Senate on the issue.

The consensus in favor of banning discrimination based on disability in federally funded programs and activities was so strong that the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 passed the Senate by voice vote.

In 1990, the Senate passed the Americans with Disabilities Act, to open a new world of opportunities for persons with disabilities. It passed the Senate by a vote of 91 to 6, and was signed into law by the first President Bush.

A year later, we passed the Civil Rights Act of 1991, by the overwhelming margin of 93 to 5, and it too was signed into law by the first President Bush.

Every one of those bills included provisions against pay discrimination, and every one of them passed the Senate with broad bipartisan support. The bill we are considering now also has support on both sides of the aisle, and both Republican and Democratic cosponsors of the 1991 Civil Rights Act are among the original sponsors on the bill.

The American people understand this issue. They understand what it means for someone like Lilly Ledbetter to work hard and play by the rules, and then be denied fair pay because of a misguided court decision. We need to show the American people that we understand this issue, too, especially in these harsh economic times.

What possible reason can someone have for voting against a narrow change to restore basic civil rights? What’s the rationale? Opponents have said it will cause new litigation, or that workers will delay, or that we should fix the problem some other way. None of those arguments makes sense, but still the opposition persists.

Some in the business community dislike this bill. They’ve been handed a free pass in many cases of pay discrimination, and they don’t want to give it up. But we can’t bow to a segment of the business community that puts profit above fairness.

There are also businesses that support the bill, and so does the U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce. The vast majority of companies play by the rules and treat their workers fairly, and they should support this legislation.

In a letter to the Capital Hill newsletter “The Hill” earlier this year, Dr. Dorothy Height, the Chairwoman of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and Margot Dorfman, the CEO of the U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce, emphasized Martin Luther King’s words that “Time is neutral. It can be used either destructively or constructively.” They said “Dr. King might not have been surprised to learn that, forty years after his death, the major battle about the nation’s civil rights laws was being fought over the issue of time,” and they asked us to use time constructively by passing this bill.

I urge my colleagues to support cloture on this bill, so that we can pass it now. We must not fail to act. Dr. King spoke of the great danger of inaction when he said that we will come to repent “not merely . . . the hateful words and actions of . . . bad people but . . . the appalling silence of . . . good people.” In the words of Dr. King’s immortal Letter from a Birmingham Jail: “The time is always right to do right.” Now is the time to correct this injustice of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Ledbetter case and restore the vitality of our laws against pay discrimination.

KENNEDY IN SUPPORT OF THE FAIR PAY RESTORATION ACT

Earlier this month, we honored the 40th anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King. Each year on this anniversary we get together and speak glowingly of Dr. King’s life and work. These words are important – make no mistake. But even more important than honoring Dr. King with words, is honoring Dr. King with action. Today, we have the opportunity to do that by passing the Fair Pay Restoration Act. The right to equal pay for equal work is a fundamental civil right. Indeed, Dr. King was in Memphis on that fateful day in April 1968 to protest pay discrimination against black Memphis sanitation workers.

40 years later, we are still fighting the same fight as Dr. King. We are still trying to empower workers to assert their civil rights. Over the years, I have been proud to stand with a majority of the Congress for justice and fairness by passing strong, bipartisan laws against pay discrimination. In 1963, we passed the Equal Pay Act. We followed that in 1964 with the landmark Civil Rights Act, then the Age Discrimination Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and, most recently, the Civil Rights Act of 1991. All these laws protect workers from pay discrimination and have made our country a stronger, better, and fairer land.

These laws are just words on the page of a law book if workers can’t get into court when their employers break the law. To bring these words to life, we must today continue the work that Dr. King started. This effort is necessary because last May the Supreme Court undermined the fundamental protections against pay discrimination. In the Ledbetter decision, the Court imposed serious obstacles in the path of workers seeking to enforce their rights.

Ledbetter was a textbook case of pay discrimination. Lilly Ledbetter, whom I have had the honor to meet, was one of a few women supervisors at a Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company plant in Gadsen, Alabama. She worked at the plant for almost two decades, consistently demonstrating that a woman can do a job traditionally done by men. She put up with teasing and taunting from her male coworkers, but she persevered, and consistently gave the company a fair day’s work for what she thought was a fair day’s pay. What she didn’t know, however, was that Goodyear wasn’t living up to its end of the bargain. For almost two decades, the company used discriminatory evaluations to pay her less than her male colleagues who performed the same work.

The jury saw the injustice in Goodyear’s treatment of Ms. Ledbetter, and awarded her full damages. But five members of the Supreme Court ignored that injustice and held that Ms. Ledbetter was entitled to nothing at all, saying she was too late in filing her claim.

Under the rule in the Ledbetter case, Ms. Ledbetter would have had to file her claim within a few months of when Goodyear first started discriminating against her. Never mind that Ms. Ledbetter didn’t know about the discrimination when it first began. Never mind that she had no means to learn of the discrimination because Goodyear kept salary information confidential. Never mind that Goodyear’s discrimination against Ms. Ledbetter continued each and every time it gave her a smaller paycheck than it gave her male colleagues.

The rule imposed by the Supreme Court reversed decades of precedent in the courts of appeals. It overturned the policy of the EEOC under both Democratic and Republican administration. And it upset the nation’s accepted definition of what is fair and right.

The Court’s decision pulled the turned back the clock on civil rights. Every year, thousands of workers suffer pay discrimination. The Ledbetter decision will hurt workers alleging discrimination of every kind – sex, race, national origin, age, religion, and disability.

The Supreme Court’s decision in Ledbetter gives employers free rein to continue to discriminate and leaves workers powerless to stop it. This result defies both justice and common sense. We must act to restore decency and fairness to our nation’s civil rights laws.

The bipartisan Fair Pay Restoration Act will restore the clear intent of Congress. It provides a reasonable rule that reflects how pay discrimination actually occurs in the workplace. It links the time for filing a pay discrimination claim to the date a worker receives a discriminatory pay check, not when an employer makes a discriminatory decision. Workers shouldn’t have to be mind readers in order to protect themselves from discrimination. Workers who aren’t allowed to share information about their wages shouldn’t be rendered powerless to combat discrimination. This bill recognizes that workers who receive a discriminatory check today should not be out of time to file a claim, simply because the employer managed to hide its illegal behavior initially.

This legislation holds no surprises. It puts the law back to what it was on the day before the Supreme Court’s Ledbetter decision. So, we know that this legislation is fair and workable. There won’t be any unexpected consequences. Courts won’t be overwhelmed. In fact, the Congressional Budget Office has said that this bill won’t increase litigation costs by much. And businesses won’t be blind-sided.

Most importantly, the Fair Pay Restoration Act makes employers accountable for violating the law. Under the Supreme Court’s rule, if an employer can keep its discriminatory ways secret for 6 months, it gets a free pass. It can continue to discriminate and its victims are powerless to stop the unfair treatment. It only makes sense – if the violation continues, the right to challenge it should continue too. No one should get a free pass to break the law.

The Supreme Court’s decision in Ledbetter took us backwards in time. It takes us farther away from our ideal of a fair and just workplace for all Americans. We have too much progress still to make – we can’t afford a step back. With this legislation, we can at least make up the ground that we have lost.

That’s why this legislation has such widespread support. Civil rights groups, labor unions, disability advocates, and religious groups all support this legislation. Many businesses also support the bill, including the U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce. All companies that play by the rules and treat their workers fairly should support this legislation.

Workers have lived for almost a year with the inequity of the Ledbetter decision. It is time to stand up for the right to fair pay.

As Dr. King said so eloquently after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964:

Many people felt that after the passage of the civil rights bill, we had accomplished everything. We didn’t have anything else to do and we would miraculously move into a new era of freedom.

But when we opened our eyes, we came to see that the civil rights bill as marvelous as it is, is only the beginning of a new day and not the end of a journey.

If this bill is not implemented in all of its dimensions, it will mean nothing, and all of its eloquent words will be as sounding brass on a tinkling cymbal. We must take this bill and lift if from thin paper to thick action, and go all out, all over this nation, to implement it.

It is time to hold employers accountable for their unlawful conduct. It is time to turn the clock forward on civil rights, instead of backwards. It is time to pass the Fair Pay Restoration Act.

KENNEDY COMMENTS ON ECONOMIC CRISIS, IMPACT ON WORKERS

Speaks before the Massachusetts Building and Construction Trades

It’s a privilege and an honor to address the members of our Massachusetts Building Trades. You’re the ones who build our communities so well—our homes, our schools, our roads, our bridges, and our office buildings. You’ve worked hard as well to build a better life for yourselves and your families in our Commonwealth. Now, we also need your help in rebuilding this great nation of ours.

The plain truth is that our country is headed in the wrong direction. Every day brings fresh evidence of the problem.

Our economy no longer works for working people. Last month, employers cut 80,000 more jobs. The total jobs lost this year is now 232,000.

I don’t have to tell you that the construction industry has been hit especially hard, with 50,000 jobs cut in the last month alone, and this situation is likely to keep getting worse unless we act.

We know what needs to be done. It’s time to make our economy work again for Main Street, not just for Wall Street. Democrats understand that working people come first—that any recovery must start with helping those who built this country.

The first thing we must do is provide immediate help to families who are suffering. We need to extend the duration of unemployment benefits, to help the nearly 8 million Americans who’ve lost their jobs and can’t find work. These vital benefits help families stay afloat in this sinking economy. They’re also a strong stimulus for the economy, as all economists agree. It’s only fair that workers who have paid into the unemployment system year after year receive the support they need today when times are tough. That’s why extending UI benefits is such a high priority for Democrats in Congress now.

We also need to jumpstart our economy by creating good jobs, with decent wages and benefits. The fastest way to do so is to invest in our country’s infrastructure. Tens of thousands of skilled construction workers are ready, willing and able to go to work—on billions of dollars of needed school, road and bridge repairs that could begin tomorrow. Every billion dollars we invest in such infrastructure creates as many as 47,000 new jobs. These projects not only create jobs, they also boost the economy. That’s why immediate action by Congress is needed to fund them.

There are many other things we also need to do to help families make it through the current crisis. But you and I know that the problems facing working families have much deeper roots—and to address them, we need to take our country in a new and better direction. Democrats taking control of Congress was an important first step, and because of your support to get us there, we’ve already made significant progress.

First, we’re continuing the fight to reverse the anti-worker, anti-labor, anti-union policies of President Bush and the previous Republican Congresses. Defending workers’ rights – especially the right to join a union – is one of the most effective ways to fight for the middle class.

You and I know that unions make an enormous difference in the lives of millions of Americans. Union workers earn 25 percent more than non-union workers. They are more likely to have health care and other benefits, and they have greater job security. In countless ways, unions make jobs good jobs.

No employees should have to fear losing their jobs if they want to join a union to bargain for a safer workplace, better benefits, and higher wages. That’s why I’m proud to be leading the fight to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. Republicans have blocked us so far in this Congress, but we’re not going to let them win.

We also need to pass the RESPECT Act, Senator Dodd’s bill to restore collective bargaining rights for millions of hardworking employees in the building trades who have been unfairly labeled “supervisors” by their employers. It’s time to give these workers back their voice in the workplace.

A critical next step is to end another type of worker misclassification. Too many renegade employers, especially in the construction industry, improperly treat workers as independent contractors and cheat them out of the wages, benefits and protections they deserve. When this happens, responsible contractors and working families lose out. That’s why I’m fighting for legislation to level the playing field, and bring real help to countless workers and contractors whose employers refuse to play by the rules.

We’re also fighting for worker safety. It’s more than thirty years after passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, yet too many workers are still being killed and injured on the job – many of them in the construction industry.

Even worse, we see more and more examples of employers with a history of problems that OSHA does nothing to stop. Even when a worker is killed on the job, the employer often gets away with a fine of only a few thousand dollars. I’ve introduced legislation to end this lax enforcement and increase the penalties for employers who ignore the law.

Equally important, we need to continue to reject current Republican schemes to repeal the Davis-Bacon Act and its prevailing wage protections. Last year, the GOP even tried to eliminate Davis-Bacon for the construction and repair of our nation’s bridges. Thankfully for the safety of the American people and the protection of workers, we defeated them and proved that a clear majority of Senators support this important law.

The building and construction trades have been in the forefront of all these battles over the years, and I’m moved by all you’ve done. You’ve brought millions of men and women together to create a better life for themselves, their families, and for all Americans. In these difficult economic times, our country needs you more than ever.

I know you’ll continue to be the strong and united voice of working families as we continue our battle for progress and fairness. We need you to stand with us in our fight to take back the White House in November and expand our Democratic majorities in the House and Senate. Believe me, we’ve only just begun to fight, and I look forward very much to success in November and the progress we’ll be able to achieve together in the years ahead. Thank for all you do so well – thank you very much.

KENNEDY ON CLIMATE CHANGE AS A CHALLENGE FOR PUBLIC HEALTH

In recent years, the public awareness and concern about climate change have reached unprecedented levels. We’re learning what climate change means for the earth, with melting ice caps and the rising sea levels. But important as that is, the issue is about much more than that. It’s also about us and our children and our grandchildren. People in all countries will be affected by changes in the earth’s climate, and one of the principal consequences will be for our personal health. We’re holding this hearing today because climate change will have a direct impact on health, and it’s time to pay attention to this problem.

In recent years, the world’s leading scientists came together to create the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, to provide an objective source of information on this issue, and the importance of their work was recognized when they shared the Nobel Peace Prize along with Al Gore last year.

These experts tell us that our health is at risk because of the extreme weather events that will become more common and more severe in the future because of climate change. Heat waves will lead to heat stroke and even death in vulnerable populations like the elderly. The heat wave in Europe in 2003 was responsible for 30,000 deaths. Extreme heat will also raise ozone levels in places that already have high pollution, causing problems for people with allergies, asthma and chronic lung diseases. Disease spread by mosquitoes, such as West Nile Virus, Dengue Fever, and Lyme Disease will increase, and affect parts of the country that have not experienced these problems before. Heavy rains and hurricanes will become more frequent, leading to more frequent flooding, contaminated food and water, and growth of dangerous mold.

That’s why public health must be a central part of the debate on climate change. We know that vulnerable populations such as the elderly, the young, the poor, and the chronically ill will suffer disproportionately because they are the least likely to have the care and resources to deal with these changes.

That’s why the public health community needs to be involved in discussions about climate change. This week is National Public Health Week, and across the nation public health officials and communities are holding events to draw attention to climate change as a major public health challenge.

It’s important for the public to begin to making the connection between climate change and health, so that we start preparing now, when we have a better opportunity to do so.

Public health professionals have a central role in responding to this problem and protecting our health. They are already leaders in spreading the message of prevention, and tracking and responding to emerging health threats. Hopefully, this hearing will draw greater attention to the issue, assess how prepared we really are and suggest where we should focus our efforts. Obviously, we can’t ignore the problem.

KENNEDY REACTION TO BUSH ON IRAQ

WASHINGTON, DC—Senator Edward M. Kennedy released the following statement in reaction to President Bush’s remarks on Iraq earlier today.

“It’s abundantly clear that President Bush is simply trying to “run out the clock” and hand off the mess to the next President. Giving General Petraeus “all the time he needs” is more of the same open-ended commitment the American people have rejected. It does nothing to force the Iraqis to take responsibility for their own future and make tough accommodations, and it breaks faith with our men and women in uniform who are bearing the heaviest burden of the President’s failed policy.”

KENNEDY ON 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF NORTHERN IRELAND PEACE AGREEMENT

WASHINGTON, DC— Senator Edward M. Kennedy released the following statement in remembrance of the 10th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland.

“Today, we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the historic Good Friday Agreement, which put Northern Ireland on the path to reconciliation and peace after decades of violence, bloodshed and deep mistrust.

The people of Northern Ireland and the courageous leaders of the political parties in Northern Ireland, Ireland, and Great Britain, all deserve special recognition on this day for their deep and unwavering commitment to peace. We salute them for their extraordinary accomplishment and difficult compromises they were able to achieve to create a greater and better future for the people of Northern Ireland. Their success is an example to the world of what can be accomplished with courage and commitment.

The benefits and advances have been extraordinary over the past decade. Guns are out of politics, and power is being shared on an equal basis. Future generations in Northern Ireland will live in peace, stability and prosperity, and they will do so because of the extraordinary commitment by leaders on all sides to a peaceful resolution of conflict based upon mutual respect for all the people.

All Americans congratulate the people of Northern Ireland on this auspicious anniversary. They were truly blessed to have such extraordinary peacemakers among them, and we pray for similar leadership in resolving the other bitter conflicts that challenge our world today.”

KENNEDY ON STUDENT LOAN HOUSE MARK-UP

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement in response to the House Education and Labor Committee markup of legislation related to student loans. Chairman Kennedy introduced student loan legislation last week.

Senator Kennedy’s legislation would reduce students’ and families’ reliance on high-cost private loans by increasing federal aid and would take important steps to strengthen the student loan program. Schools can ensure that students eligible for federally-backed loans can access them through the Direct Loan program, which does not rely on capital from the volatile private market. The Senator has urged schools to consider this option to protect their students. His legislation, however, also takes steps to strengthen the Federal Family Education Loan program to ensure that students can continue to access loans from private lenders if they so choose. The bill provides an alternative capital source for lenders who need it to continue making federal loans, at a minimal cost to taxpayers.

“The turmoil in the credit markets has become a crisis for some lenders -the question for Congress is how to prevent it from becoming a crisis for students.” Kennedy said. “The ability of families to afford college should not be determined by the quarterly earnings of banks. The legislation I introduced last week and that is being marked up by Chairman Miller today will ensure that students and families continue to have multiple options for securing the funds they need for college this fall, even if the situation should take a turn for the worse. I am hopeful that the Senate also will act swiftly to enact these provisions to reassure students and families.”

Summary of the Strengthening Student Aid Act of 2008

Senator Edward M. Kennedy

Reduce the need for students to depend on non-Federal, higher-interest private loans by—

· Increasing annual limits on unsubsidized Federal student loans for dependent undergraduate students by $1,000 each year, with a new aggregate limit of $29,500 (up from $23,000). Loan limits will increase as follows:

o First-year students: $4500, up from $3500;

o Second-year students: $5500, up from $4500;

o Third-year and beyond: $6500, up from $5500.

· Increasing annual limits on unsubsidized Federal student loans for independent undergraduate students and dependent undergraduates whose parents can’t obtain parent PLUS loans by $2,000 each year with a new aggregate limit of $57,500 (up from $46,000). Loan limits will increase as follows:

o First-year students: $9500, up from $7500;

o Second-year students: $10,500, up from $8500;

o Third-year and beyond: $12,500, up from $10,500.

Improve federal Parent (PLUS) loans so they are more attractive than private educational loans and home equity lines of credit by—

· Allowing for deferral of repayments on parent PLUS loans while the student for whom the loan was taken out remains in school (currently, parents are required to begin repayment of PLUS loans within 60 days of loan disbursement, even if the student for whom the loan is taken out is still in school).

Reduce low income students’ dependency on student loan borrowing by—

· Increasing Pell Grants for the lowest-income students by authorizing a “negative Expected Family Contribution,” which would allow the maximum Pell Grant ($4731 for the 2008-09 academic year) to be increased by up to $750 for students whose expected family contribution is calculated under federal needs analysis to be a negative number, and for those students whose expected family contribution is automatically determined to be zero.

Ensure the availability of Federal student loans by—

· Requiring the Secretary of Education to designate guaranty agencies to be a Lender of Last Resort (LLR) on a school-wide level at the institution’s request. Currently, LLRs are provided to individual students who are unable to obtain a loan through the Federal Family Education Loan Program. At many colleges, large shares of students have Federal education loans with the same lender. Colleges whose primary lender stops making new loans should have the assurance that a LLR will be ready to step in to offer loans to all of their students; and

· Clarifying the Secretary’s authority to advance funds directly from the Treasury to LLRs, without needing a new appropriation by Congress.

Provide additional options for lenders to access capital to make new loans, should the credit market situation continue, by—

· Allowing the Department of Education to serve as the secondary market of last resort for loans originated in the FFEL program. Under this provision, the Secretary of Education would be required to buy FFEL loans that lenders want to sell, and would pay a price equal to par (100% of the outstanding principal and any accrued, unpaid interest on the loans) plus a premium equivalent to the cost of originating such loans in the federal Direct Loan program. The terms and conditions on the loans would remain the same as they were when the borrower took out the loan, and the Secretary could contract with the same servicers who previously serviced the loans to ensure a seamless transition for borrowers.

KENNEDY ON 4,000 AMERICAN CASUALTIES IN IRAQ

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy released the following statement in response to the announcement that 4,000 American troops have lost their lives in Iraq.

“America has passed another sad milestone today. After more than 5 years in Iraq, the cost of this war in human lives continues to exact an excruciatingly high toll. As General Petraeus no doubt will testify next month, our troops have served with honor and distinction. The question now is when will President Bush provide the answer that all Americans are waiting for: ‘With 4,000 Americans having lost their lives, when will the national nightmare the Iraq war has become finally end?’”

KENNEDY ON EEOC �ENGLISH ONLY� AMENDMENT PASSAGE

WASHINGTON, DC— Yesterday, Senator Edward M. Kennedy released the following statement in response to the passage of Senator Alexander’s budget amendment, #4222, which reduces the EEOC’s budget by $670,000.

“The amendment is a misguided attempt to undermine national origin discrimination cases involving English only workplace rules. In fact, its broad terms will undermine the EEOC’s ability to deal with all workplace discrimination – including cases based on race, national origin, religion, gender, disability, and age, which have nothing to do with English-only cases.”

KENNEDY ON FDA BUDGET INCREASE

WASHINGTON, DC— Yesterday, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement in response to the passage of budget amendment # 4148, which will increase the amount allocated for the FDA by $71 million, for a total increase for FY 2009 of $375.

“When American families go to the grocery store, they shouldn’t have to worry about the safety of the food they buy. When they are prescribed a drug, they shouldn’t have to worry that a contaminant in the drug might kill them. They ought to be able to count on FDA to stand guard for them, use the latest and best science to protect them, and to do what’s needed to detect dangerous products. I’m pleased that the Senate has made a big first step toward rebuilding the FDA. By adopting my amendment, the Budget now includes an increase of $375 million for the FDA, the amount the FDA Science Board recommended for 2009.”

Summary of FY2009 Budget Resolution Amendment #4148

Filed by Senator Kennedy

To increase by $71 million the amount budgeted for the FDA, for a total increase of $375 for FY 2009

The Budget Committee’s budget bill increases FDA’s budget by $304 million. This amendment would increase the amount budgeted for FDA for fiscal year 2009 by $71 million, to make the total increase for FDA $375 million, the amount recommended by the FDA Science Board. This proposed increase in FDA’s budget is offset by function 920.

In the fall, the FDA’s advisory Science Board issued a scathing report about FDA’s inability to fulfill its mission.

FDA lacks adequate funds to ensure the safety of the Nation’s food supply and to maintain and develop the scientific expertise to review the medical products of tomorrow.

FDA doesn’t inspect facilities that produce food with any frequency, and plants in China and India that produce drugs for the United States are inspected perhaps once a decade.

FDA’s information technology systems are completely inadequate, as we learned most recently when FDA failed to inspect a factory that produces the drug Heparin.

KENNEDY ON GONZALES DHS RESIGNATION

WASHINGTON, DC— Yesterday, Senator Edward M. Kennedy released the following statement in response to the announcement that Emilio Gonzales, the director of Citizenship and Immigration Services at the Department of Homeland Security, will resign on April 18th.

“The path to citizenship in our country is in crisis. As we approach the election, over a million people who are qualified and eager to become citizens are stuck in line. Many will be denied the right to cast their first ballots as American citizens this fall. The President must commit himself to fixing this intolerable situation and he should start by choosing a strong and committed leader to take over this office.”

KENNEDY RESPONDS TO PRESIDENT�S REMARKS ON FISA

WASHINGTON, DC—Senator Edward M. Kennedy released the following statement in response to President Bush’s remarks on FISA this morning.

“Once again, the President continues to try to bully the Congress and mislead the American people on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. He refuses to accept that under our system of government, neither the President nor the telecommunications companies gets to decide which laws to follow and which to ignore.

The President wants Congress to pretend that his administration did not conduct a massive, illegal, domestic warrantless surveillance program that was one of the most outrageous abuses of executive power in our nation’s history. Rather than accuse Congress of playing politics, the President should stop playing politics with our national security. He is the one who has repeatedly blocked extension of the law, insisting that the phone companies must be protected, even though he claims that American lives are at risk.

President Bush could not be clearer: his number one priority is that Congress sweep illegal his administration’s activity under the rug. Congress must reject this outrageous demand.”

KENNEDY IN SUPPORT OF DEMOCRATIC BUDGET

Our budget puts working families first – not Wall Street, but Main Street America.

Long before the experts began sounding the alarm, working families knew that our economy wasn’t working for them. They know that when the economy is wrong, nothing else is quite right.

Their mortgages were going up and banks were foreclosing on their homes.

Gas prices and heating oil prices were going through the roof.

College costs were escalating every single year.

Medical costs were soaring.

And now, they’re losing their jobs.

Businesses cut 63,000 jobs last month, on top of the cuts they made in January. This is the first time in five years that our economy has lost jobs for two months in a row. These losses are a sure sign that the economy is falling fast into a recession. Working families who are already living on the brink need help, and they need it now.

If we want an economic recovery that works, our efforts must start and end with working families. The Democratic budget proposal does just that, making America’s workers our top priority.

Our budget may not provide all the answers, but it’s a good start.

Democrats know we need to jump-start the economy and help families in crisis. We must help the millions of Americans pounding the pavement looking for work each day. That means extending and improving unemployment benefits to help millions of workers transition to new jobs and boost our economy. Our budget funds these benefits and other measures needed to help families struggling to make ends meet.

Our budget also creates hundreds of thousands of new jobs by investing in our roads, schools, and bridges. 3,000 of these projects are ready to go and will immediately create jobs for Americans with good wages and benefits. These are jobs located right here in America and will lay the groundwork for our nation’s success in a new global economy.

Democrats also know we must make smart investments in renewable energy to ease the crushing burden of energy costs while creating hundreds of thousands of “green jobs” here in America. Our budget makes these critical investments.

We also must equip our citizens – young and old – to compete and win in today’s global economy.

This budget starts with new investments in early childhood education, by increasing funding by over $400 million.

It helps every child move forward with new investments in teachers and in troubled schools. It puts us on track to double funding for Title I over the next 5 years.

With this year’s increase alone, our schools can:

Hire 35,000 new teachers to reduce class sizes and provide students with individualized attention;

Provide high quality professional development for 100,000 teachers to assist them in teaching 21st century skills; and enroll 1 million more children in high quality after-school programs.

And it strengthens our commitment to making college more affordable by providing funding for a $4,800 maximum Pell Grant – keeping our promise to increase the grant to $5,400 by 2012.

This budget also includes $414 million more for job training programs, which is greatly needed after years of cuts in job training programs under this Administration. This funding will allow 165,000 more workers to retool their skills for 21st century jobs.

By putting workers first, we can pump real dollars into the economy now and make sure that American businesses have access to a workforce unmatched anywhere in the world. A recession may be upon us, but we know that bold investments in our workers today will mean a brighter future for our families tomorrow and in the years to come.

KENNEDY ON PRESIDENT�S VETO OF ANTI-TORTURE LEGISLATION

WASHINGTON, DC—Senator Edward M. Kennedy today released the following statement on President Bush’s forthcoming veto of the Intelligence Authorization Bill. The bill includes a provision requiring all U.S. government interrogations to comply with the Army Field Manual, which prohibits techniques widely regarded as torture, such as waterboarding, attack dogs, and electric shocks.

“According to the White House press secretary, the President will veto the Intelligence Authorization Act tomorrow.

President Bush’s veto will be one of the most shameful acts of his presidency. Unless Congress overrides the veto, it will go down in history as a flagrant insult to the rule of law and a serious stain on the good name of America in the eyes of the world.

This bill is clearly needed to bring the CIA’s renegade “enhanced interrogation program” in line with the law and prevent the use of interrogation techniques that are torture by another name.

As experts from across the political spectrum have recognized, the Army Field Manual is both good for the rule of law and good for our national security. As the Manual states, “Use of torture is not only illegal but also it is a poor technique that yields unreliable results, may damage subsequent collection efforts, and can induce the source to say what he thinks the [interrogator] wants to hear.”

In a letter to our troops on May 10, 2007, General Petraeus himself stated that “our experience in applying the interrogation standards laid out in the Army Field Manual . . . shows that the techniques in the manual work effectively and humanely in eliciting the information from detainees.”

Requiring all U.S. interrogators to comply with the Field Manual will produce better intelligence to pursue our enemies, end worldwide outrage at our interrogation practices, and protect our own personnel from torture.”

KENNEDY ON CREDIT MARKET SITUATION AND STUDENT LOANS

Americans are anxious about their economic futures. They’re seeing volatile markets, disappearing jobs, home foreclosures, rising debt, and declining benefits. Now the crisis in the credit markets stemming from irresponsible lending practices in the mortgage industry may impact their ability to secure student loans at fair rates so their children can go to the college of their choice.

We all know that student loans are critical for millions of students and parents trying to pay for college. In the last twenty years, as the cost of college has tripled, more and more students are relying on student loans to afford a college education.

In 1993, less than half of all graduates had to take out loans, but in 2004, nearly two-thirds had to take out loans to finance their education.

The average student in the US graduates with more than $19,000 of student loan debt.

Last year, we passed legislation that increased grant aid and ensured that federal loans were cheaper for students by cutting interest rates. We also ensured that no graduate would have to pay more than 15% of their income in monthly loan payments and that those who enter public service will have their loans forgiven. But these benefits will be meaningless if students cannot access the loans they need to be able to afford the college of their choice.

In recent weeks, the credit market crisis has made it more difficult for student lenders to secure capital. This has increased the cost of lending, causing some lenders to pull out of the student loan market and causing those operating outside the federal loan program to cut back on lending to high risk borrowers.

Due to the attractiveness of the federal guarantee in the federally subsidized program—so far—other lenders are stepping up to fill in the gaps in that program. And the interest rates in that program are capped so students are protected from inflated interest payments.

But students who need to go beyond the federal loan program will have a tougher time finding lenders and their rates will go up in the fall.

Schools are beginning to sound alarm bells and telling students to get their loans now because they may be less available in the fall.

We must take action to ensure that students have the resources they need to attend college.

We must ensure that the backstops built into the federal loan program designed to protect students and parents from the kind of credit market disruptions we’re seeing today are ready to be implemented.

One of those backstops is the Direct Loan Program. It allows students and parents to borrow directly from the Federal government – without going through a bank. The Secretary of Education uses funds from the U.S. Treasury to make the loans. This program does not rely on capital from the private financial markets, so it’s completely insulated from the disruptions the market is experiencing today.

Current law also allows the Secretary to advance capital to designated “Lenders-of-Last-Resort” so they can step in if students are having trouble finding loans through other banks.

These programs are already in the law. And nearly 2,000 colleges are already either using or signed up to use the Direct Loan Program. Last week, I wrote to Secretary Spellings urging her to take any necessary action to ensure that schools that rely solely on private banks can easily access the Direct Loan Program, and to ensure that procedures are in place to set up lenders of last resort. I would like to ask unanimous consent that the letter be submitted for the record.

We must also ensure that students who are borrowing outside the federal loan program are protected.

A good first step is to make parents and students aware of their options. According to the Department of Education, many students who turn to private loans – high-cost loans that are not subsidized by the federal government – are not taking advantage of the grant aid and low-interest loans they are eligible for under federal programs. This is unacceptable. We need to make sure college financial aid advisers are getting students the information they need to maximize student aid and get the best deals on their loans.

We are currently in conference with the House on the Higher Education Act. That bill will ensure that we do just that. It will help students make the most of the college aid they’re eligible for by requiring lenders to disclose – on private loan applications and the documents they sign before a loan is made – that students may be eligible for grants from the federal government, their state, and their college, as well as lower-cost loans from the federally subsidized program. We also require additional counseling by financial aid experts for students regarding their student aid options.

For families who need additional loans beyond federal loans while they are in school, we must ensure that they can access loans at affordable rates in the private markets. We are working with our colleagues in the Banking Committee – led by that Committee’s Chairman – Senator Dodd – on this issue. I plan to offer legislation that will expand edibility for low-cost government loans for these students.

In the coming weeks, the Committee that I chair which deals with education issues will convene hearings so we can hear directly from those affected. We will also continue to monitor the Department of Education’s efforts to implement the existing safeguards in the federal programs.

In today’s uncertain economy, Congress has an obligation to provide a steady hand and to shore up programs on which Americans depend. Nothing could be more important than ensuring that families can afford a college degree.

KENNEDY ON DECLINING JOB NUMBERS

WASHINGTON, DC— Today’s jobs numbers show a loss of 63,000 jobs. Senator Edward M. Kennedy issued the following statement:

"The bad economic news continues to mount. Today’s job losses—the worst in five years—emphasize the urgent need for more effective action. Extending and improving unemployment benefits is the best way to bring immediate help to the millions who are out of work and provide a much-needed jump-start to our economy. Congress should have included this support in the recent stimulus law, and we should correct that mistake as soon as possible.”

KENNEDY ON UNEMPLOYMENT AND THE NEED TO HELP WORKING FAMILIES

In recent weeks, we’ve seen numerous warning signs that our economy is headed in the wrong direction. Working families know better than anyone that times are tough. They worry about putting food on the table, heating their homes, paying their medical bills, and paying their mortgages. Perhaps more than anything, they’re worried about their jobs.

In today’s troubled economy, too many people are out of work, and too many others go to work each morning hoping they still have a job. The unemployment rate is rising, and experts predict that it will keep on rising for months to come. It’s already 7.6% in Michigan and 6.8% in Mississippi. Ohio, Alaska, and South Carolina are all over 6% as well.

Workers who lose their jobs are having great difficulty finding new work. 18% of unemployed workers –1.2 million people – have been looking for a job for more than 26 weeks but can’t find one. There just aren’t enough jobs to go around.

There are now nearly two unemployed workers for every job opening in the country. That’s a far tougher job market than we saw before the last recession, and if history is any indication, we’ll see three or even four unemployed workers for every open job before things improve.

Unemployment doesn’t just hurt workers, it devastates families. It means months of pounding the pavement, knocking on doors, struggling without a paycheck. It means choosing whether to pay your heating bill or pay the mortgage. It means worrying about how you’ll pay for your son’s asthma medication, or telling your daughter you can’t afford to send her back to college.

It’s not just individual families who are affected. Unemployment hurts the country as a whole. Unemployed workers have no money to spend. Even those who still have a job are worried and cut back their spending. It drags the whole economy down, and forces still more people out of work.

Families lose faith in the American dream. As the economy falters and families fall, the very fabric of society crumbles.

We have to stop this crisis before it worsens, and that takes strong economic leadership. First, we have to strengthen the safety net for families struggling to find work. Our outdated unemployment insurance system doesn’t provide enough support. More than a third of unemployed workers run out of benefits before they find a job. 2.6 million people ran out of benefits in fiscal year 2007– before the recession even began. And we know this number will continue to rise as the recession deepens.

That’s why I’ve introduced legislation to extend unemployment benefits for all Americans, and provide extra help for workers in high-unemployment states. Extending benefits is an obvious measure that helps families in crisis, and it also gives an immediate boost to the economy.

But it’s not enough. Too many people are left out of the system and don’t qualify for benefits, despite their hard work.

The current unemployment insurance system hasn’t kept pace with the changing economy. Technology has changed, the workforce is more mobile, and temporary job losses have been replaced by long-term structural unemployment. But the rules of eligibility for our unemployment insurance haven’t changed with the times. Federal law hasn’t changed since the 1960s. In 2006, only a third of unemployed Americans received unemployment benefits.

Workers who paid into the system for years were left out when they needed help the most.

These holes in the safety net affect low-wage workers the most. According to GAO, they’re only half as likely to receive such benefits as other unemployed workers, even though they’re twice as likely to lose their jobs when the economy goes south.

We need to modernize our unemployment insurance system by encouraging states to adopt reforms that will cover more workers, help families care for their children, and help workers in job training programs.

The Unemployment Insurance Modernization Act serves these important goals, and gives states the resources and flexibility they need to revitalize their programs and serve working families more effectively. The legislation has already passed the House, and has substantial bipartisan support in the Senate. We need to pass it immediately and fix our broken system.

Finally, we need to recognize the profound shifts in our economy. As the jobs in manufacturing and other industries continue to disappear, job training for displaced workers will become more critical than ever. Hard-working Americans are more than willing to change careers – but they need help to do it.

The Administration, however, has played a shell game on job training. In 2004, President Bush told America: “I believe we can double the number of workers who are going through the job training programs.” But his budgets have consistently undermined this promise through drastic funding cuts. This year, he wants to cut total well over a billion dollars. He even wants to eliminate the Employment Service – a longstanding source of needed assistance and training.

The Administration would further undermine existing programs by replacing comprehensive training services with private accounts, requiring workers to pay for federal training services they now get for free, and exposing workers to useless or even fraudulent programs.

The President also wants to eliminate programs that provide vital services to groups with special needs, such as unemployed youth and Native Americans, even though these proposals have been rejected time and again by Congress. That’s exactly the wrong solution. Instead, we need to make a real commitment to help unemployed Americans learn new skills that fit the jobs our country needs.

We’ve obviously got to change direction, and in the new global economy, it’s more critical than ever for each American worker to be able to contribute to the economy. That means giving them the genuine support they need to get back on their feet and back into the workforce.

KENNEDY QUESTIONS FBI DIRECTOR MUELLER ON NATURALIZATION PROCESS

Last year, after it was announced that the fees for naturalization would be more than doubled from $330 to $595, almost a million and a half immigrants applied for naturalization, and 1 million of them are still waiting. These are people who have made America their home. They’ve raised their families here, worked hard and paid taxes. Thousands of them have served in our armed forces, many in Iraq and Afghanistan, and they deserve to become citizens if they qualify.

Until this Administration, citizenship applicants could rest assured that they would be sworn in as new citizens within six months after they applied for naturalization. Prior to last year, this Administration was itself completing the adjudications within seven months. But now it is projecting delays of 16 to 18 months. This is an outrage.

Past experience has shown that increases in fees produce a surge in naturalization applications, as immigrants file to beat the price increase. That’s simple economics. It’s human nature. There was a fee increase in October 1998, and applications increased sharply. There was a fee increase in February 2002, and applications increased sharply. The same held true after fee increases in April 2004. This Administration was well aware of this history. It also knew that several major organizations were conducting extensive citizenship campaigns. It knew that an immigration debate was raging in Congress, which was making immigrant communities nervous about their future. It knew that immigrants—like immigrants before them—would be eager to participate in the upcoming Presidential election. It should have known that people would apply.

But it did nothing to prepare for the surge in applications. If it had prepared, and held the average adjudication wait to seven months, more than a million new Americans would be eligible to vote this fall. Think of that – a million Americans denied the vote because of a lack of planning.

Citizenship is a precious dream for many immigrants. It symbolizes their full acceptance into American society. For many, it means that they will be able for the first time in their lives to participate in a democratic process. When I speak to new Americans, they often comment that two of their most memorable moments are the citizenship swearing–in ceremony and the first time they enter a voting booth.

Martin Luther King called the right to vote "civil right number one." In our nation of immigrants, the grant of voting rights to each new generation of arrivals has bound us together as a people and been essential in preserving our democracy.

To deny a million people this unique opportunity is shameful. It’s voter suppression, pure and simple. It’s not enough to tell these people, who work hard and play by the rules: sorry, maybe next election.

Obviously, we all understand that security clearances are essential to our national security. But we cannot stand silent while the process limps along. National security and welcoming new citizens into our country are not mutually exclusive goals. It’s not a question of one or the other—we must do both. Efficient processing of background checks by the FBI serves both national security and voting rights.

KENNEDY HONORS SISTER AT NAMING OF EUNICE KENNEDY SHRIVER NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CHILD HEALTH AND HUM

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy attended a ceremony to rename the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) in honor of his sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver. A life-long supporter and advocate for people with disabilities, Mrs. Shriver was also inducted into the NIHCH Hall of Honor for her role in founding the institute 45 years ago.

One of 27 Institutes and Centers that comprise the NIH system, the NICHD was established by Congress in 1962, a result of President Kennedy’s and Mrs. Shriver’s support. Mrs. Shriver is also the founder of the Special Olympics.

Senator Kennedy’s remarks are below.

What a wonderful, happy day this is, as we gather to celebrate an extraordinary honor for an extraordinary woman, my sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver. All of us in the Kennedy and Shriver families are so proud of Eunice and all she’s accomplished in her life. And we’re grateful to everyone who’s helped to make today possible.

I pay special tribute to my friend Orrin Hatch who’s done so much throughout his illustrious career in the Senate to improve the lives of people with disabilities, and to the House Majority Leader, Congressman Steny Hoyer and your Congressman Chris Van Hollen for their tireless service and unfailing support for NIH. I also pay tribute to my son Congressman Patrick Kennedy who couldn’t be here today, but who’s done so much to achieve equality for people with mental illness.

And I cannot be at NIH without acknowledging the tireless work of my friend and your Senator Barbara Mikulski. Her advocacy for NIH is legendary. And, without her, there wouldn’t be the focus on research in women’s health. Thank you, Barbara, for all you continue to do to support the work here at NIH to improve the health of all Americans. And thanks to my colleague Senator Ben Cardin and Paul Sarbanes before him. You couldn’t have stronger advocates for this outstanding institution.

And special thanks as well to the director of the NIH, Dr. Elias Zerhouni, and to the director of the National Institute of Child Health and Development – now the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Development—Dr. Duane Alexander, outstanding leaders both, who have done so much to improve the quality of life for so many.

As all of you who know Eunice understand, she is not the kind of person who takes no for an answer. In fact, she doesn’t take the first 100 no’s for an answer. She’s competitive. She’s tenacious. And she’s unstoppable.

I guess you could say that Eunice has a talent for getting her way. And lucky for all of us, “her way” is to make the world a better place for people with disabilities – and she’s been doing that with incredible success for more than 60 years.

As a young woman, fresh out of Stanford University, Eunice worked with female prison inmates, trying to help them get their lives back on track. She worked with juveniles, caught up in the criminal justice system, trying to help them get their lives back on track. And then, in what has been the cause of her life, she took over the direction of the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation and dedicated herself to improving the lives of individuals with intellectual disabilities. Through her work at the Foundation, she spearheaded the establishment of the first Presidential Commission on Mental Retardation and helped develop a network of university-affiliated facilities and mental retardation research centers at major medical schools across the country. She was the moving force behind major centers for the study of medical ethics at Harvard and Georgetown Universities. And she founded the Special Olympics, which now provides year-round sports training to more than 2.5 million athletes with intellectual disabilities in more than 180 countries.

And that’s not all. Eunice also dreamed of a world class research facility that would focus on the needs and treatment of children with developmental disabilities. And after the election of 1960, Eunice saw her chance, and she lobbied President Kennedy with a vengeance! Every time she visited the White House, Eunice would make her case. And as we all know, she was a very successful advocate. In October 1962, President Kennedy signed a law that established the National Institute of Child Health and Development.

The Mission Statement of the Institute tells the story:

The mission of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development … is to ensure that every person is born healthy and wanted, that women suffer no harmful effects from the reproductive process, and that all children have the chance to fulfill their potential to live healthy and productive lives, free from disease or disability, and to ensure the health, productivity, independence, and well-being of all people through optimal rehabilitation.

And for the past 45 years the Institute has been on the front lines fulfilling that Mission. What an incredible success story it is. And how proud we are of my sister’s role in it.

Eunice’s life is an example to us all of what an individual can achieve when they have perseverance and determination. When she encounters bump in the road, she simply paves a new highway.

Eunice has dedicated her life to bringing comfort and hope to children and their parents around the country – and indeed around the world. They are not alone because she is fighting for them. Eunice might be a featherweight in size, but she’s the heavy weight champion of progress and possibility in the field of intellectual disabilities.

Eunice is truly an inspiration to us all. And may this Institute which now bears her name remind future generations that one person truly can make a difference and that each of us should try. We love you, Eunie, and are so, so proud of you.

Thank you all very much.

KENNEDY RESPONDS TO PRESIDENT�S REMARKS ON FISA

WASHINGTON, DC—Senator Edward M. Kennedy released the following statement in response to President Bush’s remarks on FISA this morning.

“At a time when Congress is willing to extend the Protect America Act, the President continues to use the specter of terrorism to push an agenda that has nothing to do with making America safer. If the telecommunications companies didn’t break the law, they do not need immunity. If they broke the law, the American people deserve to know the size and scope of their lawbreaking. Adhering to the rule of law would not ‘aid our enemies’ – it would uphold the very principles we are fighting for. The President’s position has nothing to do with protecting Americans and everything to do with sweeping under the rug illegal activity by his administration and his corporate partners.”

Ted Kenney Birthday Card inside

Ted Kennedy Birthday Card front

When Ted celebrates his birthday on Friday, I want to give him a gift he’ll never forget. But I need your help to do it. You can add your very own personal greeting to this birthday card and I’ll give it to Ted when our family celebates his 76th birthday. Just click on the card at right!

Forging a negotiated path to Iraq’s future

If President Bush has his way, the US military will be forced to stay in Iraq indefinitely – regardless of who wins the presidential election in November. I wanted to draw your attention to an op-ed I wrote in today’s Boston Globe, laying out President Bush’s worrisome plan:

The Bush administration is moving forward on negotiations to sign a permanent, long-term agreement with the government of Iraq on the role of the US military in future operations, and an agreement is expected to be concluded by mid-July.

The stakes are high, and these negotiations move us in the wrong direction. America has given the Iraqi people nearly five years of blood and treasure. It’s wrong for President Bush to try to bind the next president and lock the nation indefinitely into the endless quagmire that the Iraq war has become.

Iraq is not like the majority of other countries in the world. Its government is dysfunctional, and the country is at war with itself. America does not have a long-term military commitment with any other country, and adopting one with Iraq does not serve our national interest.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told the Senate Armed Services Committee this month that the agreement "will not contain a commitment to defend Iraq." Hopefully, the administration’s negotiators will concur with his wisdom. But as long as America maintains tens of thousands of troops in Iraq, there is little distinction.

Bush and other administration officials are clearly attempting to downplay the significance of an agreement. They maintain that the final pact will be similar to those the United States has with many other countries, and that Congress does not need to approve it. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The president has given US negotiators authority to go well beyond the type of benign agreement that administration officials are discussing in public. The document signed by Bush and Iraq’s prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, outlining the scope of the discussions plainly states that a security commitment can be negotiated, which would obligate the United States to defend Iraq if it is attacked.

Bush knew exactly what he was authorizing when he put his signature on that document. It would be a mistake for Congress and the American public to be lulled into complacency on this critical issue simply because the administration is attempting to assure us that it is nonbinding and, therefore, will have little significance. In fact, any agreement with Iraq is significant. Even Hoshiyar Zebari, Iraq’s foreign minister, recognizes the significance of the future agreement and is calling it a treaty.

The United States currently has seven such treaties: the NATO Treaty of 1949; the Australia, New Zealand, and United States Security Treaty of 1952; the Southeast Asian Treaty of 1955; the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance of 1948; and bilateral security treaties with Japan in 1960, the Philippines in 1952, and South Korea in 1954. Each of these commitments was made with the approval of two-thirds of the Senate, as the Constitution requires for treaties. Such assurances, once made, cannot be easily withdrawn. They must be granted with great care, and only under extraordinary circumstances.

Even if the agreement does not rise to the level of a treaty, it should still be approved by Congress. The fact that conventional "status of forces" agreements are typically not submitted to Congress for approval is not a precedent in this case. Iraq is too important for the United States. Even consultations and classified briefings with Congress are not enough.

Congress should have the opportunity to approve or reject any agreement on Iraq, regardless of what it is called, that affects our troops or national security. With the country so deeply divided on the war and the future course in Iraq, it’s wrong for the president to bypass Congress and public opinion.

In 1953, Congress ratified the status of forces agreement with NATO as a treaty, four years after ratifying the NATO treaty itself. President Eisenhower did not bypass the Congress then, and Bush should not seek to do so now.

In 1981, under President Reagan, Congress approved by legislation an agreement committing the United States to the establishment of the multinational observer group in the Sinai desert in the Middle East.

Also during the Reagan administration, Congress approved in 1986 the Compact of Free Association, granting independence to the Republic of the Marshall Islands and to the Federated States of Micronesia. The compact included agreements in the political and economic spheres and a commitment by the United States to the defense of those two newly independent nations.

It would be a mistake, however, to search for the perfect historical analogy to guide US thinking and actions now. Iraq is unique. Any agreement with Iraq that affects the nation well into the future must have the support of the American people and be approved by Congress. Even the Iraqi government has said it will submit the US-Iraq pact to its parliament for ratification.

America has other options. The international authority for our military presence in Iraq, first granted by the United Nations in 2004, was extended for the third time in December and does not expire until the end of 2008. It could be extended again to give the next president the authority necessary to conduct operations in Iraq, pending a decision on what our future relationship with Iraq will be.

Samir Sumaidaie, Iraq’s ambassador to the United States, has said that Iraq will seek an extension of the current UN mandate if no agreement is reached with the United States by the end of this year. He said, "If we cannot have an agreement by that time, we would have no choice but to go back to the Security Council."

Bush argues that those who oppose these negotiations and seek congressional approval "need to think through exactly what they are saying." He’s right about that, and those of us who opposed this war have certainly done so. But the president needs to think more clearly about the consequences of any long-term agreement he makes with Iraq that extends beyond his successor’s inauguration, on Jan. 20.

He gambled our national security with his reckless invasion of Iraq, and he should not be permitted to roll the dice again in these negotiations. The last thing America needs is for Bush to cement a secret deal on Iraq, without the support of Congress, that binds the next president, the military, and the nation for years to come.

The last thing America needs is for Bush to cement a secret deal on Iraq, without the support of Congress, that binds the next president, the military, and the nation for years to come.

KENNEDY ON LEGISLATION PREVENTING TORTURE

WASHINGTON, DC— Yesterday, Senator Edward M. Kennedy released the following statement on the passage by the United States Senate of the Intelligence Authorization Bill, which includes provision that will require all U.S. Government interrogators to comply with the Army Field Manual’s standards on interrogation.

“The United States Senate stood up to the Bush Administration’s shameful policy of torture. As part of the Intelligence Authorization Bill, the Senate passed a provision adopting language from legislation I introduced last summer to require all U.S. government agencies – including the CIA – to comply with the Army Field Manual’s standards on interrogation.

Now we will see whether President Bush lives up to his promises to reject torture. If he vetoes this bill, we will know that this administration continues to undermine our values and our security”

KENNEDY ON HHS CREATION OF PATIENT SAFETY ORGANIZATIONS

WASHINGTON, DC— Yesterday, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement in response to the new regulation proposed by the Department of Health and Human Services, which establishes Patient Safety Organizations (PSOs).

"Three long years after Congress passed legislation requiring it, the Bush Administration finally as issued plans to meet the urgent need of improving health care quality and patient safety. American patients deserve a safe, high quality health care system. Congress took a major step toward this goal by enacting the bipartisan Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act in 2005. With today’s action, the legislation will at last be able to realize its potential of improving health care for all Americans by allowing health care professionals to confidentially report errors, near misses and safety risks in health care. I look forward to seeing that this legislation is implemented effectively."

KENNEDY ADDRESSES HEALTHCARE WORKFORCE ISSUES

To create a healthy nation we must not only have health care professionals that are excellently trained—we need health care professionals that are excellently trained in the right fields and practicing in the communities that need them the most. Over the years, experts have predicted a physician shortage, only to change those projections years later. We’ve heard of shortages in one specialty or another, only to have that prediction change as well. But one thing that has remained constant is the need for a strong network of primary care providers.

The health of our nation depends on a strong primary care system. And that system can not run without an adequate supply of primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other providers. In implementing health reform in Massachusetts one thing has become very clear--comprehensive health reform can not take place without appropriate access to primary care providers. Unfortunately, we are facing a crisis in primary care. Family medicine residency positions have dropped by 50% since 1997 and the growth in the supply of primary care physicians for adult patients is now lagging behind the rate of growth of adults. Community health centers continue to report significant vacancies for primary care providers.

We must take the steps needed to ensure a strong primary care workforce. One of those steps is making sure that the Title VII health professions training programs are adequately funded. Amazingly, President Bush dramatically cut these programs in his budget. It is incomprehensible to me that President Bush would cut funding for these important programs in the face of primary care physician and other provider shortages. He even eliminated the health professions diversity programs that help to create a culturally competent diverse workforce that will serve in communities that need care the most.

This hearing will inform our committee as we move forward on our work to reauthorize the Title VII and Title VIII programs. I want to thank all of our witnesses that have joined us today. They will provide us with a wealth of knowledge on the current state of affairs with the primary care workforce, including the challenges in rural and frontier areas and the importance of diversity in the health professions. There are also other primary care providers that we were not able to accommodate at this hearing, but we have asked for their official testimony to be included in the record so we can receive their important input.

I also want to acknowledge that while this hearing focuses on primary care providers, I am aware of the profound nursing shortage in our country and I will be working with Senator Mikulski and other members of the committee in the coming months to address that issue as well.

We know that primary care helps to reduce healthcare cost and results in a better quality of care of patients and I look forward to hearing more about what we can do support our nation’s primary care providers.

KENNEDY ON PASSAGE OF FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE SURVEILLANCE ACT

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is one of our landmark statutes. For three decades, it has carefully regulated government surveillance in a way that protects both our national security and our civil liberties and prevents the government from abusing its powers. It is because FISA enhances both security and liberty that it has won broad support over the years from presidents, Congress, and the public alike.

Over the years, I’ve consistently supported reforms to modernize FISA to keep it effective in the ongoing battles against America’s enemies. I voted against the “FISA Modernization Act” today, however, because instead of modernizing FISA, it undermines it by giving the Executive Branch vast new authority to use electronic surveillance without basic safeguards to provide oversight and prevent abuse. America deserves better.

I’m pleased, however, that the Senate adopted my amendment to clarify that domestic-to-domestic communications may not be acquired without a warrant. When the government knows ahead of time that both the person making a call and the person receiving the call are inside the United States, it should have to obtain a court order before it can listen in on the call. My amendment will ensure that the government continues to respect this rule.

As the bill moves to conference with the House, the final legislation produced by the conferees should respect the following principles:

“Electronic surveillance,” a key term in FISA, should not be redefined. I haven’t heard a single good argument for making this change, which creates the potential for interpretive mischief and unintended consequences.

There should be ongoing court review of the government’s new targeting and minimization procedures, and stronger consequences when the FISA court rejects the government’s procedures as unlawful.

Warrantless “bulk collections,” in which the government sucks up all communications coming in or out of the country like a vacuum cleaner, should not be allowed.

The law should be crystal-clear that FISA is the sole legal means by which the government is permitted to conduct foreign intelligence electronic surveillance.

The sunset date should occur within four years, to guarantee timely congressional review and a role for the next administration.

The bill should clearly prohibit the “reverse targeting” of Americans, by requiring a court order for surveillance whenever a significant purpose is targeting someone in the United States.

The bill should require an Inspector General review and report on the Bush Administration’s domestic warrantless eavesdropping program, which may have violated the constitutional rights of millions of innocent Americans.

We know these principles can be legislated effectively, because sensible amendments were proposed in the Senate to implement each of them.

Finally, it is imperative that the final legislation contains no retroactive immunity for companies that cooperated with this Administration’s warrantless surveillance program. I strongly oppose any form of retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies. Amnesty for these companies may help the Administration conceal its illegal spying, but it will not serve our national security, and it will further undermine the rule of law. The Bush Administration is desperate to protect these companies because it is desperate to cover up its illegal actions. Congress should reject this self-serving attempt to whitewash history and escape accountability.

We need a FISA bill that adheres to these principles and makes Americans once again feel safe in both their security and their liberty.

KENNEDY ON PRESIDENT�S ECONOMIC REPORT

WASHINGTON, DC—Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, today released the following statement in response to the publication of the President’s annual Economic Report.

“The President’s Economic Report once again shows how out of touch the Administration is with the harsh realities that America’s working families are facing each day. The report offers a rosy picture of the economy, despite economists’ overwhelming predictions of a recession and a sharp rise in unemployment over the next two years. It’s clear the White House doesn’t begin to understand the anxiety that tens of millions of American families are suffering, and the stimulus bill signed by the President today leaves too many of them out. The best response by Congress to this report is to pass immediate additional targeted relief to those in need, with specific help for the unemployed and for families who can’t afford to heat their homes.”

KENNEDY APPLAUDS PASSAGE OF HOUSE HEA BILL

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement applauding the passage by the United States House of Representatives of a higher education reauthorization bill.

“I commend Chairman Miller and his colleagues on the passage of a House higher education reauthorization bill. Like the Senate-passed bill, the legislation passed today will guard against future ethical abuses in the student loan industry and help keep college costs down by holding colleges accountable for tuition increases. Both bills include proposals to simplify the federal financial aid application process and strengthen programs that support teacher training. This legislation builds on the college aid bill passed by Congress last fall, which provided more than $20 billion in new college aid to students – the largest increase since the GI Bill. Now, it’s critical that we move swiftly to complete work on this vital legislation so students and parents can have access to a college application and aid process that is simpler, more transparent and has greater integrity.”

KENNEDY ON PASSAGE OF ECONOMIC STIMULUS PACKAGE

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement on the passage of the Senate economic stimulus package.

“Today’s vote is a victory for working families, and a vital first step to get our economy back on track. While I am glad we could act quickly to address the coming crisis, I am deeply disappointed that my Republican colleagues were unwilling to provide much-needed relief for families who are having trouble finding a job and heating their homes in these turbulent times. Supporting families who are struggling is the best stimulus money can buy, and I plan to keep fighting to get them the help they need and deserve. This is not the end of our efforts – it a down payment on our commitment to help every family in America find better days ahead.”

Senator Kennedy at an Oakland, CA rally for Barack Obama

Part I

Part II

KENNEDY ON CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATES OF THE FEDERAL STUDENT LOAN PROGRAMS

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, released new data from the Congressional Budget Office reaffirming that the Federal Direct Loan Program costs less to taxpayers than the Federal Family Education Loan Program, the program that subsidizes banks to make federal student loans. According to CBO’s analysis, the FFEL program currently costs taxpayers $14.55 more per $100 loaned than the Direct Loan program. CBO’s analysis takes into account changes to FFEL program subsidy rates enacted in the College Cost Reduction and Access Act (CCRAA), which was signed into law in September 2007, and is based on the updated budget baseline released by CBO in January.

“This analysis proves once again that Direct Loans are more efficient and less costly than the government-subsidized program funded by the private lenders,” said Senator Kennedy. “These figures not only validate the subsidy reductions Congress passed in last year’s college aid bill, but clearly indicate that there’s even more room to cut lender subsidies further and give those funds to students, where they belong.” Last year, the CCRAA reduced lender subsidies in the FFEL program by one-half of one percentage point for for-profit lenders, and just over one-third of one percentage point for non-profit lenders, and used the funds to increase student aid by more than $20 billion – the largest increase in student aid since the G.I. Bill.

CBO’s analysis was released the same day as the Administration’s FY 2009 budget proposal, which also estimates that for all types of loans except for consolidation loans, the FFEL program costs taxpayers significantly more than the Direct Loan program. When consolidation loans are included, the Administration estimates that the Direct Loan program costs $2.26 per $100 loaned, and the FFEL program costs $1.44 per $100 loaned for FY08. As the President’s budget proposal explains, however, the estimate of higher overall costs in the Direct Loan program is largely due to the fact that roughly half of Direct Loan consolidation loan volume comes from consolidations of defaulted loans, mostly from the FFEL program. Many FFEL lenders use the Direct Loan program as a “dumping ground” for defaulted loans, which artificially drives up OMB estimates of Direct Loan program costs.

OMB and CBO are both required to follow federal Budget Act requirements in scoring the loan programs. However, OMB does not conform to these rules, and treats consolidation loans differently, inappropriately adding the cost of defaulted FFEL loans to the Direct Loan program.

KENNEDY ON 9.5% STUDENT LOAN SCANDAL

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, the U.S. Department of Education informed Congress that seven Federal Family Education Program lenders will be allowed to resume billing for “9.5% loans,” the category of student loans under which lenders are eligible to receive an inflated 9.5% rate of return. The decision follows the completion of audits which identified that the seven lenders hold $650 million in student loans that are eligible for the 9.5 percent subsidy. Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, issued the following statement:

“It’s long past time for the Department of Education to end this scandal. Auditing every lender to identify abuses of the 9.5% provision is a welcome start, but the Department should also insist that every past taxpayer dollar inappropriately paid to the abusers be repaid. I applaud the Department’s Inspector General for opening a new investigation into the 9.5% loan issue, so that the lenders can be held accountable and students and taxpayers can finally learn how much was wasted through this corrupt scheme.”

KENNEDY ON FISA VETO THREAT

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy released the following statement in response to the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence threatening a veto of the FISA bill.

“This most recent veto threat by the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence reveals the shamelessness of the Administration’s approach to FISA reform. The President has repeatedly said that Americans lives will be sacrificed if Congress does not make major changes to FISA. But he has once again vowed to veto any FISA bill that does not grant retroactive immunity. So if we take him at his word, the President is willing to let Americans die to protect the phone companies. That is a position that should outrage every American. The President’s insistence on immunity as a precondition for any FISA reform is yet another example of his contempt for honest dialogue and for the rule of law.”

Kennedy Endorses Barack Obama

Kennedy: I’m with Obama
Lynn Sweet, Chicago Sun Times, 1/28/08

Democratic icon Sen. Ted Kennedy will endorse Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) for president today, passing him a generational torch at a rally here attended by his niece, Caroline Kennedy, and handing a disappointment to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.).

The endorsement of the Kennedys—Caroline, daughter of President John F. Kennedy, announced her support for Obama in a Sunday New York Times column—comes as the highly aspirational Obama campaign has been drawing parallels with President Kennedy and seeking a claim on his inspirational legacy to the nation.

Edward Kennedy gives Obama a major boost
Letta Tayler, Newsday, 1/28/08

A day after his landslide victory in South Carolina, Barack Obama received a second major boost yesterday as he launched his final sprint to Super Tuesday—the endorsements of two relatives of John F. Kennedy, the iconic president to whom he is sometimes compared.

The backing of Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, a Democratic powerhouse who was expected to endorse Obama at a rally today in Washington, and of JFK’s daughter, Caroline, bolstered Obama’s effort to cast himself as the candidate who can unite the nation.

Kennedys to Endorse Barack Obama for President
AP, 1/28/08

Representative Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island will be joining his father, Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy, in endorsing Barack Obama for president.

Obama, Clinton look to next White House fights
Ellen Wulfhorst, Reuters, 1/28/08

Sen. Edward Kennedy, a leading liberal voice in the U.S. Congress, will endorse Obama’s presidential campaign on Monday at an event in Washington, Democratic sources said.

Kennedy, a veteran Democrat from Massachusetts, will be accompanied by his niece, Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of the late president, who has already endorsed Obama. She wrote in Sunday’s New York Times that Obama seems to be able to inspire people as her father did a half century ago.

Clinton Adjusts Strategy Against Obama in Race to Super Tuesday
Heidi Przybyla and Indira Lakshmanan, Bloomberg, 1/28/08

Senator Kennedy’s endorsement had been sought by both Obama and Clinton. Obama asked Kennedy’s counsel a year ago and, without making any commitment, he was advised to run. According to people familiar with the endorsement, Caroline Kennedy informed Obama two weeks ago and Senator Kennedy, 75, told him Jan. 24. The Massachusetts Democrat informed the Clintons yesterday that he was endorsing Obama.

Obama set to receive crucial Kennedy endorsement
AFP, 1/28/08

US Senator Barack Obama’s quest for the US presidency was expected to receive a major boost Monday as leading Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy planned to formally endorse his White House bid.

The veteran lawmaker from Massachusetts was to make his announcement at a rally at Washington’s American University on Monday, accompanied by his niece Caroline, daughter of the late president John F. Kennedy, Democratic Party sources told AFP

Kennedy to endorse Obama in US election race
The Belfast Telegraph, UK, 1/28/08

Barack Obama is to get a powerful endorsement today in his race for the Democratic nomination ahead of this year’s US presidential election.

Senator Edward Kennedy, the youngest brother of John F Kennedy, is set to announce his support for Obama in Washington this afternoon.

Ted Kennedy Embraces Obama
Mike Allen, The Politico, 1/27/08

Rejecting a personal entreaty from President Bill Clinton, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) plans to endorse Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) for president in a joint appearance on Monday, Democratic sources said.

The embrace provides a dramatic rocket for Obama to ride into the frantic, nationwide campaigning ahead of the space of huge Super Tuesday primaries on Feb. 5, the biggest day for nominating contests in U.S. history.

Make That Two Kennedys for Obama
Elizabeth Benjamin, NY Daily News, 1/27/08

First came Caroline Kennedy’s "A President Like My Father" OpEd in the Times, endorsing Barack Obama and branding him the 21st Century JFK, and now comes word that Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy will follow with an Obama endorsement of his own tomorrow at a rally in Washington, D.C.

obama_endorsement

Barack Obama

Barack Obama inspires me.

That’s why I’m about to take the stage with him here in Washington and endorse his campaign to become the next president of the United States.

It’s that simple. Through Barack, I believe we will move beyond the politics of fear and personal destruction and unite our country with the politics of common purpose.

All Democrats in this race have strong ideas to address the challenges before our country. But Barack is the candidate who can inspire Americans to act and bring us together to achieve those goals—an economy that works for everyone, health care for all, and at long last ending the war in Iraq and bringing our troops home.

Join me and become part of the Obama campaign today:

http://www.democraticmajority.com/obama

I remember another leader who inspired the nation, especially our youth, to fulfill a promise of change. Those inspired young people marched, sat in at lunch counters, protested the war in Vietnam and served honorably in that war even when they opposed it.

That leader challenged them to ask what they could do for their country and, together, they changed the world.

So in the words of that leader, John Kennedy: "The world is changing. The old ways will not do… It is time for a new generation of leadership."

I have found that next generation of American leadership in Barack Obama.

Take a moment to join his campaign:

http://www.democraticmajority.com/obama

I respect the strength, the work and dedication of two other Democrats still in the race, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards. They are my friends; they have been my colleagues in the Senate. Whoever is our nominee will have my enthusiastic support.

But I believe there is one candidate whose extraordinary gifts of leadership and character match the extraordinary demands of this moment in history.

Barack will be a president who refuses to be trapped in the patterns of the past. He sees the world clearly without being cynical. He fights for the causes he believes in—but refuses to demonize those who hold a different view. He’s tough-minded, but he also has an uncommon capacity to appeal to "the better angels of our nature."

In Barack Obama, I see not just the audacity, but the possibility of hope for the America that is yet to be.

I love this country. I believe in the bright light of hope and possibility. I always have, even in the darkest hours. I know what America can achieve. I’ve seen it. I’ve lived it—and with Barack Obama, we can do it again.

Sincerely,

Senator Edward M. Kennedy

KENNEDY ON PRESIDENT�S BROKEN PROMISES

I predict that after hearing the President’s speech Monday night, Americans will be more convinced than ever that it’s time for change.They’ve heard seven long years of broken promises from this Administration.That’s what this election is all about. Electing leaders who will keep faith with the hopes and needs of working Americans.On Monday night, I fear we won’t hear a plan for the issues that matter most to Americans. We won’t hear a plan for tackling health care or education, our economy or the housing crisis, or even the war in Iraq, but we have a chance this year to elect a President who does.You won’t hear this President talk about the crushing burden of high health costs on working families. Yet, on his watch, the cost of health insurance has risen four times faster than wages. 47 million Americans lack health insurance, and are disenfranchised from the advances of this life science century. America needs a president who understands that health care should be a right, not a privilege.You won’t hear this President put the needs of working Americans at the heart of any economic stimulus package. He promised us in 2001 that hundreds of billions of dollars in tax cuts would stimulate the economy and help all Americans. Instead, our national debt has soared, and working families have suffered under skyrocketing costs and stagnant wages. America needs a president who will rebuild the economy so it works for working people.You won’t hear this President talking about addressing the needs of the 3.2 million students who have been left behind by his failure to keep his promises to fund school reform and you won’t hear the President laying out a plan for addressing the dropout crisis as 7,000 students drop out of school every day.America needs a president who will invest in our schools – in smaller classes, preschool and afterschool programs – so all students have the tools they need to succeed in a global economy. You won’t hear this President provide meaningful relief for families who’ve lost their homes. In just one month, over 200,000 families have lost their homes. The housing crisis is expected to lead to 2 million foreclosures in just the next two years. We need real solutions to keep families in their homes, but you won’t hear any on Monday night. You also won’t hear this President talk about bringing our troops home from Iraq.We’ve given the Iraqis nearly five years of American blood and treasure. It’s time for the Iraqis to work out their differences, stand on their own, and for American troops to come home. Each month, American taxpayers are spending $10 billion on the war in Iraq. That is real money that could be used to better the lives and opportunities of American families.You won’t hear the President provide the constructive solutions the nation needs for these challenges. But we have a chance this year to elect a President who does care about these issues----Someone who will make the needs of working Americans, not corporations, the highest priority; someone who will work to make health care and education more affordable, and who will finally bring the troops home.

KENNEDY ON HOUSE ECONOMIC STIMULUS AGREEMENT

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement in response to the announcement that an economic stimulus deal has been reached in the United States House of Representatives. "Speaker Pelosi and Minority Leader Boehner have taken an important first step. Working families should be assured that this agreement is not the final word. Families are in crisis, and it’s not enough just to help with their taxes. I intend to offer amendments in the Senate to strengthen this package--to provide unemployment insurance to workers looking for jobs, and to help families coping with high heating costs and skyrocketing food prices."

KENNEDY ON HOUSE CHIP VOTE

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement in response to the United States House of Representatives failing to override President Bush’s veto of the Children’s Health Insurance Program. "American families want real solutions to the problems they face. There is no priority more urgent than providing affordable health care for children. Our CHIP legislation has been approved by strong bipartisan majorities in the House and the Senate, and it’s outrageous that the President and his allies in Congress continue to stand in the way of the change that the American people demand."

KENNEDY, COLLEAGUES QUESTION MUKASEY ON WATERBOARDING

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy and nine Senate colleagues sent the following letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey, asking him to clarify his positions on waterboarding and other interrogation techniques. Attorney General Mukasey was previously asked about his stance on whether or not waterboarding constitutes torture on multiple occasions, but more than two months have passed since his confirmation. The letter asks specifically if Attorney General Mukasey believes that waterboarding, as well as other forms of coercive techniques, are illegal under United States law. Senator Kennedy said, “This Administration’s immoral and unlawful sanctioning of torture has stained the image of America and weakened our influence around the world. It is past time for Attorney General Mukasey to begin removing that stain by renouncing waterboarding as torture.”January 23, 2008The Honorable Michael Mukasey
Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20530 Dear Attorney General Mukasey: On October 23, 2007, we wrote to you to ask you whether the abusive interrogation technique known as waterboarding is illegal. On October 30, you responded that waterboarding and other abusive techniques “seem over the line or, on a personal basis, repugnant to me.” You said that you could not offer an opinion on the legality of waterboarding based on “hypothetical facts and circumstances” because you had not been briefed on the government’s interrogation techniques: “Legal opinions should treat real issues. I have not been briefed on techniques used in any classified interrogation program conducted by any government agency.” However, you committed that, “if confirmed I will review any coercive interrogation techniques currently used by the United States Government and the legal analysis authorizing their use to assess whether such techniques comply with the law.” You were confirmed as Attorney General on November 8, 2007. On November 9, Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham sent you a letter stating, “The scenarios you previously described as hypothetical are no longer so, and you now have the benefit of full access to classified programs and memoranda. We urge you to acquaint yourself immediately with these matters and take the opportunity to make clear that waterboarding is illegal and can never be employed.” It has been over two months since then, ample time for you to study this issue and reach a conclusion. On November 27, State Department Legal Advisor John Bellinger said you were giving “high priority” to reviewing interrogation techniques, claiming, “I think there is a growing recognition ... about the need for greater clarity about what is permitted and what is prohibited.” Your failure to say whether waterboarding is legal has placed Judge Mark Filip, the nominee for Deputy Attorney General, in a difficult position. When Judge Filip was asked at his confirmation hearing whether waterboarding was unlawful, he was unwilling to answer because you were studying the issue: “[T]he Attorney General of the United States is presently reviewing that legal question. … I don’t think I can, or anyone who could potentially [be] considered for his deputy, could get out in front of him on that question while it’s under review.” We are concerned that your silence poses a more serious threat to American servicemembers. As we noted in our October 23^rd letter:Your unwillingness to state that waterboarding is illegal may place Americans at risk of being subjected to this abusive technique. If the United States does not explicitly and publicly condemn waterboarding, it will be more difficult to argue that enemy forces cannot waterboard American prisoners.This concern was highlighted recently during “The Legal Rights of Guantanamo Detainees: What Are They, Should They Be Changed, and Is an End in Sight?” a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security on December 11. Brigadier General Thomas Hartmann, Legal Advisor to the Convening Authority for the Office of Military Commissions, refused to say whether it would be legal for the Iranian government to subject an American citizen to waterboarding. He also testified that it is possible that information obtained through waterboarding could be introduced as evidence in a military commission.In stark contrast to Brigadier General Hartmann’s refusal to say whether it would be illegal to waterboard an American, Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell recently opined that waterboarding would be torture if used against him. According to The New Yorker, DNI McConnell said, “If I had water draining into my nose, oh God, I just can’t imagine how painful! Whether it’s torture by anybody else’s definition, for me it would be torture.” Please respond to the following questions: 1. Is the use of waterboading as an interrogation technique illegal under U.S. law, including treaty obligations? 2. Based on your review of other coercive interrogation techniques and the legal analysis authorizing their use, what is your assessment of whether such techniques comply with the law? Thank you for your time and consideration.Sincerely,Edward M. Kennedy

KENNEDY ON BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement in response to the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association’s introduction of the “Pathway to Covering America: Ensuring Quality, Value, and Access,” a plan to secure health insurance for all Americans. "I commend the Association for making a serious contribution to the debate on health care reform. The American people are demanding change. It is unacceptable that quality health care is out of reach of millions of working families because it is unaffordable or unavailable, and Congress must act to see that quality, affordable health care is within reach for all Americans."

The Moment That Carried This Day

The Moment That Carried This DayWashington Post
By Allison Silberberg
Monday, January 21, 2008; A15 As we honor the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. today, it bears remembering how the holiday came to be.The legislation proposing creation of a federal holiday was not at all assured in the fall of 1983. The Democratic-controlled House had passed its bill in August with bipartisan support, but Democrats in the GOP-controlled Senate faced a fight despite support from some prominent Republicans. President Ronald Reagan was against this type of memorial. Many Republicans said they opposed it for economic reasons, arguing that our nation couldn’t afford another federal holiday.At the time, I was an intern for Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and was following the bill carefully. It’s fair to say I was rather devoted to the cause. I remember the October day that someone in the office mentioned that the senator’s speechwriter, Bob Shrum, had crafted an incredible statement in support of the holiday. I begged for permission to go to the galleries above the Senate floor to watch Kennedy deliver the speech.The galleries and the Senate were nearly empty when Kennedy walked onto the floor. I saw only three members—Kennedy, the senator who was presiding, and Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), who was speaking against the holiday.After several minutes, Helms said that he thought it "ironic" that "black citizens" were the ones who most needed jobs and yet were demanding a holiday. The few of us in the gallery gasped. Helms said repeatedly that the legislation was being railroaded through the Senate without proper hearings. Having heard enough, Kennedy rose to ask Helms to yield. Helms refused. Kennedy sat down and waited, reviewing his remarks. A few minutes later, he rose again, but Helms still held the floor. Finally, Helms said he would conclude—and then he uttered the words that turned the tide of the whole debate.Helms had been speaking about the negative economic effects of a federal holiday, but he announced that he also opposed the holiday because King had used "nonviolence as a provocative act to disturb the peace of the state and to trigger, in many cases, overreaction by authorities" and that King supported "action-oriented Marxism." Then he yielded the floor.Kennedy rose, his face reddening with anger. He put his prepared remarks aside and began to explain that Helms’s statement was exactly why our nation needed this holiday. The words seemed to come from deep within him. Kennedy said Helms’s comments took him back to an uglier time in America, a time that King courageously fought to correct, as Kennedy’s own brothers had.Helms, who had been leaving the chamber, returned. "Will the senator please yield the floor?" he shouted."No, I will not yield the floor," Kennedy replied.As Kennedy spoke, other senators appeared, trying to see what the commotion was about. The doors to the press gallery flew open, and reporters rushed forward and peered over the railing with notepads in hand. It was like a scene from a movie.I was moved as Kennedy spoke about how it was critical to fight intolerance in our land, about how every generation needs to build bridges of understanding. He wanted the holiday to remind Americans that our nation must ensure equal opportunity for all and said that King had died fighting for that inalienable right.It was his finest hour, and Helms’s worst.The next day, The Post ran a front-page story about Helms’s remarks. Helms defended his statement and continued questioning King’s patriotism. The debate drew attention. As the vote loomed later that month, some senators switched sides out of fear of being associated with Helms’s views.The legislation passed.Right after the Senate vote, which I watched from the packed gallery, I rushed in excitement to the room that had been set aside for a reception. Not seeing anyone there, I turned around. I remember hearing a thunderous sound coming toward me. A crowd turned the corner, and there were Kennedy, Coretta Scott King, other famous civil rights leaders and so many other supporters filling the long hall. As they walked, arm in arm, they began singing "We Shall Overcome." It was a glorious moment.President Reagan signed the bill, but the fight over the holiday continued. Some states initially refused to honor it, and it was years before the last holdouts—New Hampshire and Arizona—acknowledged the day.Perhaps all of us can pause, on this day free of work, and think not of politics or acrimony but of the three surviving King children. This is a day for Americans to think of those who seek freedom from want and injustice, especially the children in our nation and around the world who need others to stand up on their behalf. Dr. King’s dream will be alive and well if each of us does what we can for the most vulnerable in our midst.Allison Silberberg is a writer living in Alexandria. Her e-mail address isallisonsilb@aol.com.

Home Heat Help Here

By Robin Kaminski

Lynn Dailey Item

1-18-08

LYNN - A total of $450 million in emergency relief funds were released Wednesday by the federal government to assist needy families, with roughly $27.2 million targeted for Massachusetts.

Record low temperatures have all but squeezed cash strapped families across the city struggling to keep their households warm, and they are still in danger of running out of heat in the dead of winter according to Lynn Economic Opportunity, Inc. (LEO) Executive Director John Mogielnicki.

With the extra emergency funds, the assistance basically translates into 100 gallons of oil to be distributed to the poorest families in the city through the low-income energy assistance program (LIHEAP).

Still, Mogielnicki said it’s not nearly enough and that people would most likely run out of the extra fuel before February hits.

"There are going to be thousands of families without fuel because people are having such difficulty heating their homes, paying their bills and they are basically living off of credit cards," he said. "It’s just a terrible situation."

On Thursday, Mogielnicki attended a home heating crisis hearing spearheaded by Senator Ted Kennedy at the State House in Boston to get the message out that people are in danger of dying to stay warm.

Diane Colby, a Lynn resident, testified at the hearing regarding the difficulty of heating her home and paying her bills on time.

"She’s really having a hard time and it’s very dangerous for the elderly and infants to stay warm without heat," Mogielnicki said. "It’s hard to hear about kids shivering under six blankets at night just to stay warm."

On Wednesday, Mogielnicki said he attended a similar hearing in Boston in which he and other officials requested an additional $15 million in assistance.

And in December, Mogielnicki said statewide interest was generated during a heat summit in Lynn that was purposely held to alert people to the nature of the crisis.

Congressman John Tierney said he has been fighting for the extra funds since last November.

"It is wrong for senior citizens to be forced to make a decision between filling prescriptions and paying for heat, and it is wrong for families to have to choose between shopping for groceries and paying for heat," he said. "Fortunately, the administration has finally heeded the recommendations of congress to release emergency funding."

Roughly 40 percent of homes in the state and about 1,100 in the city rely on oil heat, which is currently hovering at or above $3 a gallon.

In years past, Mogielnicki said LEO anticipated that emergency fuel assistance would range between $100,000 to $125,000, but now the range hovers around $600,000 to $1.2 million.

To date, the state has already received about $82 million in fuel assistance, enough to help about 95,000 families.

However, Mogielnicki said the situation is becoming a dire one.

"The federal government has to basically double its assistance to $5.1 billion for low income families," he said. "But the federal government isn’t stepping up and there are an awful lot of cold families out there."

Congress keen on economic stimulus

By MARILYN GEEWAX

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Published on: 01/17/08

Washington — With economic news growing bleaker by the day, leaders in Congress pledged Wednesday to work together to quickly brighten the outlook.

"Help is on the way," Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) said after a hearing where former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers recommended that the government spend up to $150 billion to ward off a potentially "long and severe" recession.

"We are prepared to take action," Kennedy said following Summers’ testimony.

House leaders also are worried about the economic damage being done by rising oil prices, a slumping housing market and a credit crunch. After a meeting with House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she is "optimistic" that action will come soon.

Boehner told reporters that they had reached "an agreement that we will work together to try to bring forward a package that truly is stimulative."

The leaders plan to meet Tuesday with President Bush to discuss their ideas.

Despite the assurances of bipartisan cooperation, it’s not yet clear whether Bush and Democratic-led Congress will be able to agree because of a split over tax policy.

Top congressional Democrats are calling for tax rebates aimed at low- and middle-income workers, as well as more food stamps and home-heating aid for struggling families. They also want construction projects to create jobs and additional unemployment benefits, and transitional health care coverage for workers losing their jobs.

"For millions of families, the recession is already here," Kennedy said at the Joint Economic Committee hearing. "Our plan should be focused on average Americans facing tough times."

Bush’s economic stimulus plan, expected to be unveiled in his State of the Union address on Jan. 28, likely will focus on making permanent his 2001 income tax cuts, which otherwise will expire by 2011.

William Beach, an economist with the Heritage Foundation, a conservative research group, praised Bush’s approach.

"There are projects, new businesses and expansions of existing businesses that would be undertaken today if Congress signaled that taxes would be lower in three years," Beach said.

"Since nearly all major capital undertakings last beyond this three-year period, it is likely that making all or most of the Bush tax reductions permanent would stimulate economic activity today as well as in 2011," he said.

Kennedy dismissed such assertions.

"We need to get money into workers’ pockets in 2008 to encourage spending and boost the economy," he said. "What we don’t need are long-term tax cuts that will drag our economy down in future years."

At a news conference after the hearing, Sen. Charles Schumer, the New York Democrat who chairs the Joint Economic Committee, agreed with Kennedy that renewing expiring tax cuts would not help the economy.

Schumer argued that if Congress were to extend all of the cuts indefinitely, the U.S. budget deficit would worsen, forcing the government to issue more bonds. To attract people to invest in those new U.S. securities, the Treasury would have to raise interest rates, and higher rates would only hurt consumers and homeowners, he said.

Instead, Congress should act within weeks to complete a stimulus package that is timely, targeted and temporary, Schumer said.

Schumer said he spoke by phone on Monday with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who agreed "that fiscal stimulus is certainly needed."

Summers, who served as Treasury chief in the Clinton administration and is now a Harvard economics professor, told lawmakers that he previously had suggested government spend $50 billion to $75 billion to boost the slowing economy.

But he said that in recent weeks, employment growth has slowed so dramatically that spending may have to total twice his original recommendation to have an impact.

"The risks here of ‘too little, too late’ are far, far, far greater than the risk of ‘too much, too soon,’ " Summers said.

A report released Tuesday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said stimulus proposals aimed at low- and middle-class families would be most helpful.

"Lower-income households are more likely to be credit constrained and more likely to be among those with the highest propensity to spend," it said.

Expert Says $150 Billion Stimulus Needed

Jan. 17, 2008

By ANDREW TAYLOR – 2 days ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — The economy has worsened to the point where Congress should pass an economic stimulus bill of up to $150 billion, former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers told lawmakers Wednesday.

Summers, an economics professor at Harvard University, had previously said $50 billion to $75 billion in tax cuts and pump-priming government spending is needed to boost the sagging economy. Now, his recommendation is double that — though perhaps employing a "trigger" that would release the money only if the economy worsens further.

He said the advantage of employing a trigger to release a second stage of fiscal stimulus that could take effect without the need for new legislation is to avoid delays that could deliver an economic boost too late.

"The risks here of ‘too little, too late’ are far, far, far greater than the risk of ‘too much too soon,’" Summers said.

Wednesday’s Joint Economic Committee hearing was the first of several slated in coming days and weeks as Congress is barreling toward action on a stimulus bill. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, slated an afternoon meeting where the tone and atmosphere are likely to be as important as any of the substantive discussion.

Pelosi and Boehner have little history of working together on substantive legislation, but both have promised bipartisan cooperation on a potential stimulus bill. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said he hopes Congress and President Bush can adopt a stimulus measure within 30 days.

There is no shortage of ideas about how best to try to boost the economy, though consensus seems to be developing in favor of a tax rebate.

Democrats are coalescing around ideas such as extending unemployment benefits, boosting food stamp payments and doling out aid to ailing state governments. Republicans are promoting business tax breaks such as incentives for investments in new plants and equipment and lowering the corporate income tax rate. They also say extending tax cuts slated to expire at the end of 2010 would give small businesses greater confidence to make investments now.

Panel Chairman Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said he had spoken with Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke on Monday and that Bernanke is "generally supportive" lawmakers and Bush passing a stimulus bill.

"He said that while he wasn’t going to endorse a specific plan, if an economic stimulus package was properly designed and enacted so that it enters the economy quickly, it could have a very positive effect on the economy," Schumer said of Bernanke’s views.

Bernanke testifies before the House Budget Committee Thursday.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., said home heating subsidies and new job training programs should also be considered for a stimulus package. Such ideas have drawn a chilly response from Republicans.

$450 million in federal home heating aid given to states

Jan. 17, 2008

By KIMBERLY HEFLING Associated Press Writer

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON

The Bush administration on Wednesday released $450 million in emergency relief funds, including nearly $5 million for Rhode Island, to help needy residents pay soaring heating bills.

Lawmakers and heating aid advocates had pressed President Bush to provide additional funding to states through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

Rhode Island is in line for $4.47 million in emergency money. The state was already getting about $13.4 million from the basic LIHEAP program. About 30,000 households relied on LIHEAP aid last year, officials said.

"With temperatures dropping and energy prices rising, this release of LIHEAP contingency funds is sorely needed," Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., said in a statement. "This emergency funding will help thousands of working families and seniors in Rhode Island keep their heat turned on this winter."

Reed serves as the chairman of the Northeast-Midwest Coalition, a bipartisan group of senators who seek to advance policies that enhance the region’s economy and environment.

Massachusetts, where about 40 percent of homes use oil heat, was already getting about $82 million from the basic LIHEAP program, enough to help about 95,000 families, according to Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. The additional $27.2 million in emergency relief funds from the Bush administration will allow the state to expand its aid this winter.

"Today is a step in the right direction, helping to save the citizens of Massachusetts from having to choose between heating their home, putting food on their table, seeking health care for their children, or obtaining other necessities this winter," said Kennedy, who had been among those asking President Bush for the additional money.

Kennedy will be holding a hearing Thursday on the home heating crisis in Massachusetts and the need to fund the LIHEAP program.

"The release of this funding can’t come soon enough for the thousands of Massachusetts residents who have been forced to either empty their bank accounts or take desperate, and often unsafe, measures in order to heat their homes," Sen John Kerry, D-Mass., said in a statement.

Kerry also pushed for the additional money.

It was feared that some states would soon run out of money to distribute through the program.

Connecticut will get roughly $13.6 million in emergency heat aid.

"Many of us have been calling for some time for the release of funds from LIHEAP," Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., said in a statement. "The cold arctic blast reminds us all how important it is to help those who are struggling to make ends meet. "

The top recipient is New York, which receives $82 million. Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey and Ohio each receive $25 million or more.

"The funding comes at a key time," said Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., who said in a statement that many residents are having to choose between heating or eating. His home state gets more than $44 million.

Record home heating oil prices have squeezed cash-strapped households. Residents in the Northeast, which leans more heavily on oil heat than other regions, have struggled with oil prices that have topped more than $3 a gallon.

Relying on information from the Energy Information Administration, several senators told Bush in a letter late last year that households can expect to pay 10 percent to 22 percent more for heating fuels this winter than last, and home heating prices are expected to reach almost $1,000 this year per household.

Congress recently approved roughly $2.6 billion for LIHEAP, and Bush signed the measure on Dec. 26. It’s about $409 million more than last winter, but fuel aid advocates had warned that it wasn’t enough to keep pace with record oil prices.

KENNEDY ON ECONOMIC DOWNTURN

When the economy is wrong, nothing else is right for working families. Hard-working families are losing their jobs, their homes, their health care and their hope. More and more families across America wish they could look to the future, but they’re just trying to get through today.We’re here to say, “We hear you. We’re here to work for you.”Under the leadership of Senator Reid and Speaker Pelosi, we’re ready to sit down with our Republican colleagues and the White House to develop responsible legislation that will help families through these tough times and begin the task of rebuilding the economy for the future.We’re going to do something quick and temporary. We’ll pass a temporary increase in unemployment benefits to help those looking for new jobs. We’re working on transitional health coverage, emergency housing aid, emergency heating assistance and emergency job training. And we’ll have a targeted tax rebate for low and middle income families. A quick tax rebate that gets money into workers’ pockets fast is a good economic stimulus. But permanent tax rollbacks for the wealthy and corporate America are bad policy that will drag our economy down in the future.We’re going to focus on average Americans. 90% of the benefit of any stimulus package should go to the 90% of ordinary Americans who work for a living. If there’s one thing we’ve learned from history, it’s that we cannot just pad the pockets of those at the top and hope that some benefit trickles down to the rest of the people. Restoring prosperity means building security for the people who built America – workers and their families. Finally, we’re going to do something substantial. That means more than just writing a check – it means a robust package of reforms that will make a real difference in people’s lives. These policies don’t just help families in crisis – they jump-start the economy as well. People don’t work for the economy; the economy should work for them. By investing in people – in their jobs, their health care, their homes and their futures – we can pump real dollars into the economy and create the timely stimulus we need to prevent an imminent recession. Working Americans have been waiting too long for a chance at a brighter future. They deserve our best efforts. Starting today. Starting now. I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to do what’s right for working families in the weeks ahead.

KENNEDY ON IRAQ SURGE ANNIVERSARY

WASHINGTON, DC— Yesterday, Senator Edward M. Kennedy released the following statement on the anniversary of President Bush’s announcement of the surge strategy in Iraq. “When President Bush announced the surge one year ago, he said a successful strategy for Iraq goes beyond military operations. He said the surge will give the Iraqi government the “breathing space it needs to make progress in other critical areas… and reducing the violence in Baghdad will help make reconciliation possible.”A year into the escalation, the violence has declined but political reconciliation hasn’t happened and Iraqi politicians are not being held accountable for the lack of progress or success. The Pentagon itself admits that progress is lacking on these important issues. It’s December 14 report stated, “Iraqi leaders have made only marginal progress on key legislation, constitutional revisions and in resolving other critical issues needed for political reform and reconciliation.” The best way to protect our troops and our own national security is to put the Iraqis on notice that they need to take responsibility for their future. Unless there’s a binding timeline for withdrawal of our troops, the Iraqis will not feel the need to make the compromises essential for a political solution.”

KENNEDY RESPONDS TO BUSH ON NCLB ON THE EVE OF ANNIVERSARY

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement in response to President Bush’s remarks on the No Child Left Behind Act made today at the Greeley Elementary School in Chicago, Illinois. Tomorrow is the sixth anniversary of the enactment of the law. “There are few responsibilities more important for Congress than to strengthen, support, and modernize our public schools to give every child in America a fighting chance in today’s changing economy. It’s about opportunity for our citizens. It’s about the strength of our nation’s economy and our democracy. We’ve learned a lot over the past five years about what works and what doesn’t work with the No Child Left Behind Act. We can’t abandon the law’s focus on helping every one of our students compete and win in the global economy. But it’s clear that the law still needs major changes to bring out the best in all children. For many, No Child Left Behind has become a slogan for what the White House has done wrong instead of what schools can do right. Time and time again, the Bush Administration has failed to stand behind the promise made to children and their families to provide additional resources schools desperately need to help all students succeed.In this year’s reauthorization, we have a responsibility to chart a new course for improving our public schools, to fix what hasn’t worked under the No Child Left Behind Act, and to address new challenges in our education system. We owe it to children, parents, and schools to get it done this year and to get it right.

How To Fix ‘No Child’

How To Fix ‘No Child’Source: The Washington Post
Date: 01/07/2008
Section: Editorial
Page: A17Edward M. Kennedy http://www.washingtonpost.com Copyright 2008, The Washington Post Co. All Rights Reserved With renewal of the No Child Left Behind Act high on the agenda for the new session of Congress, it’s no surprise that the 2002 law—the Bush administration’s signature domestic initiative—has become a political football in this intense campaign season. The administration continues to speak glowingly of the law while Democratic candidates blast it. But simplistic campaign rhetoric hardly reflects what’s actually happening on school reform. Tomorrow is the sixth anniversary of the law’s enactment. It’s a good time to take realistic stock of things. Obviously, the results are mixed. Many elements of the reforms have produced encouraging progress for young children in public schools across the nation, and they deserve to be supported. Other aspects of the law have not been satisfactory, and some have been failures. These must be changed. The stakes are high. At issue is a goal that Democrats have long embraced as a fundamental principle of our party—opportunity for all Americans. Strengthening the nation’s schools is essential for preparing our citizens to compete and win in the global economy. We in Congress have an obligation to parents, to teachers and, most of all, to schoolchildren across America to draw the right lessons from these past six years with the No Child Left Behind Act and put school reform on a stronger path for the future. On the plus side, the law demands that all children must benefit—black or white, immigrant or native-born, rich or poor, disabled or not. Before its enactment, only a handful of states monitored the achievement of every group of students in their schools. Today, all 50 states must do that. Across the country, schools are poring over student data to identify weaknesses in instruction and to improve teaching and learning. All schools now measure performance based not on the achievement of their average and above-average students but on their progress in helping below-average students reach high standards as well. The positive changes are evident in the National Assessment of Educational Progress, better known as "The Nation’s Report Card." The improvements are still modest, but they’re noticeable, particularly among students who formerly were low achievers. We’re beginning to see a narrowing of the achievement gap between white students and other students. All of this is good news. But the law still needs major changes to bring out the best in all children. The process for rating troubled schools fails to reward incremental progress made by schools struggling to catch up. Its one-size-fits-all approach encourages "teaching to the test" and discourages innovation in the classroom. We need to encourage local decision makers to use a broader array of information, beyond test scores, to determine which schools need small adjustments and which need extensive reforms. The act doesn’t do enough to support teachers as the professionals they are by training and mentoring them and by placing good teachers in the schools that need them most. It fails to deal with the dropout crisis, which puts large numbers of young students beyond the reach of the American dream. It doesn’t involve parents enough in helping their children succeed. It falls short in achieving smaller classes so that teachers can give children the one-on-one attention they need. Most of all, the law fails to supply the essential resources that schools desperately need to improve their performance. We can’t achieve progress for all students on the cheap. No child should have to attend crumbling schools or learn from an outdated textbook, regardless of where he or she lives. It’s disgraceful that President Bush has failed to include adequate funding for school reform in his education budgets. Struggling schools can do only so much on a tin-cup budget. Four decades ago, my brother Robert Kennedy asked at a Senate hearing on education: "What happened to the children?" That question is as appropriate today as it was in 1966. We’re still not doing enough for the nation’s schools and children. As Democrats and Republicans choose their nominees in our democratic process, and as President Bush prepares to deliver his last State of the Union address, let us all remember that we owe it to our children and our children’s children to put progress ahead of politics and support what is working in school reform, and to work together to fix what is not. The writer, a Democratic senator from Massachusetts, was a lead author of the No Child Left Behind Act.

KENNEDY ON DOJ INVESTIGATION INTO CIA INTERROGATION TAPES

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy released the following statement in response to the Department of Justice’s announcement that a criminal investigation has been opened into the destruction of CIA interrogation videotapes. “Today’s announcement by the Department of Justice is an important step towards a full and independent investigation of the CIA’s destruction of interrogation tapes. Those tapes may have been evidence of a crime, and their destruction may have been a crime in itself. I had strongly urged Attorney General Mukasey to take this investigation away from Main Justice, to appoint a prosecutor, and to have the FBI lead the investigation. I commend him for taking these steps. Congress will continue to have a vital role in conducting oversight of both the CIA’s actions and this unfolding investigation. The rule of law requires no less."

Kennedy speaks about the Iraq war

Yesterday, Senator Kennedy spoke on the Senate floor about the Iraq war. Watch his speech:

KENNEDY ON IRAQ WAR FUNDING

I support this amendment.It is wrong to provide yet another blank check to President Bush for his failed Iraq policy. I support our troops, but I oppose this war. Our military has served nobly in Iraq and done everything we have asked them to do. But they’re caught in a continuing quagmire, and the long hoped—political solution is still as elusive as ever. Our troops are being held hostage to both Iraqi politics and U.S. politics. Sectarian leaders in Iraq are unable or unwilling to make the difficult judgments needed to lift Iraq out of its downward spiral. The best way to end this charade and protect our troops and our national security is to put the Iraqis on notice that they need to take responsibility for their future. Unless there’s a binding timeline for the redeployment of our troops, the Iraqis will not feel the need to make the compromises essential for a political solution. Brig. Gen. John Campbell, deputy commanding general of the 1st Cavalry Division in Iraq, spoke bluntly about the faults of Iraq’s political leaders. He said “The ministers, they don’t get out…They don’t know what the hell is going on on the ground.” Army Lt. Col. Mark Fetter put it this way: “It is painful, very painful” to deal with the obstructionism of Iraqi officials.Yet, the President Bush continues to ask us to pour hundreds of billions into Iraq based on a promise that success is just around the corner. The toll in Iraq is devastating.Nearly 4000 American troops have died, including 81 brave men and women from Massachusetts. Tens of thousands of Iraqis have been killed or injured, and over four million more have been forced to flee their homes.Nearly half a trillion dollars have been spent fighting this war that America never should have fought.It’s time to put the brakes on this madness. It’s up to us in Congress to say no to any further open-ended commitment of our troops, the kind commitment that President Bush has been making year after year. We need to tell the Iraqis now—and tell them loud and clear—that we intend to leave and do it soon. It’s the only way to create the urgency that is so clearly necessary for the Iraqi leaders to end their differences.It’s wrong for Congress to write still another blank check to the President for the war. It’s obvious that President Bush wants to drag this process out month after month, so he can hand off his Iraqi policy to the next President. If this issue were only about the tragedies of the war, that would be reason enough to end it. But it’s about so much more. This bill demonstrates the fallout we’re starting to see here at home as the President refuses to deliver on urgent domestic priorities of the American people.Last month, Congress passed an Appropriations Bill to provide billions greater funding for the priorities such as education, cancer research, and worker protections. But the President vetoed that bill, because of the American people are not his priorities, so he denied them the assistance they need and deserve. By contrast on Iraq, the sky is the limit. Billions and billions and billions of dollars for George Bush’s war. But here in America – right here at home – a modest increased investment in the nation’s families is vetoed.Each month, American taxpayers are spending $10 billion on the war in Iraq. That’s real money and it could be used bring better lives and opportunities to American families:· For the cost of only one month in Iraq, we could hire 230,000 new teachers to reduce class sizes so that teachers can spend more time with each student. Or we could provide needed professional development to improve the skills of two-thirds of the teachers in the country. · For the cost of less than one week in Iraq, we could more than triple the number of children served by high-quality after-school programs. Measures to improve students’ academic achievement and social and emotional development help for hard-working parents and new ways to keep students and communities safe by decreasing drug use and violence. · For the cost of three weeks in Iraq, we could fully serve all the needy 3- and 4-year-olds eligible for Head Start. These are children who need extra help and assistance to make them ready to learn when they enter school. Right now, we’re serving only half of all those who are eligible for such services. Last week, the President signed a Head Start bill to strengthen that program and make it even better, and help build a basic foundation for learning that will help low-income and minority children for the rest of their lives. The war is also draining essential resources needed to protect our hard-working men and women. · For the cost of one day in Iraq, we could hire over 2,700 new safety and health inspectors at OSHA—nearly quadrupling the inspections that help keep millions of American workers safe on the job. · For the cost of one day in Iraq, we could double enforcement of the nation’s wage and hour laws to guarantee that workers are treated fairly. This help would go to protect hardworking families who rely on overtime pay, prevent violations of our child labor laws, and ensure that parents who need to care for sick children can meet their family needs and still return to their jobs. · For the cost of one week in Iraq, we could train over 160,000 additional men and women for better jobs in the new global economy. We all know how important access to high quality primary care is to the health of our nation especially. Yet nearly 47 million Americans are uninsured today, including 9 million children. · For the cost of one month in Iraq, 20,000 new grants could be made to local health centers, and 19 million patients could be served for a year by these centers. · For the cost of three and a half months in Iraq, we could pay for all of the uncompensated health care in the United States for one year. · For one day in Iraq, which costs us 343 million dollars, 283,000 more children could be covered by the Children’s Health Insurance Plan. · For one week in Iraq, at a cost of 2.4 billion dollars, nearly 2 million more children could receive that insurance. · For one month in Iraq, at a cost of $10 billion dollars, eight and a half million more children could be covered by such insurance. It’s wrong to neglect priorities like these at home and pour hundreds of billions of dollars into the black hole the Iraq war has become. It’s wrong to give the President yet another huge blank check for the war in Iraq. Enough is enough is enough is enough. I urge my colleagues to take a strong stand, and vote against this gigantic blank check for more war.

KENNEDY ASKS FBI FOR INTERROGATION TAPES

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy sent the following letter to Robert S. Mueller III, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, regarding the destruction by the CIA of videotapes of the interrogation of two detainees. Senator Kennedy requests notification as to whether or not the FBI has retained such videotapes or transcripts, and if so, that they be preserved and make available for inspection. The text of the letter is below. December 18, 2007 Robert S. Mueller III
Director
Federal Bureau of Investigation Dear Director Mueller: Congress and the American people were stunned to learn that the CIA had destroyed videotapes of the interrogation of two detainees, Abu Zubaida and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri. Plainly the videotapes of those interrogations were relevant to ongoing and future litigation and to congressional oversight of the treatment of detainees. Members of Congress and the courts have begun to sort through the consequences of the destruction of the tapes and the question has arisen whether other copies exist of the videotapes, transcripts of the interrogations, or other documents related to the interrogations or the destruction of the tapes. Today’s Washington Post report on FBI participation in the interrogation of Abu Zubaida clearly raises the question whether the FBI has such copies now, or had them in the past. Please let me know whether the FBI has retained videotapes or transcripts of either of these interrogations, or has retained other documents bearing on the interrogations. If so, I trust you are taking appropriate steps to guarantee their preservation. If you do have such information, I ask that you produce copies or make them available for inspection. If the FBI has such copies in the past, I ask that you explain what has happened to them. I’m sure you recognize the special importance of the questions raised by the CIA’s destruction of the interrogation videotapes and the need for Congress to obtain complete information, so that it can perform its legitimate oversight and legislative roles. I look forward to your early response to this letter.Sincerely,Edward M. Kennedy

KENNEDY ON SECOND BUSH VETO OF CHIP

WASHINGTON, DC— Yesterday, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement in response to President Bush vetoing the Children’s Health Insurance Program for the second time. “Once again President Bush has slammed the door on our nation’s most vulnerable citizens--our children. As we get ready to celebrate the holidays, we should remember how many of them have been left out in the cold by this administration. This should be a season of good will not a season of bad vetoes.”

KENNEDY REACTION TO BUSH ON HEAD START ENACTMENT

I applaud President Bush for enacting this landmark reauthorization of the Head Start program. By an overwhelming margin, Congress has elected to keep Head Start on its successful path, and to enable the program to thrive and improve. With this bill, we’re reaching out early to make greater opportunities available for thousands of our neediest children. We’re providing a fairer chance for very young children to grow up healthy and safe. We’re preparing them to enter school ready to learn, and to graduate from high school ready to go on to college and achieve the American dream.This reauthorization maintains the high standards and comprehensive services in Head Start. It upgrades the educational aspects and quality of the program. It dedicates greater resources to training Head Start teachers, and sets specific goals for their learning and development. And it expands the successful Early Head Start program to reach up to 8,000 additional infants and toddlers living in poverty.Two years ago, the Government Accountability Office confirmed many of my long-standing concerns with this Administration’s Head Start National Reporting System, concluding that their test of 4- and 5- year olds in the program is not a valid determinations about Head Start’s quality or about the children it serves. That study also confirmed that the test was inconsistent with nationally-recognized testing standards and unclear in its purpose.I’m pleased that, on a bipartisan basis, Congress has terminated the flawed National Reporting System. This reauthorization will ensure that any assessment used from this point forward in Head Start programs will be valid and reliable, fair to children from all backgrounds, and measure the whole child. Head Start children and their families deserve nothing less.The focus on local neighborhoods and their children has always been at the heart of the Head Start program, which is why Congress also rejected the Bush Administration’s flawed approach to block grant Head Start. This Administration’s block grant for Head Start proposed to block out its guarantee of comprehensive services for children and families. Head Start’s design enables it to tailor its services to meet local community needs, and this reauthorization will maintain a universal standard of quality across every Head Start center in the nation. Most importantly, this reauthorization signals a commitment to invest more in our youngest children, and to assist Head Start in responding to the changing and evolving needs of its children. I am disappointed that President Bush has distanced himself from the funding commitment this bill provides. While the President has asked Congress to approve spending $433 million per day in Iraq, he says the modest increase in this bill to help our neediest children prepare for school is too much – an increase that, over 3 years, is equivalent to the cost of only two days in Iraq. I hope the President will join Congress in providing the resources needed for Head Start to grow and succeed.

KENNEDY ON PUBLIC SAFETY EMPLOYEE-EMPLOYEE COOPERATION AMENDMENT

Public safety workers are on the front lines of our effort to keep communities in America safe. They’re on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, doing backbreaking, difficult work. They never blink or falter. They do their duty and they do it well. · When devastating fires raged through Southern California, they battled the blazes. · When the I-35 bridge collapsed in Minneapolis, they were first on the scene.· When massive tragedy hit New York City on 9/11, their heroic work inspired the nation and restored our spirit. Just last week in Everett, Massachusetts, a tanker truck hauling ten thousand tons of fuel suddenly exploded on the highway. 40 cars caught fire, and it took more than 3 hours to put out the flames. But because the police, firefighters and emergency medical technicians responded so quickly, no one was killed in the accident. Words can’t begin to express our gratitude.These heroic men and women have earned our thanks and our respect. And they have also earned the right to be treated with dignity. That’s why it’s such a privilege to join with Senator Harkin and Senator Gregg on this bipartisan Public Safety Cooperation Amendment to the Farm Bill, to guarantee that all firefighters, police officers, emergency medical personnel, and other first responders have a voice at the table in the life-and-death discussions and decisions about their work. It will ensure that they are treated fairly, and it will help them keep our communities safe. It’s no wonder that this amendment has received such strong bipartisan support. It passed the House with 314 supporters.The amendment guarantees that every first responder will have the same basic right that most other workers in the public sector already enjoy – the right to collective bargaining. Many first responders already have this fundamental right. Every New York City firefighter, emergency medical technician, and police officer who responded to the disaster at the World Trade Center on 9/11 was a union member under a collective bargaining agreement. So were the 7,000 firefighters who responded to the crisis in California. They were able to respond more efficiently and effectively to the crisis, because they had a voice on the job. Many other first responders, however, are not so fortunate. 29 states and the District of Columbia guarantee all public safety workers the right to collective bargaining - but 21 states still deny some or most or even all such workers this fundamental right. Their first responders don’t have a voice in the policies that affect their safety and their livelihoods. That’s both illogical and unfair. We see all too often how dangerous these jobs can be. In 2005, 80,000 firefighters were injured in the line of duty. 76,000 law enforcement officers were assaulted or injured, and almost 300 of these public safety employees paid the ultimate price. First responders face chronic, long-term health problems as well. The brave men and women who responded at Ground Zero now suffer from crippling health problems such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. These men and women are profiles in courage. They walk into fires, wade into floods, and put their lives on the line to protect our homes and families. They know what they need to have to be safe on the job. They deserve the right to have a say in the decisions that affect their lives. The amendment grants these basic rights in a reasonable way that respects existing state laws. States that already grant collective bargaining to public safety workers are not affected by the bill. States that don’t offer this protection can establish their own collective bargaining systems, or ask the Federal Labor Relations Authority for help. What the amendment does do is set a standard—each state has full authority to decide how it will provide these basic rights.These rights for first responders aren’t just important for the workers – they’re key to the safety of our communities and our nation. In this post-9/11 era, first responders have an indispensable role in homeland security. It’s vital to our national interest that the essential services they provide are carried out as effectively as possible. As study after study shows, cooperation between public safety employers and employees improves the quality of services and reduces fatalities. That’s why strong, cooperative partnerships between first responders and the communities they serve are essential to public safety. As Dennis Compton, Fire Chief of the City of Phoenix, has said: “When labor and management leaders work together to build mutual trust, mutual respect, and a strong commitment to service, it helps focus [a] fire department on what is truly most important… providing excellent service to the customers.” Our families and communities deserve the best public safety services we can possibly provide, and it starts with the strong foundation that collective bargaining makes possible.We cannot call these brave men and women heroes in a time of crisis, but turn our backs on them today. We need to act now to make these basic rights available to all of America’s first responders. It’s a matter of fundamental fairness, and an urgent matter of public safety. The best way to give our heroes the respect they deserve is by supporting this amendment, and I urge them to do so.

KENNEDY COMMENTS ON PRESIDENTS�S EMERGENCY PLAN FOR AIDS RELIEF

There are many issues before us that have wide-ranging effects on vast numbers of people. But few are as consequential as our response to the global HIV/AIDS epidemic where entire societies are at risk.Sometimes history is changed by great leaders, by wars, or by scientific breakthroughs. And sometimes history is transformed by something as tiny as a virus. We have seen the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS on our own shores with our own citizens. The fight against HIV/AIDS here at home continues as we are reminded that our responsibilities here at home are far from over. But we also know that in recent years the HIV virus has affected the lives of millions of people across the globe. It has destroyed families – even whole villages – and threatens the well-being of entire nations. At times, this disease has brought out the worst in mankind. Children orphaned by AIDS have been deprived of their rights. Women and girls have been shamefully exploited. And millions of people living with HIV/AIDS have faced stigma, fear, and discrimination. But we’ve also seen the best in mankind. Nation after nation has pledged to help. Scientists have devoted their lives to finding better ways to prevent and treat AIDS. Doctors, nurses, and other health professionals have worked tirelessly in cities and towns and villages across the world to give hope and help to persons living with AIDS.But the true heroes of this global challenge are those who struggle with the epidemic every day. The parents who fight to provide a better life for their children. The grandparents who take on the unexpected responsibility of caring for children whose parents have been lost. The millions of people who face their extraordinary challenges with quiet dignity and unshakeable determination.We are here to help these heroes win their battle for a better, healthier life for themselves and for their children. We must set ourselves the goal that within our lifetimes, we will be able to say, “No child was left an orphan by AIDS today. No life was cut short by this dread disease.” Our nation has stepped forward and applied our resources and expertise not only to combat HIV in our country, but for people around the world. I commend President Bush for launching the PEPFAR global AIDS initiative to help meet this challenge, and for joining Democrats and Republicans in calling for its renewal. PEPFAR and our contributions to the Global Fund have made a real difference in the lives of millions of people. PEPFAR currently supports treatment with lifesaving anti-retroviral drugs for nearly one and a half million people. The program has supported services to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV for over 10 million pregnancies. And it has provided help for 2.7 million orphans and vulnerable children.We must build on these successes, and examine where the program needs improvement.With our colleagues on the Foreign Relations Committee, we have a special responsibility in this task, since so many of the key elements of PEPFAR are within our scope. Our work in evaluating this program has been assisted by the thoughtful analysis of expert bodies, such as the Institute of Medicine, that have examined the PEPFAR program and made recommendations for improvement. One major conclusion from all these reviews is that the rigid funding allocations included in the original legislation hamper the flexibility that is essential in a program that spans the globe. We must also examine how generic medicines become eligible for funding under PEPFAR. At the time of the original legislation, Senator McCain and I offered an amendment to require PEPFAR to adopt the same standards that other major donors use. Our amendment was rejected, but the PEPFAR program has since acted to improve the use of generic drugs, and our committee must determine whether this process is working effectively to bring safe and low cost medicines to the people who need them. Finally, the challenge in renewing PEPFAR is to make the transition from a short-term emergency response to a long-term sustainable initiative. This means many things, including investing in effective prevention efforts and finding ways to assist other nations in strengthening their health systems. The President has called for $30 billion for PEPFAR in the years to come, but many experts believe that this is insufficient to meet the need. Nations around the world are calling on us to act – and act quickly—to renew the promise of PEPFAR. We are answering that call. Our hearing is part of an extensive process of consultation that our committee has undertaken to prepare for the reauthorization. Our colleagues on the Foreign Relations committee have been just as diligent. It is our intention to take action on this important responsibility as soon as possible in the new year.Reauthorization will be a bipartisan and inclusive process. Senator Enzi has a strong commitment to renewing and improving PEPFAR, and the same commitment is shared by members of the committee on both sides of the aisle. We also look forward to working with Senator Biden, Senator Lugar, and all our colleagues on the Foreign Relations committee. Most of all, we look forward to learning from the real experts—those who work every day to improve the lives of persons with HIV/AIDS.

A Nation of Laws, Not Men

Earlier today I spoke on the Senate floor about startling news from today’s newspapers:

The Central Intelligence Agency in 2005 destroyed at least two videotapes documenting the interrogation of two Qaeda operatives in the agency’s custody, a step it took in the midst of Congressional and legal scrutiny about its secret detention program, according to current and former government officials.

The videotapes showed agency operatives in 2002 subjecting terrorism suspects—including Abu Zubaydah, the first detainee in C.I.A. custody—to severe interrogation techniques. The tapes were destroyed in part because officers were concerned that video showing harsh interrogation methods could expose agency officials to legal risks, several officials said.

The news that these CIA tapes were destroyed came the very same week that we learned that as many as ten million White House emails were not preserved, despite a law that requires that they be kept, and at the same time as the President continued to insist that we grant the phone companies immunity for their role in the illegal wiretapping of American citizens.

I’ve already introduced the Torture Prevention and Effective Interrogation Act, legislation that requires the Army Field Manual standards to apply to all government interrogations, not only those conducted by the Department of Defense. Today’s news is just another reminder that Congress needs to take action immediately.

Here are my remarks from earlier today:

The torture debate took another deeply troubling turn yesterday. The nation learned the CIA had destroyed videotapes of its employees in the act of using torture or other harsh interrogation techniques on detainees.

Those tapes were not shown to Congress. They were not shown to any court. They were not shown to the bipartisan 9-11 Commission. Instead, they were destroyed.

What would cause the CIA to take this action? The answer is obvious—cover up. The agency was desperate to cover up damning evidence of their practices. In a letter to agency employees yesterday, CIA Director Michael Hayden claimed that the tapes were a security risk because they might someday "leak" and thereby identify the CIA employees who engaged in these practices.

But that excuse won’t wash. I am second to no one in wanting to protect the brave men and women of the CIA. But how is it possible that the Director of the CIA has so little faith in his own agency?

Does the Director believe the CIA’s buildings are not secure?

Would it be beyond the agency’s technical expertise to preserve the tapes while hiding the identity of its employees?

Does the Director believe that the CIA’s employees cannot be trusted not to leak materials that might harm the agency?

Or does he know that the interrogation techniques are so abhorrent that they could not remain unknown much longer?

It is particularly difficult to take the Director’s explanation at face value when the news that these CIA tapes were destroyed came the very same week that we learned that as many as ten million White House emails have not been preserved, despite a law that requires their retention. At the same time, the President continued to insist that we grant immunity to the phone companies for their role in the illegal wiretapping of American citizens.

The pattern is unmistakable. The past six years, the Bush administration has run roughshod over our ideals and the rule of law. For four of those six years, the Republican Congress did little to hold the administration accountable. Now, when the new Democratic Congress is demanding answers, the Administration is feverishly covering up its tracks. We haven’t seen anything like this since the eighteen and a half minute gap in the tapes of President Richard Nixon.

These efforts are wrong, and they must be stopped. I and other concerned Senators will today call upon Attorney General Mukasey to immediately begin an investigation into whether the CIA’s handling and destruction of these tapes violated the law.

We also must redouble our efforts to make sure that future interrogations by the CIA conform to our laws and values. No part of our government should engage in practices that are so horrific that we cannot bear to see them on tape. To that end, I introduced legislation to require that all government agencies, including the CIA, follow the standards of the Army Field Manual.

Language that would take that important step was recently included in the conference report on the Intelligence Authorization bill, and we must act to adopt it as soon as possible.

As founder John Adams said, our nation is "a nation of laws, not men." That basic principle is at risk today from an administration that is engaging in a cover-up—systematically destroying records, commuting sentences, and stonewalling Congressional investigations. The CIA’s role in this cover-up is only the latest reminder that Congress must fight harder to prevent this administration from making a mockery of the rule of law, and to preserve the right of the American people to know what the government has been doing in their name.

I’m demanding answers. I hope you will demand them as well.

KENNEDY AND COLLEAGUES ON THE IRAQI REFUGEE PROVISIONS IN THE DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION CONFERENCE REPOR

Provisions provide refugee status for Iraqis associated with the United States who are under threat of persecutionWASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senators Edward M. Kennedy, Gordon Smith, Carl Levin, and Sam Brownback released the following statements on the signing of the Department of Defense Authorization Conference Report which contains provisions that would provide refugee status for Iraqis associated with the United States who are under threat of persecution. The provisions in the conference report addresses the massive refugee crisis unfolding in Iraq. This conference report requires the Administration to increase its efforts to resettle Iraqi refugees, to expand the scope of special immigrant visas for Iraqis who have worked for the U.S. government, and to improve our response to the overall refugee crisis. Already more than 4 million Iraqis have fled the country, and nearly 2 million more have been displaced internally. Senator Kennedy said, “America has a strong obligation to keep faith with the Iraqis who have worked so bravely with us – and have often paid a terrible price for it. These brave men and women are Iraqi nationals who work alongside our military, who staff our Embassy, and who work with American firms and non-governmental organizations to support the diplomatic, military, political and economic reconstruction of Iraq. Their support and loyalty have cost too many lives already, and their families have been threatened as well. They have lost their homes, their livelihoods, their families and friends. Millions have been forced to flee their communities or even their country because of the danger.Regardless of where we stand on the war with Iraq, we are united in our belief that America has a fundamental obligation to assist the Iraqis who have courageously supported our forces and our effort in Iraq and whose lives are in peril as a result. The target of the assassin’s bullet is now on their back, and our government has a responsibility to try to save their lives. We’ve taken an important step to save their lives, and now the Administration must implement this law without delay. Too much time has passed and too many lives hang in the balance.”“America has a basic responsibility give a hand to the brave Iraqis who put their lives at risk to help our troops,” Senator Smith said. “We cannot strand or abandon them. What we can do is provide a safe haven and a little assistance to help them get their feet back on the ground.”“The humanitarian crisis caused by the millions of Iraqis who have been displaced is staggering,” said Levin, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “The United States has a moral obligation to help those Iraqis who have assisted or are assisting our military and civilian forces, and this legislation will bring us closer to fulfilling that responsibility. This legislation will also pave the way for religious minority groups – many of whom are caught in the crossfire of sectarian violence and are particularly vulnerable – to apply directly to the U.S. for refugee status.”Senator Brownback said, “The current Iraqi refugee crisis is one of grief and sorrow. At over 4 million refugees and internally displaced people, this is a humanitarian problem cannot go ignored. The focus of this situation should be kept on assisting those affected. We must do our part both by aiding those nations that are absorbing the refugees and by stepping up efforts to resettle certain refugees in the United States. So many brave Iraqis have risked their lives and the lives of their family members to support our effort there. We thank them, we applaud them, and we will not leave them in their time of need.”

STATEMENT OF SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY ON CIA INTERROGATION TAPES

The torture debate took another deeply troubling turn yesterday. The nation learned the CIA had destroyed videotapes of its employees in the act of using torture or other harsh interrogation techniques on detainees. Those tapes were not shown to Congress. They were not shown to any court. They were not shown to the bipartisan 9-11 Commission. Instead, they were destroyed. What would cause the CIA to take this action? The answer is obvious—cover up. The agency was desperate to cover up damning evidence of their practices. In a letter to agency employees yesterday, CIA Director Michael Hayden claimed that the tapes were a security risk because they might someday “leak” and thereby identify the CIA employees who engaged in these practices. But that excuse won’t wash. I am second to no one in wanting to protect the brave men and women of the CIA. But how is it possible that the Director of the CIA has so little faith in his own agency? Does the Director believe the CIA’s buildings are not secure? Would it be beyond the agency’s technical expertise to preserve the tapes while hiding the identity of its employees? Does the Director believe that the CIA’s employees cannot be trusted not to leak materials that might harm the agency? Or does he know that the interrogation techniques are so abhorrent that they could not remain unknown much longer? It is particularly difficult to take the Director’s explanation at face value when the news that these CIA tapes were destroyed came the very same week that we learned that as many as ten million White House emails have not been preserved, despite a law that requires their retention. At the same time, the President continued to insist that we grant immunity to the phone companies for their role in the illegal wiretapping of American citizens. The pattern is unmistakable. The past six years, the Bush administration has run roughshod over our ideals and the rule of law. For four of those six years, the Republican Congress did little to hold the administration accountable. Now, when the new Democratic Congress is demanding answers, the Administration is feverishly covering up its tracks. We haven’t seen anything like this since the eighteen and a half minute gap in the tapes of President Richard Nixon. These efforts are wrong, and they must be stopped. I and other concerned Senators will today call upon Attorney General Mukasey to immediately begin an investigation into whether the CIA’s handling and destruction of these tapes violated the law. We also must redouble our efforts to make sure that future interrogations by the CIA conform to our laws and values. No part of our government should engage in practices that are so horrific that we cannot bear to see them on tape. To that end, I introduced legislation to require that all government agencies, including the CIA, follow the standards of the Army Field Manual.

SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY ON INCREASING FDA RESOURCES

There are some debates in Washington that you need to be an expert to understand. And there are others that are as plain as the headlines in the morning paper.Here’s the headline from the Washington Post from November 11th: “Chinese Government Admits Toys Contained ‘Date Rape’ Chemical.”November 29th from the Post: “Bad Pet Food May Have Killed Nearly 350.”September 27th from the Associated Press: “Hamburgers may be tainted with E. Coli”October 31st from the New York Times: “Chinese Chemicals Flow Unchecked to Market.”And here’s one just from today.“Stopping Deadly Bacteria: Meat processors look for ways to keep ground beef safe.”Every family knows that they’re at risk. Unsafe food. Toys contaminated with lead paint and other toxins. Dangerous drugs that should have been pulled from the shelves but weren’t.A trip to the store has become a minefield of tough choices.And every family knows that the government ought to be doing more to protect them – but the need for action was brought home by a stunning new report that reads like an indictment of years of neglect and starvation budgets for the nation’s public health watchdogs.Just listen to the conclusions of the FDA Science Advisory Board:“Finding #1: The FDA cannot fulfill its mission because its scientific base has eroded and its scientific organizational structure is weak.Finding #2: The FDA cannot fulfill its mission because its scientific workforce does not have sufficient capacity and capability. Finding #3: The FDA cannot fulfill its mission because its information technology infrastructure is inadequate."Let there be no doubt – these deficiencies put American families at risk. Here again, the language of the report could not be more plain nor its warning more dire.“FDA does not have the capacity to ensure the safety of food for the nation.”We’re here to say that this must change.The first order of business is for the President to withdraw his threat to veto the very bill that funds FDA.FDA needs more resources, and more support to do the job that American families are counting on it to do. Senator Durbin and I call on the White House to submit a budget request this year that puts us on the path to double FDA’s food safety resources over five years – and we call on our colleagues to provide the funding to meet that target.FDA also needs more authority to see that foods are safe. In our FDA reforms enacted earlier this year, we took strong action to give the FDA the tools it needs and greater resources to protect Americans from unsafe drugs – and we should do the same for food.We need comprehensive preventive measures, effective surveillance, and robust authority for FDA to take action where needed to protect lives. There’s no mystery to how to improve food safety. The Europeans have a strong system, and so do the Japanese. Americans sometimes get the foods that they reject. That has to change. And the change must start now.I am working with my colleagues on the health committee and throughout the Senate on comprehensive bipartisan legislation to protect the food supply – and this proposal ought to be the first order of business for the Senate in the new year.

KENNEDY RESPONDS TO BUSH ON IRAN

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy released the following statement in response to President Bush’s remarks on Iran. “Obviously, we have to address continuing challenges from Iran. We need to ratchet up our diplomacy and continue working with the international community. But it’s time for the President to look at the cold hard facts on Iran and walk back from the over-heated rhetoric. The last thing America needs is to be misled into another war based on hype and trumped up intelligence.”