Chair's Press

Washington, DC: Today Senator Edward Kennedy and former Senator John Edwards joined the organizers from five of the six states that have minimum wage initiatives on the ballot this year on a conference call: Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Nevada and Ohio. The minimum wage measures are expected to pass in all of the states and extensive...

Washington, D.C. -- In a bipartisan letter today to Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, Senators Edward M. Kennedy, Arlen Specter, Patty Murray, Robert Byrd, and Jay Rockefeller criticized the current draft regulations on mine safety proposed by the Mine Safety and Health Administration as too weak to protect the nation’s miners, and urged MSHA...

Washington, DC: On Monday, October 23 at noon, Senator Edward Kennedy and former Senator John Edwards will host a press conference call with the organizers from the six states that have minimum wage initiatives on the ballot this year: Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Missouri, Nevada and Ohio. The minimum wage measures are expected to pass in all six...

Washington, D.C. – Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy released the following statement on the recess appointment of Richard M. Stickler: “This action by President Bush is an affront to the men and women who risk their lives every day in our nation’s mines. After so many lost their lives this year, our miners and their families...

BOSTON, MA- Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy discussed the college cost crunch on Massachusetts students and opened The Education Resources Institute's (TERI) new college access center in Brockton. As ranking member on the United States Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Senator Kennedy has been a lifelong advocate for...

Washington, D.C. -- Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy issued the following statement in response the news that 650 economists, including 5 Nobel winners of the Nobel prize for economics, are urging lawmakers to raise the minimum wage. Senator Kennedy’s bill, which the Republican leadership has blocked, would the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour...

Senator Edward M. Kennedy today praised members of the House of Representatives for its recent vote to reauthorize vital funding for pediatric graduate medical education programs. The Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education Program funds training for physicians in the nation’s 60 independent children’s teaching hospitals....

Washington, D.C. -- A National Labor Relations Board decision today significantly expands the number of employees classified as “supervisors” under the National Labor Relations Act. In practical terms, the decision means that millions of working men and women across the country will no longer have the right to join a union or qualify...

WORCESTER, MA—Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy congratulated the University of Massachusetts Worcester’s Craig Mello who has been awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine. Mello is being honored for his work in turning off the effect of certain genes. Senator Kennedy’s remarks at the press conference held today in Worcester are...

Washington, D.C. – Today, the Inspector General of the Department of Education released two reports detailing abuse and mismanagement of in the federal student loan programs. The first report outlines the results of an investigation requested by Senator Edward M. Kennedy related to abuses in the student loan programs by the Nelnet...

WASHINGTON, D.C--The U.S. Senate on Saturday will return the nomination of Richard Stickler to head the federal mine safety agency to the White House for the second time. “Last month, the Senate took a stand for mine safety by sending back to the White House an unacceptable nomination to lead MSHA, and we are as resolute in our stand today....

Washington, D.C. – Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy released the following statement on the House passage of the Older Americans Act: “I commend the House for passing these amendments to the Older Americans Act to strengthen the vital services and programs for our senior citizens, and I urge the Senate to pass it before Congress...

Washington, DC—Today, the Campaign for Children’s Health Care released a report that finds that there are 9 million uninsured children in the United States, 88% of which are from working families. Senator Kennedy said, “It's simply unacceptable that so many children remain uninsured today. But instead of expanding coverage,...

WASHINGTON, D.C.--Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy and Senator Robert Menendez introduced the Honest Medicare Act of 2006 to monitor the Medicare Part D donut hole and its effect on senior citizens.Under the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, the Medicare Prescription Drug benefit, also known as Part D, was designed with a coverage gap in the...

Washington, D.C. -- Senator Edward M. Kennedy today commended the Appleseed Foundation on its new report on the status of parental involvement in schools. The report is the first comprehensive analysis of parental participation under the No Child Left Behind Act. “Parents make all the difference in their children’s lives, and...

Washington, DC: Today, Senator Edward Kennedy, joined by a bipartisan group of 13 Senators, introduced the National Competitiveness Investment Act, to encourage innovation in America as a way to create jobs and move our economy forward. Kennedy believes the bill is an important down- payment on the commitment and sustained investment needed to keep...

Washington, D.C. – Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy released the following statement on Secretary Spellings’ remarks on the report of the Commission on the Future of Higher Education: “I applaud Secretary Spellings’ call to address the skyrocketing cost of college. Step one of her plan should be to convince the President to...

Washington, D.C.: Today as the National Genetics Policy Summit in takes place Washington, DC., Senator Edward M. Kennedy continues his work on legislation that will better protect patients by ensuring that tests developed in laboratories are of proven validity. Senator Kennedy is committed to preserving innovation in this rapidly evolving area of...

Washington, DC – Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Ranking member of the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, member of the HELP Committee, today called on Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY), Chairman of the HELP Committee, to a set a time for a hearing on 9/11 health effects and to mark-up...

Washington, DC: Today Senator Kennedy and fourteen other senators wrote a letter to Attorney General Gonzales urging him to pursue every available avenue of appeal to overturn the misguided Court of Appeals decision in the United States of America v. Philip Morris USA Inc. Last month, the U.S. District Court for DC found overwhelming proof of...