Chair's Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Bush National Labor Relations Board has waged an unprecedented war against long-established workers’ rights, witnesses told the House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions, and the Senate Employment and Workplace Safety Subcommittee today. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA), chairman of the Senate...

WASHINGTON, Dc— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, and Senator Daniel K. Akaka, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, introduced legislation to strengthen the employment and reemployment rights of our returning servicemen and women. Recent...

WASHINGTON, DC—Today Rep. Waxman, Sen. Kennedy, and Rep Roybal-Allard introduced a package of bills that will help to ensure that adults have access to life-saving vaccines. These vaccines include the new vaccine against the virus that causes cervical cancer as well as vaccines against seasonal influenza, certain pneumonias, Hepatitis B, and...

(As Prepared for Delivery) I’m pleased that our House and Senate subcommittees have come together today to consider the state of democracy in the American workplace. I commend Senate Subcommittee Chair Patty Murray and House Subcommittee Chair Rob Andrews for holding this hearing this hearing. Their strong leadership is making an...

KENNEDY ON SECOND BUSH VETO OF CHIP 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 vetoing the Children’s Health Insurance Program for the second time. “Once again President Bush has slammed the door...

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy released the following statement on the recall by Merck of their childhood meningitis vaccine. "Vaccines are essential in protecting the health of millions of Americans from deadly diseases. Today's recall shows once more that our vaccine supply is fragile, and that the nation urgently needs a...

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, the Educational Testing Service released a new report showing that new teachers in American classrooms are more academically qualified than they were a decade ago. Senator Kennedy made the following statement in reaction to the report: “We know that teachers are the most critical resource in improving educational...

(As Prepared for Delivery) 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,...

WASHINGTON, DC– At 10:30am today, Wednesday, December 12th, 2007, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, will attend the signing of the Head Start reauthorization legislation at the White House. For more than 40 years, Head Start has given disadvantaged children the assistance they need to...

(As Prepared for Delivery) 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...

WASHINGTON — Senators Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) celebrated the Senate approval late last night of a bill to reauthorize the Traumatic Brain Injury Act. This legislation expands the Public Health Services Act and provides individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) assistance in returning to work, finding a place...

(As Prepared for Delivery) Thank you, Richard Trumka, for that introduction, and thank you for inviting me to take part in this historic meeting. I can think of no greater cause than the fight for dignity and respect for workers and their families. It’s a cause that my brothers and the entire Kennedy family have made our first priority and...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions, and the Senate Employment and Workplace Safety Subcommittee will hold a joint hearing to discuss recent decisions issued by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The Bush majority on the NLRB has ruled on numerous cases throughout its term that have...

(As Prepared for Delivery) I call to order our hearing on the reauthorization of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR. I thank our witnesses and colleagues on the committee for joining us in this busy time. There are many issues before us that have wide-ranging effects on vast numbers of people. But few are as...

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement in response to the decision made by the Supreme Court on crack cocaine sentencing. “It’s obvious from today’s Supreme Court decision in the Kimbrough case that Federal Courts at...

WASHINGTON, DC— At 10:00am tomorrow, Tuesday, December 11, 2007, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, will hold a hearing on meeting the global challenge of AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The hearing will focus on the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS relief (PEPFAR). Key issues...

WASHINGTON, DC – At 1:15pm tomorrow, Tuesday, December 11, 2007, more than 200 trade union leaders from the United States and around the world will meet in the Washington, DC area as part of a historic conference and congressional forum on the international crisis in workers’ rights and the freedom to form unions and...

WASHINGTON, DC—Today, the Center for American Progress issued a reporting revealing the political agenda of the Department of Labor’s subdivision that oversees labor union financial reporting. The report also documents how the Bush Administration, in a concerted effort to undermine unions, has used union reporting regulations to...

WASHINGTON, DC—Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy released the following the establishment of a Joint Pathology Center, a result of the conference report findings for the National Defense Authorization Act. The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) specializes in pathology consultation, education and research. Its services are critical to...

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy and Representative Carolyn Maloney introduced the Working Family Flexibility Act, which will give working Americans the right to request flexible work options in order to balance the demands of their jobs and home life. Senators Dodd, Clinton, Obama, and Congressman George Miller are...