Ranking Member's Press
SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY STATEMENT ON THE HIGHER EDUCATION AMENDMENTS ACT
"The American people won't stand for a government that puts irresponsible tax breaks for the wealthy ahead of funding for health care and other assistance for our families that need help the most. Katrina shined a light on the great disparities in the country, and its time for Washington to reevaluate its priorities.Over the last four years, the rich have gotten richer, while four million more Americans fell into poverty. Families are facing a 60% increase in energy costs to heat their homes thi… Continue Reading
10.08.05
KENNEDY ADJUSTS MINIMUM WAGE PROPOSAL TO INCREASE BIPARTISAN SUPPORT WAR ON POVERTY DEMANDS IMMEDIATE ACTION
Washington, DC: Last night, Senator Edward M. Kennedy continued his fight on the war on poverty by offering an amendment H.R. 3058, the Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Bill. Today, to ensure bipartisan support, he changed the amount of the increase to match the amount of the Republican plan, but without their poison pills. Kennedy reached across the aisle to ensure that a minimum wage increase has the best chance of success given dire and urgent circumstan… Continue Reading
10.07.05
DEMOCRATIC LEADERS PRESS ADMINISTRATION ON AVIAN FLU PREPARATIONS
Washington, DC - Today, a group of Democratic Senators joined together to urge the Bush administration to lay out its plans to prepare Americans for a potential Avian flu pandemic. In a letter to Secretary Michael Leavitt, the Senators called on the administration to provide crucial information to the Congress and the American people about their plans to prepare and protect Americans from this potentially catastrophic illness.… Continue Reading
10.06.05
SENATORS KENNEDY AND ROBERTS KICKOFF LEGISLATION TO GAINFULLY EMPLOY THE DISABLED
Washington, D.C.- Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) and Senator Pat Roberts (R- KS) joined Senator Bob Dole (R-KS) and national disability advocates to kickoff the Employer Work Incentive Act, a bill that seeks to reduce the high unemployment rate among severely disabled Americans. "This legislation can help our citizens with disabilities become full and participating members of their community, while creating the employment opportunities needed to fulfill that dream," said Senator Kenned… Continue Reading
10.05.05
KENNEDY CONTINUES STEPS TO PROTECT AGAINST BIRD FLU INTRODUCES PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE ACT (As Prepared for Delivery)
It's a privilege to join Senator Reid, Senator Obama, Senator Bayh and other Democratic colleagues on this legislation to improve the nation's preparedness to deal with the danger of avian flu. I look forward to working with the chairman of our health committee, Senator Enzi and our subcommittee chairman, Senator Burr, to report legislation that includes the best proposals on preparedness, and improves research on new medications and vaccines. We need to act, because the Administration has fai… Continue Reading
09.30.05
KENNEDY SPEAKS OUT AGAINST CUTS TO COMMUNITY SERVICE BLOCK GRANTS
In the past five years, over five million more citizens have fallen into poverty. Thirty-seven million Americans live below the poverty line. Three million more working Americans live in hunger or on the verge of hunger today than in the year 2000. It's shameful that in the richest and most powerful nation on earth, nearly 20 percent of all children go to bed hungry at night because their parents, even working full time, still can't make ends meet. The needs of the poor in America have been co… Continue Reading
09.30.05
KENNEDY: GAO BLASTS ILLEGAL PROPAGANDA CAMPAIGN AT THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Report Issued to Kennedy and Lautenberg Find Multiple Violations, Including Payments to Armstrong Williams
WASHINGTON, DC - Today, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) ruled that the Bush Department of Education illegally used taxpayer dollars to fund a covert propaganda campaign, aimed at boosting the image of the President's education agenda. The GAO decision was the result of an inquiry by United States Senators Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) and Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ). Senator Kennedy said, "The taxpayer funded propaganda coming from the White House is another sign of the culture of corrupti… Continue Reading
09.29.05
KENNEDY STATEMENT ON AVIAN FLU LEGISLATION (As prepared for delivery)
I commend Senator Reid for offering this amendment to deal with avian flu, and I strongly support it. The last thing the country needs now is a major health crisis, but the warning signs are there, and we need to be prepared. The avian flu virus now spreading in Southeast Asia is highly lethal. Unlike typical flu, it kills half the people infected. In the past week, Indonesia has confirmed that at least ten adults and children have died from the virus. In this era of globalization, infectious … Continue Reading
09.29.05
KENNEDY FLU AMENDMENT PASSES SENATE
Today, the United States Senate passed the amendment offered by Senators Edward Kennedy, Tom Harkin, Harry Reid, Barack Obama, and Evan Bayh that will provide four billion dollars to stockpile vaccines to combat the flu. Kennedy praised the amendment's passage, "I commend the Senate for providing the resources needed to prepare for the winter months ahead and I urge quick action on this measure. This Administration has for too long neglected their duty to protect the American people from a dead… Continue Reading
09.29.05
KENNEDY, ENZI CALL FOR REVIEW OF CRAWFORD FDA RESIGNATION
Washington, D.C. - Today, Senators Edward M. Kennedy and Michael Enzi sent the following letter to Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General Daniel R. Levinson calling for an investigation into Lester Crawford's resignation from the FDA. The text of the letter is below, pdf is available upon request: September 29, 2005 Daniel R. Levinson Inspector General Department of Health and Human Services 330 Independence Avenue, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20201 Inspector General Levinson:The… Continue Reading
09.27.05
KENNEDY, ENZI, BAUCUS AND GRASSLEY AGREE ON PENSIONS BILL
WASHINGTON - The leaders of the two Senate committees with jurisdiction over pension issues today reached an agreement on a pension funding and reform bill, clearing the way for Senate consideration. Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Committee on Finance, Sen. Max Baucus, ranking member, Sen. Mike Enzi, chairman of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, and Sen. Edward Kennedy, ranking member, met and reached an agreement on the differences between their respective committee-… Continue Reading
09.26.05
KENNEDY OFFERS BIPARTISAN KATRINA PLAN TO PROVIDE HEALTH CARE AND SAFETY PROTECTIONS AS THE REBUILDING BEGINS INTRODUCES HEALTH AND WORK RELIEF PACKAGE
Washington, DC: Today Senator Edward M. Kennedy and Senator Mike Enzi introduced major portions of their Katrina Relief package, covering health and work protections for the people impacted by the disaster. Their plan will help ensure that victims get and can pay for the health care they need, that the men and women who work to rebuild the region are safe and healthy, that vulnerable populations such as the disabled and elderly are given services, and that impacted businesses are given temporary… Continue Reading
09.22.05
KENNEDY AND ENZI MOVE FORWARD ON PLAN TO EDUCATE CHILDREN DISPLACED FROM KATRINA DISCUSS BILL IN SUBCOMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT
Washington, DC; Today Senator Edward M. Kennedy and Senator Mike Enzi participated in a subcommittee hearing entitled "Katrina's Displaced School Children" to discuss the education bill they introduced last week. Their bipartisan measure will bring much needed support and relief to students, educators, and schools affected by the disaster. Kennedy and Enzi will introduce the health and labor components of their Katrina Relief package in the coming days, having already passed two provisions on jo… Continue Reading
09.21.05
KENNEDY, ENZI CONTINUE WORK TOWARD ENSURING KATRINA VICTIMS RECEIVE ASSISTANCE THEY NEED Health Education, Labor and Pensions Committee bill to provide help combat poverty through the Community Service Block Grant
Washington, D.C.-Today, Senators Edward M. Kennedy and Mike Enzi introduced the Community Services Disaster Assistance Act of 2005 to assist the victims of hurricane Katrina and help combat the widespread poverty that plagues the region. Community Service Block Grant agencies provide low-income communities with the support they need to achieve self- sufficiency on a daily basis. Typical programs and services offered by the agencies address unemployment, inadequate housing and poor nutrition. On … Continue Reading
09.21.05
KENNEDY AND COLLEAGUES FIGHT BUSH’S DECISION ON DAVIS BACON
Washington, DC: Today Senator Edward Kennedy and his colleagues introduced a bill to rescind the President's suspension of the Davis Bacon law to ensure that men and women of the Gulf Coast get paid a fair wage as they rebuild the region. On September 8, President Bush suspended Davis-Bacon for contracts related to Katrina, ending prevailing wage protection for thousands of construction workers. Kennedy's bill would stop the President's unfair action. "The winds of Katrina exposed to all of Ame… Continue Reading
09.20.05
KENNEDY AND ENZI PUT FORTH JOB TRAINING PLAN FOR VICTIMS OF KATRINA PART OF COMPREHENSIVE BIPARTISAN RELIEF PACKAGE
Washington, DC: Today Senators Edward Kennedy and Mike Enzi offered the second part of their comprehensive Katrina relief package and introduced a bill that will help workers displaced by the disaster get back to work and rebuild their lives and communities. This bill, called the "Hurricane Katrina Employment and Training Assistance Act" expands employment and job training assistance authorized under the "Workforce Investment Act," to those affected by Hurricane Katrina. The goal is to help rebu… Continue Reading
09.19.05
KENNEDY FLOOR STATEMENT FOLLOWING VISIT TO GULF COAST REGION (As Prepared for Delivery)
On Friday, thirteen of my colleagues and I visited the stricken city of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast to see Katrina's devastation firsthand and hear from the affected residents. Like so many millions of Americans, I've been moved by the news coverage of Katrina and her brutal aftermath for the past three weeks. But nothing I've seen on television, nothing I've read in the newspapers, and nothing I've heard from the survivors we've embraced in Massachusetts could prepare me for the staggering s… Continue Reading
09.19.05
KENNEDY REACTION TO SECRETARY SPELLINGS SPEECH ON HIGHER ED COMMISSION
Today, Secretary of Education Margaret spellings spoke at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte on the formation of a higher education commission to develop a national strategy on post secondary education. Below is a statement from Senator Edward M. Kennedy: "I applaud the Secretary's effort to look at the long-term strengths and weaknesses of our postsecondary system. More than ever, our colleges and universities are vital to our ability to meet the new and dynamic challenges of our ti… Continue Reading
09.16.05
KENNEDY LEARNS FROM RECOVERY WORKERS AND RELIGIOUS LEADERS IN NEW ORLEANS OFFERS EDUCATION RELIEF BILL AND DISCUSSES GULF COAST RECONSTRUCTION AUTHORITY PROPOSAL
Washington, DC; Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, along with colleagues from the United States Senate, traveled to the Gulf Region today to assess Hurricane Katrina's damage and recovery efforts. The Senator met with local officials, relief workers, and convened a meeting with African American leaders and the clergy in New Orleans to continue discussing how racial imparities affected the response to Hurricane Katrina and what needs to be done to ensure that all Americans receive the attention th… Continue Reading
09.08.05
Senators Kennedy and Enzi Propose Bipartisan Pensions Reform to Provide Retirement Security for Millions of Americans
Washington, DC: Today Senator Kennedy and Senator Enzi put before the HELP committee the Defined Benefit Security Act - a bipartisan measure to bring retirement security to millions of Americans. The bill requires companies to protect their pensions with rules that are fair and predictable and includes needed changes to help avoid the danger of plans that are terminated. The bill also includes a provision to help the companies impacted by Katrina by giving the Secretaries of Labor and Treasury … Continue Reading
