Ranking Member's Press

WASHINGTON, D.C—Senators Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), Gordon H. Smith (R-OR), JayRockefeller (D-WV), and Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME) released the following statements on thelegislation introduced today that will prevent states from having to drastically restricting thenumber of children who can access care. The bill specifically prohibits the...

(As Prepared for Delivery) Nelson Mandela once said that education is the most powerful weapon which you can use tochange the world. As Americans, we have understood the truth of this statement throughout our history. Fromthe beginning of our Republic, we have looked to the future and invested in future generationsof Americans. We knew that a good...

WASHINGTON, DC— Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Senate Health, Education,Labor and Pensions Committee, issued the following statement on today’s report from theBureau of Labor Statistics, which showed that employers cut 4,000 jobs in August—the firstdrop in the number of jobs since 2003: "These job losses demonstrate...

WASHINGTON, D.C— Today, at 12:45pm, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Majority Leader HarryReid, and Representative George Miller will hold a press conference to celebrate the passageof the College Cost Reduction and Access Act, which will provide the largest increase instudent aid since the GI Bill. WHAT: Press Conference on the College Cost...

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy gave the following remarks followingthe passage by the United States Senate of the College Affordability and Access Act of 2007, whichincludes the largest increase of student aid since the GI Bill. (As Prepared for Delivery) From our earliest days as a nation, education has been the engine of...

(As Prepared for Delivery) Today we are considering the nomination of Charles Millard to be Director of thePension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. Let me start by thanking Senator Mikulski for agreeingto help Chair this important hearing. She had a vital role in the passage of the PensionProtection Act last year, and has shown impressive leadership...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the United StatesSenate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released a report on thestudent loan system entitled “Second Report on Marketing Practices in the Federal FamilyEducation Loan Program.” The report discusses the findings of Chairman...

WASHINGTON, D.C— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Senate Health,Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, sent the following letter to Secretary MichaelLeavitt requesting information on the interactions of political appointees at the Department ofHealth and Human Services and the Office of the Surgeon General, specifically...

Washington, DC: Today, on the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Senator Edward M.Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the author ofthe Children's Health Insurance Program, urged the President to support Congress’s efforts tocover more children. Yesterday the Census Report revealed that number of...

WASHINGTON, DC— Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Senate Health, Education,Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement today, strongly supportingthe recommendations by the President’s Cancer Panel for effective national action to reducethe danger of tobacco. “The recommendations eloquently reaffirm what...

WASHINGTON. DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the SenateHealth, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement onthe mine collapses in Utah and Indiana. “The thoughts and prayers of all Americans are with our country’s mining communitiestoday. These are terrible tragedies, not only for...

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education,Labor and Pensions Committee, sent the following letter to Secretary Michael Leavitt of theDepartment of Health and Human Services, requesting information pertaining to possibleviolations of the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act of 1996...

Washington, DC— Today Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Senate Health,Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, put out the following statement regarding today’sjobs numbers that reflect a notable increase in long-term unemployment. More than 1.3million Americans who are currently looking for work have been seeking a job for 26...

WASHINGTON, DC— Late last night, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the SenateHealth, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement on thepassage by the United States Senate of the America COMPETES Act, which invests ineducation, especially in math, science, engineering, and technology, creates a...

WASHINGTON, DC— This morning, Senator Edward Kennedy, Majority Leader Harry Reid,Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Congressman John Dingell, sent the following letter to Andrew C.von Eschenbach, Commissioner of Food and Drugs, affirming their commitment to reaching aconference report to reauthorize the drug and device user fee programs, the...

WASHINGTON, D.C.--Tonight, Senators Edward M. Kennedy and Pete Domenici announced abreakthrough in Mental Health Parity negotiations. The new agreement will protect all statelaws and provide equity in mental health treatment to 113 million Americans. Senator Kennedy said, “Tonight a major agreement was reached with the mental healthcommunity,...

Psalms teach us that true leaders should “defend the afflicted among the people and save thechildren of the needy.” (Psalm 72:4)What says more about our character as a nation than how we care for the children of thiscountry?What says more about our morality than the way we ensure that each and every child canmake the most of their...

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Senate Health,Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement in response to thepassage of the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007. “There is no truer test of our moral values as a nation than the way we...

WASHINGTON, DC‹ Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Senate Health,Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement in response to thepassage by the HELP Committee of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. “Today, we put children back on the national agenda. The bipartisan...