Ranking Member's Press

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the SenateHealth, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement inresponse to the United Auto Workers Union going on strike. "General Motors should return to the bargaining table as soon as possible. I urge GM tonegotiate in good faith and to recognize...

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the SenateHealth, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement inresponse to this morning’s New York Times story detailing Medicaid’s decision to denychemotherapy to illegal immigrants with cancer. “It's unbelievable that in a single...

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the SenateHealth, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement onthe agreement between the United States Senate and House of Representatives on theState Children’s Health Insurance Program. “CHIP has made access to health care possible for...

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Health,Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement in responseto President Bush’s threat to veto the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. “This is a cruel threat to needy children and I urge the President to reconsider....

(As Prepared for Delivery) I want to start by thanking my colleague, Senator Domenici, for his tirelesseffort. And I want to recognize the late Senator Paul Wellstone, who championed thisfight for so many years. Without the leadership of these two remarkable Senators, wewouldn’t be here on this historic day. Americans believe that we are all...

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the SenateHealth, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement inresponse to the passage by the United States House of Representatives of the FDAReauthorization bill. "This bill will help every single American every single day as it is about the safety...

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, at 11:30am, Senators Edward Kennedy, Pete Domenici,and Mike Enzi will commemorate the passage in the Senate last night of the MentalHealth Parity Act of 2007. The legislation will provide help to more 113 millionAmericans, and represents a major agreement between the health care community,business leaders, and insurance...

WASHINGTON, D.C.--Tonight, Senators Pete Domenici and Edward M. Kennedyannounced Senate passage of the Mental Health Parity Act (S.558). The new legislationwill provide help to more 113 million Americans, and represents a major agreementbetween the health care community, business leaders, and insurance industry.Senator Domenici said,...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, U.S. Senators Barack Obama (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL),Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) and Patty Murray (D-WA) introduced The Independent ContractorProper Classification Act of 2007. This legislation will protect workers and taxpayers againstthe misclassification of employees, a problem that costs the government billions...

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...