THANK YOU, SENATOR KENNEDY, FOR EVERYTHING. 
I believe our values as Americans should unite us not divide us. Working "across the isle" on important legislation to improve life for all Americans has been a hallmark of my career in the Senate and it will continue to be the way that we remain productive .Thank you, Teddy: Why I am eternally grateful for Edward M. Kennedy's life -- and death
August 27, 9:25 PM Celebrity News Examiner Liz Barrett
I would have loved it if Ted Kennedy could have lived forever, reigning over the U.S. Senate as an elder statesman driven by compassion and courage. But since he had to die, I am grateful that it was by natural causes, sparing his family and the entire country another unbearable loss by violence.
I remember far too well being sent home from school when his brother, President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated. For days, my mother sat limply on the couch, watching the TV coverage in gloomy black and white. Every time she saw little John Jr. on the screen, she cried in silence. She was frozen with grief.
Five years later. as a member of the California Young Democrats, I walked door to door asking people to vote for Bobby Kennedy for president. I met him and shook his hand during a campaign rally at a community college. I was surprised at how small he was -- his hands were not much bigger than mine. I stayed up late to watch the news on the night of the California primary, only to see that he, too, had been shot by an assassin.
Again, inconsolable grief.
When Teddy Kennedy announced his candidacy in 1979, I panicked. I desperately wanted him to be president but I was terrified that he would pay for it with his life. I did not campaign for him. I was relieved when he withdrew in 1980 after it was clear that he would not be the party's candidate. And I didn't even let myself dream about what America might have been like if he, rather than Ronald Reagan, had been given the key to the White House.
Thank God, Teddy lived three more decades and continued to champion health care reform, working wages, equal rights, quality education, environmental protection, and a higher quality of life for Americans with disabilities. I am grateful for every speech he made, every bill he sponsored and every vote he cast.
HERE ARE SOME OF THE GOOD THINGS SENATOR KENNEDY HAS DONE:
1964: First speech to the Senate urged passage of the Civil Rights Act, outlawing segregation in public accommodations... He also supported the Economic Opportunity Act, which established such enduring programs as Head Start and the Job Corps.
1965: His Immigration Act eliminated discriminatory immigration quotas, helped get a bill passed that formed the National Teacher Corps and supported the Voting Rights Act to end discrimination against minorities.
1966: Passed legislation creating the national community health center program, which now includes more that 1200 health centers serving more than 20 million low-income patients.
1967: Supported the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the first comprehensive federal aid for public schools. Made his first speech questioning the Vietnam War.
1968: Supported the Fair Housing Act civil rights legislation and the Bilingual Education Act requiring public schools to offer bilingual education programs.
1969: Gave his first speech calling for national health insurance for all Americans. Sponsored Alternative Minimum Tax.
1970: Amended the Voting Rights Act to lower the voting age to 18. Championed workers' safety with the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OSHA) and helped created the Low Income Heating Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
1971: Was a leader in passing the National Cancer Act to expand research on all aspects of cancer. Introduced a Senate resolution calling for immediate withdrawal of British troops from Northern Ireland.
1972: Championed the Meals on Wheels Act and the Women, Infants, and Children Nutrition Program (WIC) which offers food, nutrition counseling, and health services to low-income women, infants, and children. Key supporter of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, protecting women from discrimination in educational institutions and college sports.
1973: Established the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects in Biomedical and Behavioral Research. Sponsored legislation for public campaign financing of Senate and House elections.
1974: Introduced comprehensive legislation for national health insurance.
1975: Sponsored the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, which later became the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, requiring a free and appropriate public education for children with disabilities in every state.
1978: Sponsored the Civil Rights Commission Act Amendments to protect persons with disabilities from discrimination.
1979: As Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, encouraged selection of women and minorities in judicial nominations.
1980: Introduced the Civil Rights for Institutionaliz..ed Persons Act. Authored the Refugee Act, setting a standard for who gets political asylum in the United States and which refugees are rescued from persecution.
1982: Proposed a Nuclear Freeze resolution.
1983: Opposed the Star Wars Program to expand the nuclear arms race into space.
1984: Sponsored legislation requiring polling stations to provide accessibility for physically disabled and elderly people to vote in federal elections. Supported the Comprehensive Crime Control Act to end disparities in the sentences of similar offenders.
1985: Introduced the Anti-Apartheid Act to impose economic sanctions against South Africa. (Congress overrode President Reagan’s veto.)
1986: Sponsored the Employment Opportunities for Disabled Americans Act and the Handicapped Children’s Protection Act. Visited the Soviet Union to campaign for nucelar freeze; Gorbachev agreed to sign a treaty to prevent the basing of nuclear missiles in Europe.
1987: Supported a minimum wage increase and the Welfare-..to-Jobs Incentives.
1988: Introduced the Fair Housing Act Amendments to extend the law to prohibit discrimination towards people with disabilities and the WARN Act to require companies to give 60 days notice to employees before closing a plant that would cost fifty or more workers their jobs.
1990: Kennedy's Americans with Disabilities Act was enacted into law. Introduced (with Senator Orrin Hatch) the Ryan White CARE Act, providing assistance for AIDS care programs.
1992: Expanded Head Start and got an additional $500 million for the Summer Jobs for Youth Program. Helped pass the Mammography Quality Standards Act to guarantee the safety and accuracy of mammograms.
1993: Helped establish the Direct Lending program which allowed the U.S. Department of Education to provide low-cost loans to college students. Sponsored the National and Community Service Trust Act, which created AmeriCorps and the Corporation for National and Community Service to expand opportunities for Americans to serve their communities, including education grants for students who agree to volunteer for service after college.
1994: Got the Family and Medical Leave Act and the School-to-Work Opportunities Act passed.
1996: Co-sponsored (with Senator Nancy Kassebaum) the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, (HIPAA), which guarantees the continuation of health insurance coverage for Americans who change or lose their jobs.
1997: Worked with Orrin Hatch to enact the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
2000: Sponsored the Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education Act to address health disparities between minorities and other Americans.
2001: Worked with President Bush to pass the No Child Left Behind Act.
2002: Senator Kennedy was one of the first in Congress to speak out against going to war with Iraq.
2003: His legislation provided funds for AMBER Alert notification system.
2004: Sponsored bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
2006: ponsored the Family Opportunity Act, enabling states to expand Medicaid coverage for children with special needs and enables low- and middle-income families with disabled children to purchase coverage under Medicaid.
2007: Led the successful effort to pass the first increase in the federal minimum wage in more than 10 years, from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour. Proposed legislation to strengthen the FDA’s regulatory authority over drugs after they are approved.
2008: Worked for passage of the Higher Education Opportunity Act.
2009: Senator Kennedy’s Health Committee was the first in Congress to pass the Affordable Health Choices Act to reduce health costs, protect individuals’ choice in doctors and plans, and assure quality and affordable health care for all Americans.
THANK YOU, SENATOR KENNEDY, FOR EVERYTHING.
Source:
Senate site for Edward M. Kennedy
We Extend Our Deepest Respects And Sympathy.
Thank You For Being A True Fighter Of Social Justice.
Rest In Peace Our Brother.
THEDORSEYTOUCH
Published by Michelle Tharpe, THEDORSEYTOUCH
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