United Cerebral Palsy mourns the passing of Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA). Sen. Kennedy was a mighty presence in American political discourse, and his absence will be felt in innumerable and significant ways. He was a champion for the down-trodden, the poor, and for people relegated to the fringes of society. He was an advocate for civil rights for minorities, women, and Americans with disabilities. And he dedicated himself to the betterment of society through his tireless efforts to improve our education system and expand health care coverage.

We will always be thankful to him for the role he played in passing such key pieces of legislation as the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, both of which have had an enormous, beneficial impact on the disability community. Indeed the disability community has been one of the greatest benefactors of Sen. Kennedy's celebrated career. Aside from the legislation specifically targeted at people with disabilities, our community has been buoyed by almost every piece of major legislation that bears his imprimatur, the Higher Education Opportunity Act, the Fair Housing Act, the Voting Rights Act, the Children's Health Insurance Program, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, the Medicare prescription drug expansion, and the list goes on.

The fact that Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Sen. Kennedy's sister and the founder of the Special Olympics, passed away only a few weeks ago, serves to make this moment all the more poignant for us. Both siblings were touched by disability in their own families -their sister Rosemary had an intellectual disability, Sen. Kennedy's son lost a leg to cancer -and so their dedication to disability rights was as much a personal duty as it was a moral imperative. Rarely has a single family given so generously of themselves to their fellow citizens.

In addition to pushing hard over his decades of Senate service to expand the National Institutes of Health, create programs to protect pregnant women and children, expand the supports available for people with disabilities, Senator Kennedy was a steady voice for comprehensive, quality and affordable health care reform. We regret that he will not be able to see health care reform enacted, but we know that, whatever form it takes, that reform will have been shaped by his vision and his hard work. We can only hope that his memory serves to help bridge the divides in Washington that now seem to yawn so wide in his absence.

We have been privileged to think of Senator Kennedy as an ally in our struggle to afford full equality of opportunity to every American, and to promote the ideals of universal accessibility and inclusion for every person with a disability. Of course, we have no choice but to keep pressing on, but today our burden is a little heavier and our hearts are a little sadder. Our thoughts are with the Kennedy family, who have lost a great father, brother, uncle, and grandfather, and with the people of Massachusetts, who have lost a great leader, a stirring orator, and a consummate representative.