I would like to take a moment to honor and express gratitude for the positive difference that Senator Edward Kennedy made by acknowledging a glimpse into his record. Much of the below I wasn't even aware of. I am deeply appreciative and honor the work accomplished by Senator Kennedy which made a real difference in creating a more just and caring nation. I also would like to acknowledge my deep respect for anyone who has sought to turn their inner demons into blessing. This is not an easy path to walk... May we each find our own ways, no matter how small, to increasingly work toward a world which works for all beings. May we each connect more and more with inner peace and see that peace reflected and rippled out across our beautiful Mother Earth...
Peace & blessings ~ Molly
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Sen. Edward Kennedy's Career Timeline
by The Associated Press
Wednesday August 26, 2009, 2:30 AM
Wednesday August 26, 2009, 2:30 AM
1962
Edward M. Kennedy is elected to the United States Senate.
1964
Senator Kennedy makes his maiden speech to the Senate on the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which was signed on July 2, 1964, and outlawed segregation in public accommodations. He also strongly supported the Economic Opportunity Act, a key bill in President Johnson's war on poverty, which was signed on August 20, 1964.
1965
The first major bill that Senator Kennedy managed on the Senate floor was the Immigration Act of 1965. It was enacted and stood as a major turning point in immigration and civil rights policy because it eliminated discriminatory immigration quotas which favored European immigration, but restricted immigration from other parts of the world. Senator Kennedy also won passage of a bill establishing The National Teacher Corps, which awarded scholarships to college students who agreed to teach for at least two years in economically-distressed rural and urban areas after graduation, a program which continues today. He was also a strong and vocal supporter of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, to end discrimination against minorities in voting.
1966
Senator Kennedy passed legislation creating the national community health center program. He joined a health center in Columbia Point in Dorchester, Massachusetts, with a center in Mound Bayou, Mississippi as the start of a national program that now includes more that 1200 health centers nationally serving more than 20 million low income patients.
1967
Senator Kennedy was a strong supporter of the school reforms in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the first comprehensive federal aid for public schools. He also made his first speech that openly questioned the Vietnam War.
1968
Senator Kennedy was a strong supporter of the Fair Housing Act of 1968, the third major civil rights legislation of the decade after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. As a result of Senator Kennedy's championing of bilingual education, the Bilingual Education Act of 1968 was passed by Congress. The Act required schools to offer bilingual education programs, the first time Congress had endorsed funding for bilingual education. Senator Kennedy was also a leading supporter of President Johnson's Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act.
1969
Senator Kennedy gives his first speech calling for national health insurance for all Americans. His amendment creating a minimum tax -- the so-called "Alternative Minimum Tax" -- becomes law, setting a limit on the amount of taxation for middle-income Americans.
1970
Senator Kennedy amended the Voting Rights Act to lower the voting age to 18, laying the basis for a constitutional amendment moving the voting age from 21 to age 18. He was also a leader in enacting the Occupational Health and Safety Act to protect workers on jobs and the Older American Community Service Employment Act. To ease the high cost of home heating, Senator Kennedy actively worked to create a fuel assistance program for low-income persons now known as the Low Income Heating Energy Assistance Program or "LIHEAP". He was also responsible for legislation laying the basis for the "War on Cancer" by quadrupling funds for cancer research and prevention. When President Nixon attempted to pocket veto Senator Kennedy's Family Protection of Medicine Act, the Senate won a court decision invalidating the pocket veto and enacting the law.
1971
Senator Kennedy becomes Chairman of the Senate Health Subcommittee. He held a series of field hearings around the country on national health insurance, and is a leader in passing the National Cancer Act to expand research on all aspects of cancer. Inspired by the civil rights movement in the United States and because of his growing concern over British policy in Northern Ireland, Senator Kennedy joins Senator Ribicoff in introducing a Senate Resolution calling for immediate withdrawal of British troops from Northern Ireland and the unification of Ireland, beginning his long involvement with Northern Ireland.
1972
Senator Kennedy champions the Meals on Wheels Act, which offers nutritional meals to homebound senior citizens and the Women, Infants, and Children Nutrition Program, known as WIC, which offers food, nutrition counseling, and health services to low-income women, infants, and children. Kennedy was also a key supporter of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which protects women from discrimination in educational institutions and increases opportunities for women to participate in college sports.
1973
Senator Kennedy continues to improve legal services and emergency health services for the poor, and improve educational opportunities for persons with disabilities. After the revelation of several life-threatening research projects with human subjects, many of whom were Americans who were minorities, institutionalized or incarcerated, Senator Kennedy's Health Subcommittee held 11 days of hearings into the ethical implications of human experimentation. These hearings resulted in strengthened regulation of human experimentation and the establishment of the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects in Biomedical and Behavioral Research. In addition, Senator Kennedy and Senator Hugh Scott sponsor legislation for public financing of Senate and House elections. The bill is approved by the Senate but not the House.
1974
After the CIA-backed military coup that toppled democratic government in Chile and brought General Pinochet to power, Senator Kennedy leads the fight to cut off U.S. military aid to Chile. His amendment to the foreign aid bill marked the first time that Congress had ended military aid to another nation. Kennedy and Wilbur Mills, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, introduced comprehensive legislation providing national health insurance.
1975
Senator Kennedy was an original cosponsor of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, which later became the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and requires a free and appropriate public education for children with disabilities in every state.
More: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/08/sen_edward_kennedys_career_tim.html
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I hope for an America where the power of faith will always burn brightly, but where no modern inquisition of any kind will ever light the fires of fear, coercion, or angry division... I hope for an America where we can all contend freely and vigorously, but where we will treasure and guard those standards of civility which alone make this nation safe for both democracy and diversity.
~ Senator Edward M. Kennedy, 2008
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