[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 125 (Tuesday, September 8, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S9126]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 REMEMBERING SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY

  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, today I rise to bid farewell to Ted 
Kennedy, a man who spent so many hours on this floor. It was here that 
he engaged in the cause that shaped his life, and now shapes our 
memories his commitment to everyday people in their pursuit of the 
American dream.
  It is hard for me, as it is for all my colleagues, to imagine this 
place without Ted Kennedy. To serve here with him was a great honor. At 
the age of 14, I was already wearing a Ted Kennedy for President 
button. Then when I arrived here, this man, this lion of the Senate, 
was so friendly and funny and generous. He helped to teach me the ropes 
in the Senate, and I felt so fortunate to know him as a person, not 
just to admire him from afar.
  He and his family are one of the reasons I stand here today. His work 
in the Senate, his brother John's call for a new generation to serve 
their country, and his brother Bobby's call for social justice all 
these inspired me to run for office to in some way serve my country as 
Senator Kennedy and his family had. One of the greatest honors of my 
life was winning the Profiles in Courage Award with Senator McCain, and 
being recognized by members of the Kennedy family for our work on 
campaign finance reform.
  Having Senator Kennedy there that day was part of what made that such 
an honor. There was no one else like him; he was truly one of a kind. 
Who else could be such a fierce advocate, and at the same time such a 
skilled negotiator? Who else could engage in such heated debate, but 
still count so many of us, on both sides of the aisle, as devoted 
friends? No one but Ted Kennedy could do that.
  His qualities were legendary he was the hardest worker, he was the 
quickest debater, and he was the guy who lit up a room with his warmth 
and wit. It was all there in one extraordinary man, who became one of 
the greatest United States Senators in our Nation's history. Even 
putting aside Ted's legendary personal qualities, his legislative 
record speaks volumes about how effective he was. It is a record for 
the ages, with hundreds of his legislative efforts becoming law.
  His achievements in civil rights, education, health care, and 
workers' rights speak to the absolute commitment he had to the people 
he saw who struggled to live the American dream; the dedicated people 
who are the lifeblood of this country, but who struggle--especially in 
times like these--when they lose their job, or their health insurance 
or their home. In Ted Kennedy, those Americans found their champion, 
and we thank him for everything he achieved on their behalf.
  I admired so many things Ted Kennedy did, but most of all I was 
inspired by his work on civil rights. His commitment, through his 47 
years in the Senate, to the cause of equality for every American, was 
perhaps his greatest achievement of all. In his very first speech on 
the Senate floor, just 4 months after his brother John's assassination, 
he called for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He played a 
key role in the Voting Rights Act of 1965, was the chief sponsor of the 
Voting Rights Amendments Act of 1982, and just a few years ago was a 
key cosponsor of the Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks, and Coretta Scott 
King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006. He 
was one of the chief cosponsors of the Americans with Disabilities Act 
of 1990, the chief sponsor of the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1988, 
and a key proponent of theCivil Rights Act of 1991. And the list goes 
on, Mr. President. There simply is no doubt that he was the most 
important legislative architect of the expansion of civil rights in the 
last half century. I am committed to helping to continue that work here 
in the Senate in his memory.
  Ted was also someone who suffered many personal tragedies, but he 
bore those burdens with a quiet dignity that came from his tremendous 
inner strength. You couldn't know him without being awed by that 
strength, and sensing it whenever he entered the room, or when he took 
up an issue. When he spoke, his words echoed not just in this Chamber, 
but across the country and around the world. This was a man who could 
change the momentum on a bill or an issue just through his own personal 
will. He was a powerful person determined to help the powerless in our 
society, and we loved him for it.
  I think ``beloved'' is the best word to describe how we felt about 
him here in the Senate, and how so many Americans felt about him around 
the country. We are grateful that he lived to achieve so much, and to 
inspire so many.
  And now we wish, as he did when he laid his brother Robert Kennedy to 
rest, that ``what he wished for others will someday come to pass for 
all the world.'' And now we pledge, as he did at the Democratic 
Convention in 1980, that ``the work goes on, the cause endures, the 
hope still lives and the dream shall never die. `` And now, as we 
grieve his loss, we say goodbye to our friend, Senator Edward M. 
Kennedy. We thank him for his lifetime of service to our country, and 
for his profound commitment to the cause of justice here in the United 
States and throughout the world.

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