[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 17]
[House]
[Pages 22870-22876]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        HONORING THE LIFE AND WORKS OF SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 6, 2009, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Markey) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.


                             General Leave

  Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Massachusetts?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. I say that while noting that 
Representative Neal from Massachusetts and Representative Capuano from 
Massachusetts want to, at this point, insert their written statements 
in honor of Senator Kennedy, and that is why I made that unanimous 
consent request. But it is also for the purpose of any other Member 
seeking to be recognized to be able to insert their comments at this 
point.
  We rise to honor our friend and our mentor, Senator Edward M. 
Kennedy, one of the greatest Senators in the history of the United 
States. He will be on a very short list of the greatest who have ever 
lived and served our country. We tonight gather, noting that his son, 
Patrick, serves with us here in the House of Representatives, and we 
extend our best to him and to his sister, Kara, and to Teddy, Jr., as 
well as and especially to his beloved wife, Vicky, and to all of the 
other members of the Kennedy family.
  He was, without question, ``an idealist without illusions,'' in the 
words of his brother. He worked as best he could to achieve the goals 
that he set for our country while at the same time reaching across the 
aisle to find partners that he could work with in order to accomplish 
those legislative goals. Without question, it was our great honor, as 
the Massachusetts delegation, to work with him for all of those years.
  Let me, at this point, turn and recognize the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Frank), and then we will go through and recognize 
the other members of our delegation and other Members who have joined 
here to speak about the Senator. I recognize the gentleman from 
Massachusetts.
  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Madam Speaker, the gentleman who just 
recognized me, the dean of our delegation, has the distinction of 
having worked very closely with the late Senator Kennedy for 33 years, 
for more than two-thirds of the Senator's term. And I know that Senator 
Kennedy greatly valued his colleagueship, as all of us do who serve 
with him as the dean, and his work now in a number of

[[Page 22871]]

the areas pays tribute. I do think it is important to note that the 
longer you worked with Senator Kennedy, the more you came to admire 
what he did.
  I would have one difference with my colleague with whom I rarely 
differ on things. He said Senator Kennedy would be seen as one of the 
greatest Senators. I would say the best. And I know my colleague is 
gracious and may have a Senator or two he needs on the cap-and-trade 
bill, so he doesn't want to go too far. But I think we would all agree.
  I was a fledging academic before I went into politics. I was studying 
for a Ph.D., and I then learned I had a personal characteristic which 
was a defect in academics but absolutely essential to serve in this 
body. I have a very short attention span. And it works to my advantage 
here and to my disadvantage in serious scholarship. But from both ends, 
I don't think there is much question about his greatness as a Senator.
  Obviously, those of us in the delegation and our great colleague and 
civil rights leader, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis) who has 
worked with Senator Kennedy, goes back even before any of the rest of 
us in terms of colleagueship; but we obviously agreed with his values, 
and that is a big part of it. But even those who didn't, and this is 
what's so striking and so needed in our country today, many Members of 
Congress who served with him who disagreed with him on most substantive 
issues, joined in the praise for his integrity and his character and 
his dedication.
  We are at a time now where politics is held in low repute by a lot of 
young people. I would hope that younger people in particular would 
think back to the deep, deep love for Senator Kennedy that was 
expressed by so many people across the political spectrum. Think about 
the accomplishments to which so many people attribute; think about the 
people who express the enormous gratitude for the difference he made in 
their lives. There could not be a better example of how you can get 
into this business of politics and do good. I would hope people would 
be encouraged by that.
  Beyond that, there is one particular point that I want to stress. We 
have a besetting sin today in our politics where people think that you 
show your depth of commitment to a cause by rigidity, not just by 
rigidity, but impugning the motives of those on your side who try to 
get something done. Compromise for its own sake is a very bad idea. 
People who talk about the ``center'' have to be clear what they mean. 
The ``center'' is not a place of value. It may be where you wind up. 
But you wind up there as you try to move the center. Yes, you want to 
try to be representative of a majority. Those who have as a goal 
finding the precise middle are giving up their own moral and 
intellectual capacity.
  What Senator Kennedy did was to start firmly from a set of moral 
principles and then work to get them accomplished the best that he 
could. And that is, unfortunately, a practice that today isn't as 
appreciated as it should be. Purity is a wonderful state, I am told. I 
do not say that from experience. But it doesn't make anybody any better 
off.
  No one was more firmly committed to the ideals of fairness and equity 
than Edward M. Kennedy, and he understood that the more firmly 
committed he was to them, the more he was morally obligated to make 
some progress on them.
  I realize ideals help nobody, and I say that because he was at the 
same time one of the premier idealists of our time. No one better or 
more consistently articulated the goal of a society in which no one 
suffered unfairly, in which all were treated with dignity and had a 
certain minimum, at least, of substance. But while he was preeminent as 
a preacher of that set of moral virtues, he was also preeminent as a 
hands-on politician who could work with others within the democratic 
process with other people elected who might have disagreed with him, 
and because of him, more of his goals were accomplished than were 
accomplished by anybody else. No one did more to advance those causes 
which he exemplified.
  But he never got all he wanted. And I hope that is also an example; 
and the example is that, sure, you do not belong in politics unless you 
have a set of ideals. You don't have any business trying to gain 
influence over others unless it's to make this world a better place.

                              {time}  2000

  But once you have those ideals, your obligation is not simply to 
treat them in a way that makes you feel good; it is to get them 
accomplished.
  I do not think in American history over the time of his Senate career 
that anybody did a better job for people of all income, for the victims 
of discrimination, whether it was based on race or sexual orientation, 
or gender, for the whole concept of what we think is the genius of 
America; namely, that when you're born, you're born with a chance to 
maximize your potential, and the economic circumstances or the 
prejudice of others or anything else don't hold you back.
  This Nation is enormously indebted to Senator Edward Kennedy for the 
work that he did and for the example that he set. And I thank my 
colleague, the dean of our delegation, for leading this Special Order.
  Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. I thank the gentleman very much, and I 
turn and recognize now a good friend of the senator, Bill Delahunt from 
Quincy.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. Thank you.
  I just want to pick up on a theme that Barney touched on. You know, 
Ted Kennedy might have had adversaries but they were never his enemies. 
He treated everyone with respect and with dignity and that character, 
that DNA, if you will, was the proximate cause of his success as a 
Senator who championed all of the great causes in the past 50 years.
  You know, Tip O'Neill said that all politics is local. Well, with Ted 
it was personal. It was based upon those personal relationships. I'm 
sure that there are literally thousands that considered Ted Kennedy a 
dear and close personal friend. I know I did.
  I had the fun of being Ted Kennedy's Congressman, and as you all know 
here from Massachusetts, we had our own schtick. It was a great banter. 
And he would leave me messages on occasion on my cell phone at night, 
reminding me that the grass hadn't been cut and that the snow hadn't 
been shoveled out in Hyannis Port.
  I sailed with Ted Kennedy frequently; our colleague and his son, 
Patrick; his oldest son, Teddy, junior; and a sister, Kara; and his 
devoted wife and soulmate, Vicki Kennedy. He was an exceptional friend. 
I miss him terribly. But I know that my experience with him was 
multiplied by the thousands. He had a way of communicating with people 
that was unique. You could reveal to him your concerns. You could share 
with him your secrets, and you could always be assured that the advice 
that you received was sound, and it was in your best interests.
  You know, we're saddened by his death, those of us who have served 
with him, those of us who considered him a dear and close friend. But I 
guess for me the gift of that friendship was something that was so 
special that it overwhelms the sadness that we all share and that so 
many share.
  We were indeed fortunate not just to serve with probably the most 
prolific Senator that ever served in the United States Congress--2,500 
bills. I'm not going to touch on his public record, but we know that 
his record speaks for itself.
  But what many in this country are only beginning to discover is that 
for Ted Kennedy, it was not about himself; it was about others. He had 
his share of pain and tragedy in his own life, and I dare say that that 
provided him with an incredible capacity for empathy and to understand 
others better than anyone I've ever met in public life.
  So let me conclude by saying I miss you terribly, Teddy, but I know 
you're still with us. Sail on.
  Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. I recognize the gentleman from 
Worcester, a good friend of the Senator's, Jim McGovern.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Thank you and I thank my colleague for arranging this

[[Page 22872]]

Special Order to honor an incredible leader and an incredible friend, 
Ted Kennedy.
  You know, in the McGovern household in Worcester, Massachusetts, the 
Kennedy name has always been magic. Our family admired and respected 
President Kennedy. We all supported him, were committed to Robert 
Kennedy and the causes that he stood for, and we always felt it a very 
special privilege to be represented in Massachusetts by Ted Kennedy. 
You know, all of us, especially the Massachusetts delegation, already 
miss Senator Kennedy. We miss his humor, we miss his friendship, his 
advice, his leadership.
  I tell my colleagues from outside of Massachusetts that I'm proud to 
call myself a Ted Kennedy Democrat, and a Ted Kennedy Democrat is 
somebody who's a believer in dynamic and efficient, bold and effective 
government, somebody who believes it is important to stand up for human 
rights and for civil rights, and Senator Kennedy did so with incredible 
integrity and with incredible character.
  You know, I believe as has been said here that he is the greatest 
legislator in the history of the United States Senate.
  On health care, I mean every major piece of health care legislation 
that has been enacted into law has Ted Kennedy's fingerprints all over 
it. There are millions of children in America today who have health 
care because of Ted Kennedy.
  And education: Every major education bill to expand educational 
opportunities for people of every background is a result of Ted 
Kennedy's leadership.
  In the area of workers rights, a strong champion of organized labor, 
somebody who promoted and enacted major legislation that protected 
workers and workers rights.
  In the area of civil rights, you're going to hear from our colleague 
from Georgia, John Lewis, a hero in the civil rights movement who will 
talk to you about the fact that Ted Kennedy was the leader in the area 
of civil rights in the United States Senate.
  And on the Iraq War, I have a special admiration and respect for his 
courage, for the stand he took against that war, when it was not 
popular to do so, but he took that stand because he believed it was the 
right thing to do. He thought that war should always be a last resort, 
not a first resort, and I think he was right on that war.
  But to all of us in Massachusetts, he was our Senator who assembled 
the best staff you could possibly imagine. When somebody lost their 
Social Security check, they called Ted Kennedy in his office. When a 
veteran needed help, they called Ted Kennedy. When a local official 
needed funding for a local college or hospital or road project, they 
called Ted Kennedy's office. All phone calls were returned, whether it 
was from the Queen of England or Mrs. O'Leary who lived in a three-
decker in Worcester.
  But more than that, I appreciate very much his personal touch. I was 
grateful for that personal touch, you know, the notes and the calls. 
When somebody was sick in your family, you got a phone call. When you 
got a special recognition or if you won an election, you got a note. If 
something great happened to you, you know, he was the first to call.
  When my son, Patrick, was born, the very first call we received was 
from Ted Kennedy, even before my mother and father called the hospital. 
The very first gift that we received was from Ted Kennedy, a blanket 
that had my son's name stitched into the blanket with the words, Love, 
Vicki and Ted. And the same thing happened when my daughter was born a 
couple of years later. Those are things that I will never forget and 
always treasure.
  You know, when he died, I said that nobody can ever fill his shoes, 
but we must try to follow in his footsteps, and I really believe that.
  You know, one of the things that Senator Kennedy said was that the 
great unfinished goal of his life was health care. He believed that 
everyone in this country deserves health care. He thought it was a 
national scandal that tens of millions of Americans are without health 
care. He believed that we could provide better health care to people, 
that we could put a greater emphasis on preventative care to prevent 
people from getting sick. He believed we could come up with a health 
care system that would control costs so that families and small 
businesses wouldn't go broke trying to provide health care for their 
families or for their workers.
  And so while he is no longer with us, we need to continue his work. 
He was the conscience of our country, and I believe that we need to 
continue to be inspired by his example. We need to continue to stand up 
for what's right. We need to continue to fight for what's right.
  And I will say as my colleagues have said, I feel it has been a 
special privilege and an honor for me to be part of this delegation 
that for so many years was led by Senator Kennedy, a great leader and a 
great friend. And the world is going to miss him. And I already do.
  I thank my colleague for yielding to me.
  Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. And we thank the gentleman for his 
excellent comments.
  Let me turn now and recognize the gentleman from Massachusetts, a 
good friend of the Senator's, John Olver.
  Mr. OLVER. I thank the gentleman for yielding to me. I was still 
making changes in what I was intending to say, and usually I do that 
all the time.
  I rise tonight to remember and honor the life and the life's work of 
a dear friend, Senator Ted Kennedy. There are few Americans alive today 
whose lives are not affected in some way by Senator Kennedy's vast body 
of legislative achievements. He's credited with hundreds of laws 
enacted over his 47-year Senate career, and many of those laws make up 
fundamental tenets of the social contract that is our modern society.
  One of the best examples of Senator Kennedy's impact on society can 
be seen in his groundbreaking Americans with Disabilities Act, which 
opened the door to jobs, housing, transportation, communications, and a 
better life for millions of citizens. It also fundamentally changed the 
way people viewed others who live with disabilities.
  Providing opportunity was a great theme of Senator Kennedy's work, as 
evidenced by his contributions to strengthening public education. 
Throughout his career, he fought for better teachers, better schools, 
more funding, and better methods to enhance learning for America's 
children.
  For wage-earning Americans, Ted Kennedy will perhaps be best 
remembered for his refusal to accept minimum wage levels as they fell 
further and further behind in their purchasing power. When others 
balked or faltered on the issue, Senator Kennedy had a knack for 
pushing through a deal to get everything he could for workers as soon 
as it could be achieved.
  On the international front, when the great debate over America's 
waging a preemptive war arose at the outset of this decade, Senator 
Kennedy used his stature and status as a national newsmaker to oppose 
the President and the Congress' transgressions, as he saw them, with 
the use of America's military power.
  There are many other important accomplishments one could list, but 
the issue Senator Kennedy himself labeled as the cause of his life, 
health care, probably stands out as his greatest area of achievement.
  Senator Kennedy extended COBRA coverage for workers in between jobs 
and eliminated preexisting condition restrictions for workers in group 
insurance plans. He fought for and won uncommon allies in his crusade 
to provide health coverage for all children, which he considered a 
moral obligation. He created the Family and Medical Leave Act and the 
Ryan White CARE Act for Americans living with HIV and AIDS.

                              {time}  2015

  Though his ultimate cause of universal health care was one he did not 
live to see enacted, we are where we are today because of Kennedy's 
lifelong commitment to that cause. In a sense, the effort is still his 
effort. The gains that Congress will eventually pass will also be a 
part of his legacy.

[[Page 22873]]

  Back in my part of Massachusetts, Senator Kennedy was always a good 
friend to the First Congressional District. In recent years he 
championed the development of the University of Massachusetts' Pioneer 
Valley Life Sciences Institute and helped to support Holyoke Hospital, 
a critical health services provider in the Connecticut Valley. He was 
ever willing to exercise his seniority in the Senate when Massachusetts 
companies needed it, and when campaign season came around, no one could 
bring out and motivate as many workers as Senator Kennedy. His stump 
speeches in remote corners of Massachusetts, for State or local 
candidates, were always an oratorical treat for those lucky enough to 
hear them.
  To me personally, Senator Kennedy was an inspiring and thoughtful 
friend. I could always count on an immediate and passionate response to 
whatever was on his mind and on my mind, and his attentive friendship 
came with a warm smile, a sense of humor and a caring heart. Senator 
Kennedy's breadth and depth of leadership was unmatched in the 
Congress. He was a tireless worker for his constituents and all 
humanity, and I am honored to have known him and served with him.
  Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. We thank the gentleman so much for his 
words. Next we recognize another great friend of the Senator, John 
Tierney, from the State of Massachusetts.
  Mr. TIERNEY. I thank the gentleman for recognizing me and want to 
acknowledge before we start, Patrick, I know you're going to speak 
later, but I hope that this is somewhat fulfilling for you. It can 
never replace the loss of your dad, but hopefully it will at least let 
you know how much the people that served with him had the honor and 
pleasure of doing that, loved doing it and appreciated him every day. 
And my colleague, Bill Delahunt, was more than just the Congressman for 
the Senator, so I extend my sympathies to you as well; you were a 
friend, probably even closer than most of us were because you were 
there so often and spent so much time with him. And so I express those 
condolences to you. But it's a loss to all of us. The Dean of the 
delegation, Ed Markey, of course, served many, many years with the 
Senator. I looked at a little factoid the other day that indicated that 
Senator Kennedy was born on the 200th anniversary of George 
Washington's birthday. I thought if that's accurate, and I assume that 
it is, how interesting it was, because nobody appreciated history more 
than Senator Kennedy and nobody appreciated his role in history more 
than that.
  I can remember Ed Markey at one point, at a function introducing 
Senator Kennedy as one of the best United States Senators, only to be 
corrected by the Senator saying, One of the best? The best. And while 
he was joking, I think he turned out to be absolutely right on that 
because he certainly has a record that you have heard from John Olver 
and others here that is just phenomenal. Jimmy McGovern expressed it as 
well.
  I won't start to enumerate all of the things that the Senator did. 
We'd be here for far too long. And I think, after hearing my 
colleagues, most people finally start to appreciate that wherever you 
were in life, you benefited from him; whether you were cleaning hotel 
rooms or doing some other job that was difficult like that, you 
benefited from the minimum wage, health care, education, all the things 
that we care about. And frankly, when we are all looking to try and 
have the honor of serving here, listening to people in our 
constituencies, they're talking about those things that matter to them, 
the bread and butter issues, whether or not they're going to have a 
job, whether or not it pays well, whether or not they're going to be 
able to keep their family healthy; whether or not they're going to be 
able to give their children opportunity. This great Senator epitomized 
all of that.
  One thing that I don't think has been mentioned so far that I just 
want to hit on is the fact that the Senator used to tell a story about 
being lectured by his father when he turned 21 or so about the fact 
that he was going to be the recipient of some resources that other 
people didn't have the benefit of; he could choose to be idle and do 
nothing with his time, or he could choose to be of service to others 
and to mankind. We all know which route he took. But that remains an 
inspiring story to all people even to today.
  And during the course of this summer when the President had his 
Service to America campaign going on, many of us had the opportunity to 
go and visit a lot of organizations that had volunteers in, and when 
you would remind them of that story and tell them about the Edward M. 
Kennedy Serve America Act that was signed into law earlier in the year 
by President Obama and now their role in stepping into his belief of 
service and doing something for their fellow citizens, doing something 
for America and no matter how small or large, no matter where it was, 
you could see the inspiration that they got from the Senator, from his 
life, from his acts, and from the fact that this law had passed because 
he motivated people to pass it and get it through. This will remain as 
one of his great legacies, the fact that he spent his life serving 
others, that he was selfless in that regard, and that while he was 
serious about the business that he did, he was also never taking 
himself too seriously, and always willing to make people feel 
comfortable and to see the lighter side of things and to see the better 
part of humanity. In even people who were his political opponents, he 
saw a good part, and he was able to draw out of them a response that 
made them accept him and others and work on issues together.
  I can remember being with the Senator when we would go out, 
particularly to senior citizen places where he just couldn't resist 
singing a song, particularly Irish song, couldn't resist getting out 
and dancing if there was a ballroom dance going on. And, of course, I 
guess I must take myself too seriously, or just know how bad a singer 
or bad a dancer I am. I was always looking for the door, and he would 
never let that happen. He'd be the first one to force you on the floor, 
make a fool of yourself, but have some fun and go on that. That's the 
humanity of the man; that he loved everybody, he loved having a good 
time with them, could get them to go along with him; and then when it 
was time to get serious, he could do that in a heartbeat. He could make 
the case. He had great oratorical skills that carried the day over and 
over again. And he truly is a giant. I know that the story of his life 
is just jumping off the shelves right now because people are starting 
to remember all that he did.
  Sometimes in the hustle and bustle of political jargon, people making 
attacks and going back and forth, people forget that when you separate 
all that out, whether you are a conservative, or whether you are a 
liberal, whatever your political opinion, there are things in your life 
that you have that you're grateful for that are a result of the work of 
Senator Kennedy. I think that's the bottom line in all of this is that 
this Senator was a great Senator for America. He was a great friend to 
all of us. He was a great father and brother for people in 
Massachusetts. We sorely, sorely miss him. But none of us regret at all 
having had the opportunity to know him and to serve with him.
  Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. I thank the gentleman very much. And the 
gentleman is so right. I could call Senator Kennedy one of the greatest 
Senators in history, I could call him one of a small handful of the 
greatest Senators in history. But that would be inaccurate. That just 
wouldn't capture not only how history will record him, but how he wants 
to be recorded by history. And there will be an accurate reflection of 
that, I think, as people, as the gentleman pointed out, continue to 
focus upon his life.
  Before I turn to the gentleman from South Boston, let me go back the 
gentleman from Quincy, Mr. Delahunt.
  Mr. DELAHUNT. If the gentleman would yield for a moment before our 
friend, Steve Lynch, makes his remarks, this conversation, the colloquy 
between yourself and John Tierney, reminds me of an anecdote. I wasn't

[[Page 22874]]

present and maybe Patrick could attest to its validity. But when Ted 
Kennedy was described as one of the two most significant United States 
Senators in that institution's history, the other being Webster, that 
his response was, Well, what did Webster do?
  Mr. MARKEY of Masschusetts. I thank the gentleman.
  No place played a more important role in the history of Massachusetts 
Irish politics than South Boston, the home of the next friend of 
Senator Kennedy, Steve Lynch from South Boston, Massachusetts.
  Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, Mr. Markey, the dean of 
the New England delegation, for reserving this time in order for us to 
pay a special tribute to our friend and colleague, Senator Ted Kennedy. 
If you have been watching tonight, you will notice that the Members 
with the most seniority have been given the privilege to speak first, 
which is the way it works down here. The longer you are here, the more 
you appreciate that. However, I am one of the more junior members of 
the delegation, and unlike some of the fellows that have been around 
here forever, like Mr. Markey and Mr. Frank and Mr. Delahunt, I had a 
relatively short time, 8 years, to spend working with Ted Kennedy. And 
I cherish every one of those years. But in addition to working with 
Ted, as a colleague--and Ted could, he could get it done. He could get 
it done. And I was always amazed at that.
  But I also had a different perspective of Ted Kennedy. I saw him in 
action before I came to this House. I grew up in the public housing 
projects in South Boston, the Old Colony housing projects. And I can 
tell you that whether you lived in the housing projects in Old Colony 
in Southie or Bromley-Heath or Mission Main or Franklin Field, if you 
grew up, if your family struggled to make ends meet in public housing, 
no one in public housing had a better champion, a more valiant and 
noble champion than Ted Kennedy. And that's really the first 
perspective that I had of Ted Kennedy as someone who was working for 
our benefit as a family growing up in public housing and in pretty 
tough circumstances. He was there for us.
  I also had a perspective of working as an iron worker for 18 years, 
strapping on a pair of work boots, becoming a union president for the 
iron workers. I can say from that perspective as well, whether you were 
an iron worker, like I was, working in the building trades with a lot 
of my union brothers and sisters, or whether you worked on a factory 
floor, or maybe you were a nurse going out every day working double 
shifts and overtime, or you were a policeman or a fireman, no working 
person in this country had a more gallant champion to protect their 
rights and protect the conditions on the job than we had in Ted 
Kennedy. And the outpouring of love that we saw during the memorial 
service and the wake and the funeral and even during Ted's illness, it 
reflected that collective experience of not only the people of 
Massachusetts but of New England and the United States. And it was 
something to see.
  My mom raised us in public housing, and when the motorcade came along 
Carson Beach in the shadow of the housing project where we grew up, my 
mom insisted that I help her down there--she's not as young as she used 
to be, but I helped her down there and just to give respect to the 
Kennedy family and to Ted during that last journey, last part of his 
journey. There is a saying from the iron workers, especially in the 
steel mills, that the strongest steel comes through the hottest fire. 
And really, when you looked at Ted's life and saw what he accomplished 
and the challenges that he had; his brother, President of the United 
States, taken in violence; his brother, the Attorney General, candidate 
for the presidency, taken from us in the same way; the huge challenges 
to Ted. They were unthinkable, unimaginable, yet he worked through it, 
and not only did he overcome that, but he also reached out to other 
people and shared a strength that he gathered from those experiences.
  I'll never forget--this is my only Ted Kennedy story that I'll relate 
tonight, but I was a freshman, actually, I was very early in my career 
as a State Representative, and we had six of our brave fire fighters 
killed in a terrible fire in Worcester, Massachusetts. We all went to 
the Worcester Centrum for that ceremony. The families were there and 
every seat was taken and every bit of space on the floor was taken. The 
place was filled to the rafters. And that's where I was sitting, far 
above the floor. But I'll remember Ted's remarks. Here are six families 
that just lost their loved ones. And Ted Kennedy, you know, you could 
have heard a pin drop in that Centrum that day.

                              {time}  2030

  He basically said to the family--I'll never forget his words. He 
said, From my own experience, I have found that every once in a while 
life breaks your heart. And even though there were thousands and 
thousands and thousands of people in that Centrum that day, in reality, 
it was just Ted and it was just those six families, and he was helping 
them through that. And that's a gift.
  We all go to wakes and funerals and try to help families through 
tough times, but I never saw anybody carry it off with the grace and 
the profound empathy and love that Ted was able to accomplish.
  I just want to say that I'm delighted that we had an opportunity 
tonight to say our thoughts and to share our concerns for Ted's family, 
Patrick and the entire family. We know what they're going through.
  I think the test of all of us who are born on this Earth, the true 
test of our time, however short it is on this Earth, is whether the 
work we do while we're on this Earth is going to live after us and is 
it going to positively affect the people that we leave behind.
  By any measure, by any test, Ted has passed that test with flying 
colors. He has left the power of his example for all of us to try to 
follow.
  I want to thank you, the dean of our delegation, Ed Markey, for the 
opportunity to share my thoughts. My prayers and the prayers of my 
family go out to the Kennedy family.
  Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. We thank the gentleman so much for his 
words.
  In 1974, Paul Tsongas from Lowell was elected to the United States 
Congress. Today, these many, many years later, Niki Tsongas serves here 
in the Congress. So the Tsongas and the Kennedy story goes back many 
years.
  I'd like to recognize the gentlelady from Lowell, Niki Tsongas.
  Ms. TSONGAS. I'd like to thank the dean of our delegation for hosting 
this Special Order so we can remember our most remarkable Senator.
  As I was thinking about how best to talk about him--and we've heard 
some wonderful remembrances this evening--I was looking back to the 
early sixties when I was, like so many of us, a student in high school, 
a beginning student in high school--I hate to give away our age--but 
the inspirational figures of the Kennedy family, in particular, 
President John F. Kennedy.
  My husband, Paul, used to say that he was inspired by that Presidency 
to seek public office. But he had grown up in what he called a 
``disadvantaged household.'' His parents were Republicans. And it was 
the Presidency of John Kennedy who inspired him and so many either to 
become a Democrat or to seek out public office, little knowing that 
some years later we would be serving with the man we remember tonight.
  My first recollection, though, of Senator Kennedy is in 1974, when 
Paul was a candidate for the seat that I now hold. Senator Kennedy 
agreed to come to Lawrence, Massachusetts, to campaign for Paul, who 
was part of the great Watergate class in which there were many, many 
Democrats running across this country. Paul was running against an 
incumbent Republican.
  Senator Kennedy came to Lawrence, Massachusetts, to St. Mary's 
Church. He was accompanied by Barbara Souliotis, who many, many years 
later still serves as his State director. At the time, I think she was 
an advance person, whom I remember her utter professionalism in keeping 
Ted on track.
  We've heard tonight what a great speaker he was, how he could really

[[Page 22875]]

connect with the crowd. And so he did that evening. While Ted was 
speaking, Paul looked at me like, ``Now what on Earth do I do?'' 
because he knew he could never compare with Ted Kennedy. And he didn't 
even try. But you could see then how fundamentally Ted connected with 
people, because they trusted him and they knew that he was working on 
their behalf.
  I remember, again, Ted in 1978, when he supported Paul against an 
incumbent United States Senator, somebody who was his colleague, a 
Republican, as he did so often; kept his word, supported his 
colleagues, whether they were seeking the Presidency, as they in turn 
supported him.
  Well, I haven't had the opportunity to serve, unfortunately, with Ted 
as long as others here. I do have a couple of remembrances from the 
past several years. One was when he did agree to come and campaign for 
me, again, in Haverhill and Lawrence, Massachusetts, the cities of the 
Fifth District of Massachusetts.
  This time, though, he came with a van. He brought Sonny and Slash, 
the dogs. Barbara Souliotis, who was with him in 1974, was there at his 
side yet again, along with Vicki. We started out in Haverhill. We went 
to an old diner that was owned by a Greek American family. Barbara's 
mother brought pastries that she cooked. Ted sat there with a little 
demitasse of coffee, ate the pastries, and thoroughly enjoyed the 
morning.
  Then we traveled on to a small school where we were going to read. It 
was an early reading program, a very, very good one; one that I think 
is a real model going forward. And Ted, this remarkable Senator who has 
met with every imaginable world leader, sat and sang Itsy Bitsy Spider 
to the 2-year-olds and 3-year-olds that were in the room with him. He 
had a remarkable ability to connect with all of humanity.
  My last conversation with him was around a point of legislation that 
we both jointly sponsored to protect a farm called Barrett's Farm. 
We've learned to know what a lover of history he is. But I represent 
two parks: The Minute Man National Historical Park and the Lowell 
National Historical Park.
  Barrett's Farm is a farm that played a very important role in the 
beginnings of the American Revolution. It was a farm that housed 
munitions that the Minutemen were going to use. And the British, 
learning of the new munitions, decided to march on Lexington and 
Concord, prompting Paul Revere's ride to warn that the British were 
coming.
  The Minutemen got to Barrett's Farm, hid the munitions, so by the 
time the British arrived, the munitions were safely set aside where 
they could be used as we advanced our Revolutionary War effort, but the 
shot was heard round the world that changed the history of this 
country.
  So we worked hard. My former Congressman, Marty Meehan, had initially 
filed the legislation. I followed up on that, working with Senator 
Kennedy. The bill finally was signed into law.
  This April, I was sitting in my office and got a call. It was Senator 
Kennedy on the line, and I picked it up and he said, Niki, isn't it 
grand? He could celebrate that small legislative act that protected 
such important history with the same joy and commitment that he did the 
grandest of efforts.
  Senator Kennedy's legislation has shaped American lives in ways we 
cannot even know. Every day our lives are different for all that he 
did. And we are so fortunate to have had his service, to have the great 
legacy of the Kennedy family, and to be serving today with 
Representative Patrick Kennedy, who continues that legacy as well.
  We will miss him. We will miss him forever. But we will always 
remember him in the large acts and small kindnesses of his life.
  Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. We thank the gentlelady so much for 
those words.
  Now we turn to--and a number of Members have alluded to him--the 
great civil rights leader who knew the Kennedys in the sixties and now 
serves here in the House of Representatives, Congressman John Lewis 
from the State of Georgia.
  Mr. LEWIS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague Ed 
Markey and members of the Massachusetts delegation for holding this 
Special Order in honor of Senator Kennedy. I rise today just to say 
thanks to Senator Kennedy and to the Kennedy family.
  During the sixties, I had an opportunity to meet President Kennedy, 
in June of 1963, when I was only 23 years old, and then to see him at 
the end of the March on Washington when he invited us back down to the 
White House. I got to know Robert Kennedy, the Attorney General, 
meeting with him in his office and campaigning with him in Indiana, 
Oregon, and California.
  I have known Senator Ted Kennedy for a long time. He was a very 
special man, a very special friend. I remember long before I came to 
Washington as a Member of Congress on an occasion we needed him to 
speak at a fundraiser for nonpartisan voter registration efforts in the 
South. He answered our call without hesitation. He spent time among us, 
honoring not just men and women of means, but everyday people and their 
little children.
  Senator Kennedy, this extraordinary man, was an elegant man who 
walked with kings, but never lost the common touch. As a colleague, he 
was generous and committed. He was our leader, our champion, our 
shepherd. He took up the causes of those who were weak and tried to 
make them strong. He stood tall and spoke with passion for all of those 
who have been left out and left behind; the people who had no voice in 
America.
  Ted Kennedy never lost hope. He demanded justice for people of color 
when it came to civil rights and voting rights, and he also took a 
stand for seniors and for those with a different sexual orientation and 
for the disabled.
  Senator Kennedy was a man who lived his faith and tried to act on it 
every single day by doing good to help the least among us. At some of 
the most tragic and difficult moments in this Nation's history, Senator 
Kennedy had the capacity, had the ability to gather his strength and 
lead us toward a more hopeful future.
  As a Nation and as a people, he encouraged us to build upon the 
inspirational leadership of his two brothers and use it to leave a 
legacy of social transformation that has left its mark on history.
  I would say tonight, Mr. Speaker, and to members of the Massachusetts 
delegation and to Patrick and to other members of the Kennedy family, 
Senator Kennedy was so thoughtful and so considerate. He was one of the 
most sharing, caring, giving human beings that I have ever met.
  During July 2006, when the Senate was about to reauthorize the Voting 
Rights Act, he invited me over to the other side of the Capitol to be 
his guest on the Senate floor. When the last vote had been tallied, he 
gave me a copy of the tally sheet. Then he suggested that we walk out 
into an adjoining room, and he showed me the desk where President 
Lyndon Johnson had signed the original act on August 6, 1965.
  He had a photographer to take a picture of the two of us standing 
near that desk. A few days later, I received the most beautiful copy of 
that picture with an inscription from Senator Kennedy. It is hanging on 
the wall in my home in Atlanta. I will always cherish it as long as I 
live.
  I remember in 1977, Senator Kennedy came to Atlanta and we hosted a 
little reception for him at my home. He met a few of our friends: my 
wife, Lillian, and our son, John Miles. He spent so much time playing 
and talking with my young son, who was not quite a year old.
  Senator Kennedy had a heart full of grace and a soul generated by 
love that never forgot the spark of divinity that runs through us all, 
no matter whether you were his closest friend or his fiercest 
adversary.
  A brilliant light has gone out that uplifted not just America, but 
the entire world community. During his life, Senator Kennedy touched so 
many of us with his brilliant light. He touched more than Members of 
Congress, but also ordinary people. He touched our President and the 
leaders of tomorrow.

[[Page 22876]]

  The spark of light that he gave to each one of us still burns 
brightly, and it is our duty, our obligation to continue his legacy and 
pass that light on to unborn generations.
  Senator Kennedy will be deeply missed but not forgotten, and his 
legacy will live on in all of us. He was a wonderful friend. He was a 
wonderful friend, a wonderful colleague. He was like a brother.

                              {time}  2045

  Mr. MARKEY of Massachusetts. We thank the gentleman so much for his 
great words. For me, I had the honor of serving for 33 years out of the 
47 that Ted Kennedy served in Congress, here as his colleague. It was 
my great honor. For each of us, there are too many stories to retell.
  But for me, it all begins with Ted Kennedy running for the Senate; 
and from that moment on, whenever he spoke about the war in Vietnam or 
health care or energy or injustice to any person, no matter where they 
are in the world, I listened. And not only did I listen, but tens of 
millions of other people listened as well because he took us on a 
journey, a journey to issues and people that we did not know of but he 
wanted us to know about and to respond to.
  That was really his greatness, that when he spoke, he was true north. 
He was someone who you knew that he was speaking from his heart and 
speaking for issues that really only he had the capacity to draw the 
attention to, and he used his power to do so. He used the special gift 
that he had been given to accomplish those goals.
  I remember at the Democratic Convention in 1980, Senator Kennedy had 
asked me and Henry Royce over here, who was chairman of the Banking 
Committee, to introduce his energy bill which would be the counter to 
the incumbent President's energy bill. It called for solar and wind and 
conservation and higher fuel economy standards and a different 
direction for our country. Although his candidacy failed and energy was 
the big issue at that time, I got a call to come up to his room right 
after he gave that great ``The dream shall never die'' speech. He was 
up in his room with his family--Patrick was there and others.
  In that room, there was not a defeated man. There was someone who had 
been a great victor. There was someone who had brought all of these 
issues to the American people. In 1983, as Ronald Reagan had pulled out 
of all arms control negotiations with the Soviet Union--the first time 
in a generation--he called me, and he said, Eddy, you know what I would 
like to do, I would like to work with you on a nuclear freeze 
resolution to end all production of new nuclear weapons in the world. 
And he said, You know what would be a good idea, why don't we have it 
at American University, where my brother gave his speech to end all 
atmospheric nuclear testing?
  Then one month later, there was an attention brought to this issue 
that changed that whole issue, and 3 months later, 1 million people 
were in Central Park calling for an end to the nuclear arms race. On 
every single issue he talked about in his entire life, it changed the 
whole dynamic of that issue because Ted Kennedy stood up and spoke to 
it. He inspired me; and he inspired, I think, millions of people across 
the planet to change the course of their lives.
  So it has been a great honor for me and for all of the rest of our 
delegation to be able to work with him. It is an especially great honor 
to have as our concluding speaker this evening, his son. His son, who 
is our colleague here in the House of Representatives, who in and of 
himself is a great United States Congressman and who continues the 
Kennedy tradition of fighting for those causes that other people do not 
want to fight for and to bring the attention to those who are most in 
need of help in our country and in our world.
  It is my great honor to recognize the great Congressman from the 
State of Rhode Island, Patrick Kennedy.
  Mr. KENNEDY. I want to thank my good friend and colleague Ed Markey 
for organizing this Special Order and all of my colleagues for the 
wonderful tribute that they've given my dad tonight. I will just say 
that he loved people in public life because they were willing to go out 
and face the elements and weather the scorn of public opinion in order 
to stand up for what they believed in. That's why he really admired 
political figures, and especially in a time where political figures 
aren't very revered. They're pretty much down at the bottom of the 
public opinion polls in terms of most professions.
  But he knew what a difference it meant to have people of good faith 
and conviction be involved in the political process because he knew 
what a difference it made in terms of getting good policy done for the 
American people. He knew how easy it would be for most people to sit 
back and make criticisms from the sidelines, but it took a really 
special person to put themselves out and really sacrifice a big part of 
their lives because it takes enormous sacrifice of their private lives 
to be in the public life, especially today.
  So he always really got so much energy out of the people that he 
served with. They were the ones that sustained him so much because he 
felt like he was part of a team effort. There is nothing that he loved 
more than being part of a team, whether it was playing sports or 
whether it was just being part of a family team, being part of a 
family. That was his politics. His politics was simple. It was being 
part of a group and making sure that nobody in the group was left 
behind. I think it's a great kind of a spirit that he brought to his 
politics. It was a family spirit that I saw over and over again in 
every issue that he faced. He wanted to treat everybody else the way he 
expected to be treated if he were a member of a family, and I was 
included.
  He was brought up to believe that everybody had dignity and everybody 
had a place. You know, when I was growing up in my family, we all had a 
place. A lot has been said about his belief in everybody having an 
opportunity in society. Well, in an anecdotal way, I can tell you, in 
my life, he always made sure that I had an opportunity to participate.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Minnick). The time of the gentleman has 
expired.

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