Chair's Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, today released the following statement: “Although we need no other indicator, Friday’s job loss report confirms that our economy remains in a free-fall. Now, more than ever, we need a strong economic recovery package that...

WASHINGTON, DC— Today’s session of the HELP Committee Executive Session has been postponed and will be rescheduled for a later date. Chairman Kennedy and Ranking Member Enzi issued the following joint statement.     “Today’s executive session was postponed to allow members additional time to review...

Today the following statement on the signing of the Children’s Health Insurance Program into law was released: “Our country has just made a clear commitment to guarantee quality, affordable health care to 4 million more American children. Four million more children will have a family doctor and enjoy the opportunities in life that come...

(As Entered into the Record) The nation is facing a worsening health care crisis that demands our immediate attention. As a nation, we spend two trillion dollars a year on care, yet 1 in 2 Americans suffer from chronic diseases that decrease quality of life and increase health costs. Estimates indicate that close to 200 million Americans alive...

WASHINGTON, DC— A hearing on the role of states in keeping Americans healthy will be held tomorrow, Thursday, January 22nd at 10am. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) will chair the hearing that will take place in the HELP Committee’s hearing room, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 430. This is the second hearing Harkin has held in his role...

United States Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Hearing (As Entered into the Record) In this new century of the life sciences, almost every day brings new medical breakthroughs and extraordinary scientific discoveries. Biotechnology has created undreamed-of solutions to longstanding medical challenges. Conditions which once...

(As Entered into the Record) I commend Arne Duncan for his nomination to be Secretary of Education and welcome him to our committee today. Mr. Duncan brings inspiration, dedication, and ability to the field of education and I look forward to learning more about his vision for improving and strengthening all aspects of education, from early...

WASHINGTON, DC— Today’s report shows a loss of 524,000 jobs – it’s now a full year of consecutive monthly job losses. The national unemployment rate rose to 7.2% and the number of unemployed Americans rose to 11.1 million. “Today’s depressing news highlights the magnitude of the challenge we face in revitalizing...

(As Prepared for Delivery) It is an honor to welcome our members to our first hearing of the new Congress. I particularly welcome our very special witness today – a valued friend and former colleague, Tom Daschle. Tom Daschle is a leader of great integrity and strong dedication. He has served his nation with distinction, both in uniform and...

WASHINGTON, DC— Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, today released the following statement on today’s CBO report on report on financing health care: "Today's report from the Congressional Budget Office is a major contribution to health reform, and gives Congress important...

Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), today announced that Senator Jeff Bingaman will lead the committee’s health care reform working group on insurance coverage. Senator Bingaman replaces Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, President-elect Barack Obama’s nominee for Secretary of State. Last month, Kennedy asked Senator Dodd to...

WASHINGTON, DC— Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement on the Senate’s passage of extended unemployment benefits. The legislation provides an additional 7 weeks of unemployment insurance to workers whose benefits have expired, for a total of up...

Washington, DC— Leaders of the Senate Finance Committee and the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee committed today to work together early in the 111th Congress toward comprehensive health care reform. Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and HELP Chairman Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) were joined at an afternoon discussion in...

Washington, DC – Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) were joined today by Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Ranking Member Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) in announcing legislation to help ease the financial strain on American...

WASHINGTON, DC— Today’s report showed a loss of 159,000 jobs, the ninth consecutive month of job losses. The number of unemployed Americans rose to 9.5 million, and the number of workers unemployed for over six months rose to 2 million (an increase of 728,000 over the past year). Anthony Coley, spokesman for Senator Edward M. Kennedy,...

New York City, NY – Today, Senators Edward M. Kennedy, Orrin Hatch, Barack Obama, John McCain, Chris Dodd, Thad Cochran and Hillary Rodham Clinton introduced new legislation, the "Serve America Act," to expand opportunities for service for all Americans. The legislation will ask 175,000 more Americans to give a year of service to address...

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Senate Health,Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and Representative George Miller, Chairman of theCommittee on Education and Labor, will hold a meeting between the House and SenateConferees on the conference of H.R. 2669, the College Cost Reduction Act of 2007. This bill,...

WASHINGTON, DC— Melissa Wagoner, spokeswoman for Senator Edward M. Kennedy (DMA), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, released the following statement by the Senator today on a letter he sent to Massachusetts students and families suggesting options for federal funding that may be available to students...

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions today praised the action of Senate and House conferees in approving a Conference Report to reconcile legislation passed in the Senate and the House of Representatives to reauthorize the Higher Education Act of 1965....

WASHINGTON, DC— Melissa Wagoner, spokeswoman for Senator Edward M. Kennedy, today released the following statement on the US Department of Education’s evaluation of Title III programs under the No Child Left Behind Act that was reported to Congress last week. “Senator Kennedy is pleased to know that thanks to hard work and...