KENNEDY CALLS FOR ACTION ON PATIENT SAFETY LEGISLATION

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office asking that it investigate why this landmark patient safety legislation, passed by Congress nearly three years ago, has not been fully implemented. Senator Kennedy said, "American patients deserve the safest and most effective health care possible. It is disgraceful that -- almost three years after Congress enacted bipartisan legislation to improve patient safety -- the Bush Administration has failed to implement it. Today, I am asking the Government Accountability Office to investigate the reasons why the Bush Administration has ignored this landmark patient safety legislation and to urge its full implementation. Continued delay is a serious disservice to millions of patients across the United States, and I implore the Administration to take action immediately." The text of the letter is below.