Senator Edward Kennedy:  The Dream Will Live On

We must commit to providing high quality, affordable health care for all

I am saddended by the passing of Edward M. Kennedy, a champion for social justice and reforming America's health care system.

Senator Kennedy's dedication to health care reform demonstrated a commitment to honoring human rights and a dedication to enriching the common wealth before personal wealth.
 
The centerpiece of Senator Kennedy’s historic health care bill is the public option.
 
I am on the record as an unequivocal supporter of the public option as the centerpiece of health care reform legislation. In memory of Senator Kennedy, I am proud to promise again today to sign the letter to Secretary Kathleen Sebelius confirming that any final proposal without a public option will not win my vote (See the
 
The only entity large enough to create an organization capable of introducing competition into the health insurance market is the federal government.


Today, we must pay tribute to this great American; tomorrow we must pick up the mantle and achieve his goal. Senator Kennedy's memory demands nothing less than the passage of comprehensive health care for all.

With deep sympathy for the Kennedy family,

Mark DeSaulnier

 

Ted Kennedy, 1980 Democratic National Convention

"Circumstances may change, but the work of compassion must continue.  It is surely correct that we cannot solve problems by throwing money at them, but it is also correct that we dare not throw out our
national problems onto a scrap heap of inattention and indifference.

The poor may be out of political fashion, but they are not without human needs. The middle class may be angry, but they have not lost the dream that all Americans can advance together...

Finally, we cannot have a fair prosperity in isolation from a fair  society. So I will continue to stand for a national health insurance.

We must not surrender to the relentless medical inflation that can bankrupt almost anyone and that may soon break the budgets of government at every level. Let us insist on real control over what
doctors and hospitals can charge, and let us resolve that the state of a family's health shall never depend on the size of a family's wealth.

The President, the Vice President, the members of Congress have a medical plan that meets their needs in full, and whenever senators and representatives catch a little cold, the Capitol physician will see
them immediately, treat them promptly, fill a prescription on the spot. We do not get a bill even if we ask for it, and when do you think was the last time a member of Congress asked for a bill from the
Federal Government?

I say again, as I have before, if health insurance is good enough for the President, the Vice President and the Congress of the United States, then it is good enough for you and every family in America." -
Senator Edward M. Kennedy, 1980 Democratic National Convention –