sarahkate

EMK to BHO

May 12, 2009

Dear Mr. President,

I wanted to write a few final words to you to express my gratitude for your repeated personal kindnesses to me - and one last time, to salute your leadership in giving our country back its future and its truth.

On a personal level, you and Michelle reached out to Vicki, to our family and me in so many different ways. You helped to make these difficult months a happy time in my life.

You also made it a time of hope for me and for our country.

When I thought of all the years, all the battles, and all the memories of my long public life, I felt confident in these closing days that while I will not be there when it happens, you will be the President who at long last signs into law the health care reform that is the great unfinished business of our society. For me, this cause stretched across decades; it has been disappointed, but never finally defeated. It was the cause of my life. And in the past year, the prospect of victory sustained me-and the work of achieving it summoned my energy and determination.

There will be struggles - there always have been - and they are already underway again. But as we moved forward in these months, I learned that you will not yield to calls to retreat - that you will stay with the cause until it is won. I saw your conviction that the time is now and witnessed your unwavering commitment and understanding that health care is a decisive issue for our future prosperity. But you have also reminded all of us that it concerns more than material things; that what we face is above all a moral issue; that at stake are not just the details of policy, but fundamental principles of social justice and the character of our country.

And so because of your vision and resolve, I came to believe that soon, very soon, affordable health coverage will be available to all, in an America where the state of a family’s health will never again depend on the amount of a family’s wealth. And while I will not see the victory, I was able to look forward and know that we will - yes, we will - fulfill the promise of health care in America as a right and not a privilege.

In closing, let me say again how proud I was to be part of your campaign- and proud as well to play a part in the early months of a new era of high purpose and achievement. I entered public life with a young President who inspired a generation and the world. It gives me great hope that as I leave, another young President inspires another generation and once more on America’s behalf inspires the entire world. 
So, I wrote this to thank you one last time as a friend- and to stand with you one last time for change and the America we can become.

At the Denver Convention where you were nominated, I said the dream lives on.

And I finished this letter with unshakable faith that the dream will be fulfilled for this generation, and preserved and enlarged for generations to come.

With deep respect and abiding affection,

[Ted]

http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/0909/teds_letter_1aea5aa9-dfff-4a44-8a35-64e4394c2917.html

Senator Kennedy's work on behalf of people with disabilities

1975     Senator Kennedy was an original cosponsor of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, which later became the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This important law seeks to guarantee a free and appropriate public education to children with disabilities, regardless of their severity, in every state.

1978     Cosponsored the Civil Rights Commission Act Amendments of 1978, which expanded the jurisdiction of the Civil Rights Commission to protect people from discrimination on the basis of disability.

1980     Introduced the Civil Rights for Institutionalized Persons Act, which enforced the constitutional rights of people in government institutions such as the elderly, the disabled, the mentally ill, and the incarcerated. Beyond ensuring humane living conditions and basic rights to such individuals, the law detailed the protection of religious practices of the institutionalized.

1984     Cosponsored legislation requiring polling stations to provide physical accessibility for physically disabled and elderly people on federal election days.

1986     Was an original cosponsor of a law that required that facilities and services be provided to people with disabilities traveling by air, both on aircrafts and in terminals and airports.

1986     Cosponsored the Employment Opportunities for Disabled Americans Act, which made work incentives for diabled individuals a permanent fixture of the Social Security Act. As a result of the law, people working despite severe disabilities became eligible for special status to receive SSI benefits and Medicaid coverage.

1986     Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments: Established a new grant program aimed at developing an early intervention system benefiting infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families.

1988     Introduced the Fair Housing Act Amendments to extend the law to include people with disabilities and families with children. By expanding the law, the FHAA prohibited discrimination towards people with disabilities in the sale or rental of housing.

1988     Cosponsored legislation that provided funding to all 50 states in order to raise awareness about the potential benefits of assistive technology, which significantly improves the lives of people with disabilities.

1990     On July 26, 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act was enacted into law. Introduced by Senator Kennedy, the ADA prohibited discrimination against any qualified individual with a disability in job application procedures, hiring or discharge, compensation, advancement, training, etc.

2004     Was a leading cosponsor of legislation to reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The legislation included bipartisan improvements to the program that provides special education services to six and a half million students in the U.S. The reauthorization provided for at least 30,000 additional special education teachers, improved education training, and expanded technologies available to disabled children.

2006     Sponsored and helped pass the Family Opportunity Act, which provided states the opportunity to expand Medicaid coverage to children with special needs, allowing low- and middle-income families with disabled children the ability to purchase coverage under the Medicaid program. For many disabled children, Medicaid is the only health insurance program offering sufficient benefits to cover the required care, such as physical therapy and medical equipment. The Family Opportunity Act will allow parents of disabled children to go to work and earn above poverty wages without losing coverage for their children.