TRIBUTES

Rep. Allyson Schwartz

Pennsylvania

I, along with my colleagues in Congress and all Americans, mourn the passing of Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts.

Kennedy’s tireless efforts on behalf of our nation’s working families, particularly on issues relating to health care, will continue to make a difference in the lives of so many Americans.

It was Senator Kennedy who in 1997, pushed through the landmark State Children’s Health Insurance Program, which represented the largest reform to our nation’s health care system since Medicare.

And it was Senator Kennedy, as chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, who has worked, even as his own health declined, to make sure we complete the critical reforms to our health care system necessary to ensure that every American has access to meaningful, affordable health coverage.

Kennedy’s ability to forge compromises and bring people together from across the aisle has been critical to the passage of so many pieces of important legislation over the last 45 years. He will be deeply missed.

As I worked for the passage of CHIP in Pennsylvania as a state Senator, and now as a member of Congress, Senator Kennedy’s commitment to the health of America’s children and families was always an inspiration.

When we return to Washington, I hope that we in Congress will follow Senator Kennedy’s example and honor his memory by moving quickly and purposefully to pass legislation that will ensure that every American has access to quality, affordable health care.