Remembering Senator Edward M. Kennedy

Floor Speech

REMEMBERING SENATOR EDWARD M. KENNEDY -- (Senate - September 11, 2009)

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Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I join my colleagues today in remembering the amazing life of Senator Edward Kennedy, a man beloved in the Senate and beloved in America.

My thoughts and prayers are with his wife Vicki, his children, and his whole family.

Like so many others, I consider myself lucky to have worked with him. He was more than a colleague, he was a mentor and a friend.

I remember that he used to send me a message, ``The lantern is lit,'' when we would have late night votes. It was his way of beckoning me and a small group of Senators--Senator Schumer, Senator Cantwell and maybe one or two others--to his office in the Capitol where he would regale us with stories as only an Irishman would.

Ted Kennedy's wit and stories, his passion for a cause and his country and his love for the Senate made me want to go to work every day. He never gave up and he had a fiery zest for the legislative battles that was always tempered by a bipartisan pragmatism.

I remember last year when we were working on the Medicare improvements bill, which was absolutely critical to Medicare recipients across the country.

Seniors were counting on us to pass this bill, but we were just one vote short of the 60 we needed. But Harry Reid knew how to find that last vote. The afternoon of the vote, the doors of the Senate swung open and in walked Senator Kennedy.

I will always remember watching him walk onto the Senate floor with then-Senator Obama and his son Patrick on either side of him. Every single Senator had made their way to the floor, and the gallery was full. Applause erupted as he walked out, even though it is against the Senate rules. Each of us gave him a tearful hug and kiss as he made his way to cast his vote.

His very presence seemed to open the floodgates. Suddenly, a bill that was about to fail by one vote passed by nine as Republicans who had spent weeks blocking the bill suddenly switched their votes after Senator Kennedy.

His presence was so persuasive that day because his colleagues knew these were issues he believed in deeply, and had spent his life fighting for. He never gave up on the good fight.

Ted Kennedy, with his booming voice, gave a voice to the voiceless and stood up for those who had no one standing with them. As he said, ``We are all part of the American family and we have a responsibility to help members of that family when they are in need.''

Ted Kennedy did more than just speak these words, he lived them. Day in and day out on the Senate floor, he fought for justice and equality and opportunity for all Americans.

I will give you just one example, after we tragically lost our friend and colleague Paul Wellstone, Senator Kennedy picked up his torch and helped get the Mental Health Parity Act through the Senate.

His many achievements will be etched in the history books and his legacy will live on in the hundreds of laws that bear his name.

But Ted Kennedy will be remembered for more than just his legislation, he will remembered for his heart and his humor and his zest for life.

On a snowy winter day in Washington, DC, one year, one of my friends took his family to go to sledding and who should he see? Senator Kennedy and Senator Dodd across the way, sledding down by the National Cathedral.

This is the Ted Kennedy I will remember, a man who made the most of life, a man who loved his friends and his family and a man who worked each and every day to make this country stronger.

While he will no longer walk onto the Senate floor, he will remain with us through the lessons he taught us and the memories he blessed us with.

Today, let us honor his life by picking up his torch and continuing to fight the good fights, while also respecting those on the other side of us.

Let us fulfill his dream of ``an America where we can all contend freely and vigorously, but where we will treasure and guard those standards of civility which alone make this nation safe for both democracy and diversity.''

Ted Kennedy loved this country and was willing to work with anyone and find common ground in order to open the doors of opportunity for all Americans.

He carried the weight of history on his shoulders, but rose up to become the lion of the Senate and one of the greatest legislators in the our country's history.

Although he is no longer with us, he will continue to inspire us.

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