Senate Proceeding on Sep 10th, 2009 :: 1:45:10 to 1:56:35
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1:44:59 to 1:45:19( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: to say is what i believe most of us feel. we'll miss him. we'll miss his big voice. we'll miss his big smile. and we'll miss his big presence. i yield the floor. a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from california. mrs. boxer: madam president, i

1:45:10 to 1:56:35( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Barbara Boxer

1:45:20 to 1:45:40( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: am deeply honored to pay tribute today to ted kennedy and to honor his extraordinary legacy. i will always think of senator kennedy as many think of him, as the lion of the senate. from that seat, that seat in the

1:45:41 to 1:46:01( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: back of this beautiful senate chamber, he used his powerful voice to speak out for those voicesho were rarely heard. i also have described ted drummer in an

1:46:02 to 1:46:26( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: large orchestra. ted kennedy, a steady drumbea a steady drumbeat for justice, for fairness, for and for progress. and on days when the senate wasn't that interested in listening, on days when maybe

1:46:27 to 1:46:47( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: the polls were against them, on days when his compassion might have not been in fashion, that drumbeat got louder and and louder because ted kennedy knew that at the end of the day, the values that he stood for

1:46:48 to 1:47:08( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: would be embraced again. ted never let us forget why we're here. never. and he always reminded us to be courageous. and he always reminded us to be strong in fighting for the causes we believed in. not by lecturing us about it, but by being brave, being

1:47:09 to 1:47:29( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: strong, being courageous, taking on the tough issues. nine long years standing in the back of the chamber, talking about raising the minimum wage, explaining why people needed it. nine long years, but he knew drumbeat would go on until we passed it.

1:47:30 to 1:47:53( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: and we did. ted kennedy had genuine and deep friendships here in the senate on both sis of the aisle. his greatest legislative skill was to know every senator and to know their passions. when i first came to the senate in the early 1990' years in the house, senator

1:47:54 to 1:48:16( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: kennedy was already an icon. but he knew that i was passionate about health issues, and in particular women's health issues. so even though i was new to the senate, he came to me when he was managing a bill on the floor to protect the rights of women who were trying to get into

1:48:17 to 1:48:37( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: reproductive health care clinics. at that time protest erts were blocking -- protesters were blocking the entrances to the health care clinics so could not get in and get treated. so senator kennedy wrote a bill that simply said it's fine to express your views, but you cannot block women or

1:48:38 to 1:48:59( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: individuals from entering those clinics. it's dangerous, it's wrong and you're denying women health care. senator kennedy asked me if i would be his lieutenant. that was his word. his lieutenant and help him manage that bill on the floor of the clearly i was so pleased.

1:49:00 to 1:49:20( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: it was such a thrill to watch him work. and like so many of ted kennedy's bills, it passed and it became the law of the land, and women can get health care without being intimidated and frightened and later, that bill to increase the

1:49:21 to 1:49:41( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: minimum wage -- and he did it year after year after year -- he asked me and the other women of the senate to come to the flo and to organize and speak about the impact raising the minimum wage would have on families across the country. and he said, "barbara, you know, 60% of people on the minimum wage are women.

1:49:42 to 1:50:04( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: a lot of our colleagues think it's teenagers. it's not true. it's women. they're supporting their families. can you help me with this?" i said, "senator, i'm it. i'm with you." and the women of the senate had a special role to come to the floor, unfortunately, nine years

1:50:05 to 1:50:25( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: in a row, until we made the case that it was important that america's families working so hard could actually afford to live in this, the greatest country of all. although ted had deeply-held views, he worked with and we have colague after coeague coming down to speak

1:50:26 to 1:50:47( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: about their experiences. he was an expert at finding the thread of common ground. and sometimes it was just a tiny, little strand of commonality, but he could weave it into bigger and come to an agreement without losing his principles.

1:50:48 to 1:51:10( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: ted's legislative work has touched the lives american, and i think it's going to take five, six, seven, ten of us to pick up this void that he has left. i'm so proud that tom harkin, who has just come to the floor, will be the chairman of the "help" committee, because tom

1:51:11 to 1:51:31( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: shared with ted those deep feelings about us to champion the who have a very strong voice, but for those who really don't have the middle-class, the workers, the working poor, the families,

1:51:32 to 1:51:52( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: the children, they don't have a voice here. ted kennedy worked to help get 18-year olds the right he made it easier for americans to change jobs and keep their health insurance. he expanded head start program he wrote the law creating meals on wheels. he was the driving force behind

1:51:53 to 1:52:14( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: the civilights act of 1964. the americans with disabilities act, and the family and medical leave act. many of these, senator harkin and he partnered up he led efforts to reform the nation's never a popular issue. a tough, hard he worked to increase

1:52:15 to 1:52:38( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: competition in the airline industry. he worked to protect women violent crime. virtually every major health care advance of the last four decades bears his mark, whether it's the chip program, the white care act, cobra, the mental health parity bill, increased funding for cancer research.

1:52:39 to 1:53:03( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: the list goes on and on and on. senator kennedy was once asked what his legislator, ande answered with a single word: persistence. persistence. and that's a message to all of us on both sides of the if we believe something in our heart is right, you don't give up.

1:53:04 to 1:53:25( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: you don't give up. because progress takes time. piece by piece every year for almost a half advanced the causes he believed in: expanding access to health care, educating our children, extending civil rights, helping our society's least fortunate.

1:53:26 to 1:53:46( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: and i will say if we danger of losing our way in the senate, senator ted kennedy held steady. he stayed true to his ideals. that is why it's fitting that his new biography is entitled "true compass." in many ways he was a compass

1:53:47 to 1:54:08( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: here in the united states senateand i want to thank the people of massachusetts for sending ted kennedy to us for these last 47 years. he loved his state. he fought for you as he fought for all americans. i want to thank his wife, vicky, who gave him so much joy, and

1:54:09 to 1:54:34( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: the entire sharing ted kennedy with us. i will miss his warm engaging humor, his bellowing laughter and the way he reached out to all senators in friendship. no one person will ever be able to fill his no one.

1:54:35 to 1:54:57( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: he was a one of-of-a-kind irreplaceable. but we know how to honor his legacy. and that is by continuing his life's work. i believe the most fitting tribute we can give him is carry on his fight for a quality education for all our children, affordable health care that our families can rely on, and an

1:54:58 to 1:55:20( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: economy that works for everyone. ted kennedy came from a privileged a but he saw so much suffering in his so much loss. he saw what happens in your family when two of your three

1:55:21 to 1:55:44( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: children have cancer. and even though you have every bit of financial stability to give them what they need, he saw how hard it was. and then to have another child with an addiction, and the pain of that. ando what senator ted kennedy understood is if it is so hard

1:55:45 to 1:56:05( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: for me to see my children suffer, what must it be like for someone without the financial resources or someone who had an insurance company walk away from them at the time they needed it the

1:56:06 to 1:56:27( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: they needed help the most. ted kennedy could put himself in other people's shoes, and that's what he did every single day, even when it was hard for him to get up from his chair, he stood up and he fought. as he said during his concession

1:56:28 to 1:56:36( Edit History Discussion )

Barbara Boxer: speech at the 1980 democratic national convention, "for all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on.