Political timeline for Sen.Ted Kennedy

See also Senator Kennedy's stance on various issues and legislation he proposed.

• 1962  Edward M. Kennedy is elected to the United States Senate.

• 1963  Senator Kennedy becomes a member of the Health Committee and Judiciary Committee in the Senate, and works on fishery research and development, the NASA Electronics Research Center, and the Northeast Airlines Boston-Miami route.

• 1964  Senator Kennedy makes his maiden speech to the Senate on the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which was signed on July 2, 1964, and outlawed segregation in public accommodations. He also strongly supported the Economic Opportunity Act, a key bill in President Johnson’s war on poverty, which was signed on August 20, 1964. The Act stated that programs would be "developed, conducted and administered with the maximum feasible participation and the residents of the areas and members of the groups served." It also established community action programs to deal directly with the roots of poverty. In the fall election, Robert Kennedy was elected to the Senate by New York.

• 1965  The first major bill that Senator Kennedy managed on the Senate floor was the Immigration Act of 1965. It was enacted and stood as a major turning point in immigration and civil rights policy because it eliminated discriminatory immigration quotas which favored European immigration, but restricted immigration from other parts of the world. The 1965 Act gave priority to immigrants based on their skills and family relationships. Senator Kennedy also won passage of a bill establishing The National Teacher Corps, which awarded scholarships to college students who agreed to teach for at least two years in economically-distressed rural and urban areas after graduation, a program which continues today. He was also a strong and vocal supporter of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, to end discrimination against minorities in voting.

• 1966  Senator Kennedy passed legislation creating the national community health center program. He joined a health center in Columbia Point in Dorchester, Massachusetts, with a center in Mound Bayou, Mississippi as the start of a national program that now includes more that 1200 health centers nationally serving more than 20 million low income patients.

• 1967 Senator Kennedy was a strong supporter of the school reforms in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the first comprehensive federal aid for public schools. He also made his first speech that openly questioned the Vietnam War.

• 1968 Senator Kennedy was a strong supporter of the Fair Housing Act of 1968, the third major civil rights legislation of the decade after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  As a result of Senator Kennedy's championing of bilingual education, the Bilingual Education Act of 1968 was passed by Congress. The Act required schools to offer bilingual education programs, the first time Congress had endorsed funding for bilingual education. Senator Kennedy was also a leading supporter of President Johnson’s Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act

• 1969  Senator Kennedy gives his first speech calling for national health insurance for all Americans. His amendment creating a minimum tax — the so-called “Alternative Minimum Tax” — becomes law, setting a limit on the amount of taxation for middle-income Americans.

• 1970  Senator Kennedy amended the Voting Rights Act to lower the voting age to 18, laying the basis for a constitutional amendment moving the voting age from 21 to age 18. He was also a leader in enacting the Occupational Health and Safety Act to protect workers on jobs and the Older American Community Service Employment Act. To ease the high cost of home heating, Senator Kennedy actively worked to create a fuel assistance program for low-income persons now known as the Low Income Heating Energy Assistance Program or “LIHEAP”. He was also responsible for legislation laying the basis for the “War on Cancer” by quadrupling funds for cancer research and prevention. When President Nixon attempted to pocket veto Senator Kennedy’s Family Protection of Medicine Act, the Senate won a court decision invalidating the pocket veto and enacting the law.

• 1971  Senator Kennedy becomes Chairman of the Senate Health Subcommittee. He held a series of field hearings around the country on national health insurance, and is a leader in passing the National Cancer Act to expand research on all aspects of cancer. Inspired by the civil rights movement in the United States and because of his growing concern over British policy in Northern Ireland, Senator Kennedy joins Senator Ribicoff in introducing a Senate Resolution calling for immediate withdrawal of British troops from Northern Ireland and the unification of Ireland, beginning his long involvement with Northern Ireland.

• 1972  Senator Kennedy champions the Meals on Wheels Act, which offers nutritional meals to homebound senior citizens and the Women, Infants, and Children Nutrition Program, known as WIC, which offers food, nutrition counseling, and health services to low-income women, infants, and children. Kennedy was also a key supporter of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which protects women from discrimination in educational institutions and increases opportunities for women to participate in college sports.

• 1973  Senator Kennedy continues to improve legal services and emergency health services for the poor, and improve educational opportunities for persons with disabilities. After the revelation of several life-threatening research projects with human subjects, many of whom were Americans who were minorities, institutionalized or incarcerated, Senator Kennedy’s Health Subcommittee held 11 days of hearings into the ethical implications of human experimentation. These hearings resulted in strengthened regulation of human experimentation and the establishment of the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects in Biomedical and Behavioral Research. In addition, Senator Kennedy and Senator Hugh Scott sponsor legislation for public financing of Senate and House elections. The bill is approved by the Senate but not the House.

• 1974  After the CIA-backed military coup that toppled democratic government in Chile and brought General Pinochet to power, Senator Kennedy leads the fight to cut off U.S. military aid to Chile. His amendment to the foreign aid bill marked the first time that Congress had ended military aid to another nation. Kennedy and Wilbur Mills, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, introduced comprehensive legislation providing national health insurance.

• 1975  Senator Kennedy was an original cosponsor of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, which later became the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and requires a free and appropriate public education for children with disabilities in every state.

• 1976  Senator Kennedy offers numerous amendments to the Tax Reform Act to increase fairness in the tax laws.

• 1977 Senator Kennedy, Senator Moynihan, House Speaker O’Neill, and NY Governor Carey (the “Four Horsemen”) issue a statement on St. Patrick’s Day condemning IRA violence in Northern Ireland.

• 1978  Senator Kennedy led the successful effort to deregulate the airline industry, enabling airlines to set competitive rates and reduce costs for consumers. His constitutional amendment to grant full voting rights to citizens of the District of Columbia was approved by Congress, but was not ratified by the states. He was also a principal sponsor of the Civil Rights Commission Act Amendments, which expanded the jurisdiction of the Commission to protect persons with disabilities from discrimination.

• 1979  Senator Kennedy becomes Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and was influential in encouraging the selection of women and minorities in judicial nominations.

• 1980  Senator Kennedy campaigns for the Democratic nomination for President. In that same year, Senator Kennedy introduced the Civil Rights for Institutionalized Persons Act, which enforced the constitutional rights of persons in government institutions such as the elderly, the disabled, the mentally ill, and the incarcerated. The Act ensures humane living conditions and also protected the religious practices of the institutionalized. Senator Kennedy also authored the Refugee Act of 1980, setting a standard for who gets political asylum in the United States and which refugees are rescued from persecution.

• 1981 Senator Kennedy relinquished his chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee to become Chairman of the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources, in order to focus on the issues relating to jobs, education, and health care. He obtained greater Congressional support for low-income energy assistance programs, opposed the Reagan tax cuts, and created the “Friends of Ireland” organization in Congress for members of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

• 1982  Senator Kennedy is the chief sponsor of the Voting Rights Act Amendments, which led to increased minority representation in Congress and state legislatures nationwide. He also sponsors the Job Training Partnership Act to educate and train the nation's front-line workforce and reinstates the Summer Job Program. With Senator Mark Hatfield, he proposed a Nuclear Freeze Resolution to halt the nuclear arms race.

• 1983 Senator Kennedy becomes a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He strongly supports nuclear arms control and opposes the Star Wars Program to expand the nuclear arms race into space.

• 1984 Senator Kennedy sponsors legislation requiring polling stations to provide accessibility for physically disabled and elderly people to vote in federal elections. He is also a strong supporter of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act and its major reform of federal sentencing standards to end widespread disparities in the sentences of similar offenders.

• 1985  Senator Kennedy introduces the Anti-Apartheid Act to impose economic sanctions against South Africa in response to pressure that government to end legalized racial discrimination in that country. The Act ultimately won broad bipartisan support in Congress and was enacted into law when Congress overrode President Reagan’s veto.

• 1986  Senator Kennedy sponsors several bills to assist persons with disabilities, including the Employment Opportunities for Disabled Americans Act, which made work incentives for disabled individuals part of the Social Security Act; the Handicapped Children’s Protection Act, overturning a Supreme Court decision and enabling courts to award attorneys fees to parents of children with disabilities in litigation under the Education Act; and the Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments, authorizing grants for early learning for infants and toddlers with disabilities. In foreign policy, during a visit by Senator Kennedy to the Soviet Union, Soviet leader Gorbachev informed him that he would sign a treaty to prevent the basing of nuclear missiles in Europe, and the treaty was signed the next year.

• 1987 Senator Kennedy supports a minimum wage increase and also the Welfare-to-Jobs Incentives, which improves the job skills and incomes of low-income persons. In addition, he led the opposition to the nomination of Robert Bork to the Supreme Court.

• 1988  Senator Kennedy introduced the Fair Housing Act Amendments to extend the law to prohibit discrimination towards people with disabilities in the sale or rental of housing. Kennedy was also a sponsor of legislation that provided funds to all 50 states to raise awareness about the uses of assistive technology to significantly improves the lives of people with disabilities. Kennedy also introduced legislation to require companies to give sixty-days’ notice to employees before closing a plant that would cost fifty or more workers their jobs — the so-called “WARN Act” whose provisions are in effect today.

• 1989 Senator Kennedy won passage of the National Military Child Care Act, which established the Defense Department’s child care system that is still viewed as one of the best in the country today.

• 1990 On July 26, 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act was enacted into law. Introduced by Senator Kennedy, the Act prohibits discrimination against any qualified individual with a disability in job application procedures, hiring or discharge, compensation, advancement or training. Senator Kennedy was also sponsor of the Immigration Act of 1990 to expand immigration quotas to reunite families in the U.S. and to meet economic needs, which was signed into law. Senator Kennedy also introduced, with Senator Hatch, the Ryan White CARE Act, which provides emergency relief to the thirteen cities most affected by the AIDS epidemic, and substantial assistance to all states to develop effective and cost-efficient AIDS care programs, particularly for early diagnosis and home care. Kennedy was also the lead sponsor of the immigration reforms, which increased quotas for family immigration, established a diversity visa program and a temporary safe haven for persons fleeing oppressive governments.

• 1991  Senator Kennedy was the chief sponsor of the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which strengthened existing protections and remedies available under federal civil rights laws, including the provision of remedies for intentional discrimination and harassment in the workplace. Senator Kennedy also supported a bill to repeal the ban on women serving as combat aviators, making it possible for women to have a full and complete role in our national defense.

• 1992 As a strong proponent of early childhood education, Senator Kennedy worked to expand Head Start by increasing the number of low-income children served by 25%. His action on the Summer Jobs for Youth Program resulted in a $500 million supplemental appropriation for summer jobs for 300,000 additional youths. Amid serious concerns over the quality of mammography, Kennedy helped pass the Mammography Quality Standards Act to guarantee the safety and accuracy of mammograms and to encourage their use.

• 1993  As Chairman of the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee, Senator Kennedy worked closely with President Clinton to expand opportunity for working families. He helped establish the Direct Lending program which allowed the U.S. Department of Education to provide low-cost loans to college students to cover education expenses.. In addition, the Senator sponsored the National and Community Service Trust Act, which created AmeriCorps and the Corporation for National and Community Service to expand opportunities for Americans to serve their communities, including education grants for students who agree to volunteer for service after college.

• 1994  Senator Kennedy’s leadership brought about the passage of the landmark Family and Medical Leave Act and the School-to-Work Opportunities Act, which provided seed money for local school-to-work programs designed and operated by local business, education, community and labor leaders. He also sponsored the Human Services Reauthorization Act, which expanded funding to communities, put Head Start on a path to reach all eligible children and expanded it to cover pregnant women and young children in the 0-3 age group, and reauthorized the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program to help families pay their heating bills. Kennedy was also a leader in the passage of the Crime Act, which funded 100,000 new police officers, imposed new penalties for crimes involving gangs or firearms, and created the Police Corps, a program that provides college scholarships for talented young persons in return for their commitment to serve as police officers in their communities. In Northern Ireland, Senator Kennedy strongly supported the issuance of a visa for Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams to visit the United States, calling it a “rare opportunity for our country to contribute to peace in Northern Ireland.” Over the opposition of the State Department, President Clinton granted the visa, and a few months later the IRA called a historic cease-fire, which Mr. Adams says would not have happened if his visa not been issued. Six weeks later, Protestant paramilitaries announced their own cease-fire. The Senator’s biggest disappointment of his years in the Senate was the adjournment of Congress this year without passing President Clinton’s call health reform legislation.

• 1996 Senator Kennedy and Senator Nancy Kassebaum sponsored the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which guarantees the continuation of health insurance coverage for the millions of Americans who change jobs or lose their jobs. Also, Kennedy joined a bipartisan group of Senators to enact the Mental Health Parity bill to eliminate unjust annual and lifetime limits on mental health coverage that differ from the limits for other physical illnesses. Under Senator Kennedy’s leadership, Congress raised the minimum wage from $4.25 to $5.15 per hour.

• 1997 With Senator Hatch, Senator Kennedy led the successful effort to enact the major Children’s Health Insurance Program, which has brought quality health care to millions of children in low and moderate income families. It is the most significant health care legislation in many years.

• 1999 Senator Kennedy leads a number of initiatives to assist the hardest to employ. These initiatives provide individuals with adult education, job training, adult education, job placement, child care, transportation assistance and case management, thereby giving many more families the opportunity to leave welfare and start life anew. Senator Kennedy and Senator Jeffords also increased job training opportunities for unemployed and at risk by passing the “Work Incentives Improvement Act.”

• 2000  Senator Kennedy is the lead sponsor of the Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education Act, which addresses the lead to pervasive health disparities between minorities and other Americans, and also included an authorization for significant resources to improve the delivery of health care to minorities. Senator Kennedy and Senator Frist sponsored legislation to improve the nation’s ability to respond to outbreaks of infectious disease, reduce the spread of germs resistant to antibiotics, and protect the country against bioterrorism. Kennedy also sponsored the Pediatric Graduate Medical Education Act, which provides essential support for training programs at children’s hospitals across the country. Senator Kennedy also led the successful effort to provide federal compensation and medical benefits to Department of Energy employees who become ill because of their dangerous conditions at work.

• 2001 Senator Kennedy works with President Bush to pass the landmark No Child Left Behind Act, which contains substantial reforms to help close the achievement gaps among students in public schools and improve the quality of education for all students. Following the attacks of September 11th, 2001, Senator Kennedy called together disaster relief and mental health organizations to plan a coordinated response to meet the mental health needs of families of victims of the tragedy.

• 2002 Senator Kennedy was one of the first in Congress to speak out against going to war with Iraq. He was one of 23 Senators who voted against the war and continued to be one of its leading critics. He delivered major speeches over the next few years making the case for ending the war and laying out plans for American withdrawal. Senator Kennedy introduced the bipartisan Bioterrorism Preparedness Act to help the country prevent, prepare for, and respond to bioterrorism and other public health emergencies. Senator Kennedy was the lead Democratic sponsor of the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Reform Act to strengthen the security of our borders and improve our ability to screen foreign nationals and deter potential terrorists. To establish positive ties with the people of the Muslim world, Senator Kennedy and Senator Richard Lugar established a program to provide scholarships for secondary school students from countries with significant Muslim populations and enabling the students spend up to one year living in the United States with American host families. Since the program began, 2,700 students from more than 30 Muslim countries have participated in it.

• 2003 Senator Kennedy led an effort to provide funds for additional armored Humvees for our forces in Iraq in response to reports that a quarter of American deaths occurred in unarmored Humvees and that many more soldiers had been injured or disabled for life. Senator Kennedy also led the effort to strengthen law enforcement in case of exploitation or abduction of children. His legislation provided funds for AMBER Alert notification systems along U.S. highways, and grants to states to improve communication.

• 2004 Senator Kennedy was a lead sponsor of bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The legislation included bipartisan improvements in special education services for six and a half million students in the nation, including 30,000 additional special education teachers, better education training, and expanded technologies for disabled children. Senator Kennedy also sponsored the Project Bioshield Act, to enable medical and biotechnology researchers to create more effective defenses to biological threats.

• 2005  Senator Kennedy again sponsors legislation to increase armored Humvee production to protect our forces in Iraq and outlines a timetable urging a drawdown of our forces to encourage Iraqis to take responsibility for their future. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Senator Kennedy joins in passing emergency funding to assist in the recovery, meets with relief organizations to learn the best ways to implement relief and support services, and sponsors emergency education affected by the hurricane. Senator Kennedy also begins a four-year effort to achieve comprehensive immigration reform, including a legalization program for immigrants who have been working in the United States, a reduction of the backlog of petitions to unify immigrant families, a temporary worker program, and strict security to protect the nation’s borders.

• 2006  Senator Kennedy sponsors the Family Opportunity Act, which enables states to expand Medicaid coverage for children with special needs and enables low- and middle-income families with disabled children to purchase coverage under Medicaid. 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. After the disasters at the Sago and Alma Mines, Senator Kennedy successfully championed major reforms of the nation’s mine safety laws including updated technology for mines, stricter safety standards, and stricter enforcement. Senator Kennedy was also was a lead sponsor of the Pension Protection Act, the largest reform of the pension system in three decades, which strengthened the financial condition of pension plans, improved their transparency, and added new worker and taxpayer protections.

• 2007  Senator Kennedy led the successful effort to pass the first increase in the federal minimum wage in more than 10 years. His bill raised the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour and helped more than 13 million Americans, including the parents of more than 6 million children. Senator Kennedy renewed the Ryan White Care Act with greater focus on prevention, chronic care, quality of life, and new and emerging therapies. Congress also passed legislation proposed by Senator Kennedy to strengthen FDA’s regulatory authority over drugs after they are approved. The bill was termed by experts to be the most significant strengthening of drug safety in a century.Senator Kennedy’s College Cost Reduction and Access Act authorized the largest increase in student aid since the GI bill in 1944 and established a loan forgiveness program to allow more college graduates to go into public service. The Senator held the first Congressional hearing on Iraqi refugees, and was the lead sponsor on legislation granting special immigrant visas to Iraqis who worked with U.S. forces. Following an immigration raid on a factory in Massachusetts, Senator Kennedy worked with the Department of Homeland Security to develop guidelines on humanitarian screening for workers arrested in such raids.

• 2008  Senator Kennedy worked with Senator Enzi, with the help of Senator Mikulski, to pass the Higher Education Opportunity Act, which reauthorized the Higher Education Act for the first time in a decade. This legislation focused on four major areas: expanding grant aid for the neediest students; addressing the ethical scandals in the student loan marketplace; simplifying the application process for Federal financial aid; and holding colleges more accountable for their costs. After more than 10 years of effort, Senator Kennedy and Senator Domenici worked together to enact the Mental Health Parity Act, requiring insurance companies to provide benefits for mental illnesses equal to the benefits for physical illnesses and assuring equity for 113 million Americans. Senator Kennedy also led the enactment of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, prohibiting insurers and employers from discriminating against people due to their genes.

• 2009  Senator Kennedy championed the health and employment provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which included incentives for the adoption of health information technology, provisions to expand access to unemployment insurance and to help those who lose their jobs to keep their health insurance, and investments to improve the quality of health. Senator Kennedy was also a leader in passing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to restore workers’ ability to fight pay discrimination, the first major legislation signed by President Obama. In addition, Senator Kennedy and Senator Hatch, led the enactment of the Serve America Act, which expands service opportunities for Americans of every age. Senator Kennedy has long been a leader in seeking to strengthen federal hate crime law. In 2009, the Senate passed the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act as part of the National Defense Authorization Act, and is working to see that this long-overdue legislation is finally enacted into law.   Senator Kennedy’s Health Committee was also the first committee in Congress to pass comprehensive health reform legislation called for by President Obama — the Affordable Health Choices Act that will reduce health costs, protect individuals’ choice in doctors and plans, and assure quality and affordable health care for all Americans.