A Career of Health Care Reform: Senator Edward Kennedy

摘要

On a hot, very humid Saturday this summer I found myself with my daughter sitting on the steps of the Senate Cannon Office, waiting for the motorcade of Sen Edward Kennedy (D-MA) to pass by. I looked around and saw every age, gender, and culture waiting with us. As I was waiting, I thought about the many lasting legislative contributions to food and nutrition that Senator Kennedy was involved in, and how they have positively impacted our profession. Senator Kennedy was elected in 1962 to fill the seat held by his brother, John, when he became President of the United States. The 1960s were a time when our country had many changes, a time of pride as we watched the space program take off to the moon, and a time of sadness with the Vietnam War and assassinations of civil rights leaders. Taking office, Kennedy was assigned the Senate Health Committee, one that he would champion for over 40 years. He also was an early proponent of civil rights and the Economic Opportunity Act, the cornerstone of the war on poverty. Americans learned during this time that our “land of opportunity” had a poverty rate over 20%, and many Americans didn’t have enough food, housing, and heat to live the American Dream (1). In 1966, Senator Kennedy sponsored legislation creating the national community health center program. He joined a health center in Columbia Point in Dorchester, MA, with a center in Mound Bayou, MS, as the start of a national program that now includes more than 1,200 health centers nationally serving more than 20 million low-income patients (2).