John Kerry

06/17/2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator John Kerry today sent a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to express his grave concerns over the Burmese military junta’s restricting foreign aid to millions devastated by the recent cyclone, and to ask whether the junta’s actions may constitute “crimes against humanity” under international law. Kerry has requested a legal opinion from the State Department.    » read more »

06/17/2008 -- BOSTON – Senator John Kerry today urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to explain the long delays in getting new generic prescription drugs out on the market.

People across Massachusetts and throughout the nation are facing rising costs for medications they depend on every day. For some, especially the elderly and low-income families, affordable generic drugs can be the difference between life and death.

The FDA is currently required to review a generic drug application within 180 days. However, the median approval time for a generic drug application now takes longer than 21 months - well beyond the 180 day requirement. These delays create a serious backlog of applications.    » read more »

06/16/2008 -- BOSTON – Senators John Kerry and Edward Kennedy today, along with Congressman Edward Markey, announced that Lumus Construction, Inc of Woburn has been awarded at $1.35 million contract from the United States Coast Guard. The contract includes miscellaneous asphalt and concrete repair work at the United States Coast Guard Academy.

“Our young men and women of the Coast Guard need the best possible working and training environment and I’m proud that a Woburn company was chosen to make sure the Academy stays in tip top shape. Winning a competitively rewarded contract is another reminder that Massachusetts can compete and win when it comes to delivering the best possible services for our military,” said Senator Kerry.    » read more »

06/13/2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator John Kerry today released the following statement in response to the death of Tim Russert:

"Today’s awful news about Tim Russert’s sudden passing is a swift kick for everyone who knew, respected, and loved Tim and had the honor of sharing his company. It's hard to describe the shock.

Tim was the best political newsman of his generation, and he was a trailblazer in the unique way he brought his personal love of politics, honed by Moynihan and Cuomo, right into our living rooms every Sunday.    » read more »

06/12/2008 -- BOSTON – Senator John Kerry today sent a letter to the head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), urging her to answer for smoke detectors that have continuously proven to be unsafe. Kerry’s letter is a follow up on a letter sent by Deputy Chief Joseph Fleming of the Boston Fire Department, who raised the issue with the CPSC earlier this year.

In his letter, dated March 12, 2008, Chief Fleming drew attention to safety issues surrounding ionization smoke detectors and asked the CPSC to investigate. The CPSC, which had expressed concerns about the detectors as early as 1995, has failed to investigate or to even respond to Chief Fleming’s concerns.    » read more »

06/09/2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sens. John Kerry, Bob Menendez, Byron Dorgan, and Frank Lautenberg today introduced legislation that will prohibit the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) from using appropriated funds for propaganda and will require the DoD Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to deliver reports to Congress within 90 days.    » read more »

In Next Week's Climate Change Debate, Kerry Amendments will Advance Climate Change Solutions

05/29/2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC – As the Bush Administration finally released a key climate change report three years after its required release date, Senator Kerry today addressed the Administration’s report and stressed the urgency of a major policy change to combat global climate change.    » read more »

05/23/2008 -- Washington, D.C. – As the summer driving season kicks off and high gas prices continue to pinch family budgets, Senators Gordon Smith and John Kerry introduced legislation yesterday to help drivers get the most out of a tank of gas. Their bill will require vehicles to have real time fuel efficiency gauges, giving drivers more information on how their driving style directly relates to their fuel efficiency.

“Developing technology will help drivers conserve gasoline,” said Smith. “Utilizing this practical technology in our vehicles can drastically reduce our fuel consumption and provide needed financial relief for American families.”    » read more »

05/22/2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC – Senators John Kerry and Barack Obama today announced that the Senate passed the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008 (The "HEART Act"). The Act would provide tax relief to the men and women in our nation's armed services and others volunteering service on behalf of the United States, including Peace Corps volunteers and AmeriCorps volunteers – and is paid for by the Kerry-Obama tax reform that closed the tax loophole that allowed defense contractor KBR to avoid paying its fair share of taxes.

Young Barack Obama supporter: Photo by Adam Lisagor (CC)    » read more »

05/21/2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator John Kerry and Congressman Rahm Emanuel (D – Ill.) criticized the White House for opposing reform that would close a tax loophole that allows hedge fund managers and CEOs to defer compensation offshore. In a released statement on H.R. 6049, the Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008, the Administration says it “strongly opposes” the deferred compensation provision.

This provision is based on the Offshore Deferred Compensation Reform Act of 2007 introduced by Kerry and Emanuel on October 18, 2007. The legislation was introduced in response to news accounts of U.S. hedge fund managers being able to defer billions of dollars of compensation offshore. The closing of this loophole would raise $24 billion over 10 years.    » read more »

05/20/2008 -- BOSTON – Senator John Kerry today issued the following statement on Senator Ted Kennedy’s illness.

“Ted Kennedy and the Kennedy family have faced adversity more times, in more instances, with more courage and more determination and more grace than any family should ever have to face even just once.

Senator Ted Kennedy campaigning on behalf of Barack Obama in February 2008: Photo by Dan (CC)

“He's helped millions and millions of people, in so many ways, at so many different times, from countless big pieces of legislation in Washington to the most personal of issues.    » read more »

05/17/2008 -- BOSTON, MA -- Senator John Kerry today released the following statement in regards to Senator Edward Kennedy. Senator Kerry is currently at Massachusetts General Hospital with Senator Kennedy and members of the Kennedy family.

"Ted Kennedy is beloved and respected on both sides of the aisle in the Senate in which he's been a giant for close to half a century, a legend in Massachusetts, and a dear friend to me and Teresa. He's also been a fighter who has overcome adversity again and again with courage, grit, and determination. Teresa and I are praying for Teddy, Vicki and all of his family and we know that everyone in Massachusetts and people throughout the nation pray for a full and speedy recovery for a man whose life's work has touched millions upon millions of lives."    » read more »

05/14/2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC – Senator John Kerry made the following statement today after Sec. of Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne announced that he would list the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Kerry sponsored legislation earlier this year to protect polar bear habitat from drilling in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, and he wrote a letter to Kempthorne earlier this week, asking that he adhere to a Federal court-ordered deadline by listing the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act.

Polar bear cub near Svalbard, Norway: Photo by Amanda Graham (CC)    » read more »

05/10/2008 -- Boston, Massachusetts – Today, Senator John Kerry, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relation’s Committee’s Middle East Subcommittee, called for Foreign Relations Committee hearings on the State Department’s decision to renew Blackwater’s no bid contract for private security in Iraq.

Blackwater is today under continued grand jury investigation, and a top House Committee has asked the I.R.S. to investigate Blackwater’s controversial tax practices. The New York Times today revealed that even after Blackwater became the focus of several different investigations, “the State Department did not even open talks with two companies, DynCorp International and Triple Canopy, to see if they could take over from Blackwater.”    » read more »

May 9, 2008 -- Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Joseph Biden (D-DE), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and John Kerry (D-MA) sent a letter to President Bush today calling for the administration to take specific actions to help resolve the crisis in Tibet, including making a presidential visit to Tibet during the Olympics, establishing a consulate in Lhasa and calling for expanded access to the region for international humanitarian officials and journalists.

The full text of the letter follows:

May 9, 2008

The President

The White House

Washington, DC

Dear President Bush:    » read more »