Statement on the Passing of Senator Kennedy

Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-27) issued the following statement on the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy: 

“Today one of America’s iconic families lost their patriarch, Congress lost a conciliator and this nation lost a leader and pioneer on issues like health care that reach to the core of American values.  I had the opportunity to meet Senator Kennedy on a number of occasions in Washington, DC and during his visit to Buffalo, NY.  The lawmaker whose tenure stretched nearly five decades and ten presidencies was respected for his ability to put people before politics and purpose before partisanship.  Perhaps the greatest tribute we as a nation can provide is to forge ahead on the issues important to America the Senator so passionately pursued.  As Kennedy himself said nearly 30 years ago, ‘the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dreams shall never die.’”