John Kerry

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 »

After Devastation of Cyclone, Resolution Asks that Roadblocks to Aid be Lifted, Evaluation of Aid Strategy

May 8, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC - The Senate has passed a resolution introduced by Senator John Kerry and a bipartisan group of 19 Senators urging humanitarian aid to the Burmese people following the devastation of the cyclone and accompanying tidal wave.

Cyclone Nargis, Burma: Photo by Mohd Nor Azmil Abdul Rahman (CC)    » read more »

05/06/2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC – Recognizing that Nelson Mandela and many members of the African National Congress (ANC) are currently on U.S. terrorism watch lists, Sen. John Kerry today introduced legislation in the Senate to grant the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security, the authority to waive U.S. travel restrictions on former President Mandela and other members of the ANC.

Nelson Mandela Square, South Africa: Photo by Scott Rippon (CC)    » read more »

April 24, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC - Senators John Kerry and Barack Obama sent a letter to the Chairman and Ranking member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Sen. Carl Levin and Norm Coleman respectively. Kerry and Obama asked that their colleagues consider investigating government contractors that circumvent paying payroll taxes by hiring employees through offshore shell companies.

Last month, Kerry and Obama introduced the Fair Share Act of 2008 to close this tax loophole and save the American taxpayer an estimated $846 million over ten years. In the House, the bill is being sponsored by Reps. Brad Ellsworth and Rahm Emanuel, and was recently included in the Taxpayer Assistance and Simplification Act of 2008.    » read more »

04/16/2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC – Senator John Kerry released the following statement after President George Bush made remarks about climate change ahead of a meeting of the 17 top national emitters of greenhouse gases, which were initiated by the White House and will start tomorrow in Paris.

Senator John Kerry: Photo by Steve Rhodes (CC)

“If this is President Bush’s idea of 20/20 vision, he needs to get his eyes checked.

We should recognize this announcement for what it is: a late, insufficient and insincere effort by a President who refuses to support responsible policies to address the urgent challenge of global climate change.    » read more »

Victory on Kerry-Smith Mortgage Revenue Bonds Will Also Help 87,000 Families

04/10/2008 -- Washington, DC – The Senate today voted 84 to 12 to pass the Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008, which included Senator John Kerry’s provisions to protect active duty service members and their families from foreclosure, and Kerry’s Mortgage Revenue Bonds proposal to give localities new tools to help keep thousands more American families in their homes.

A returning National Guard soldier: Photo by Poppyseed Bandits (CC)    » read more »

04/09/2008 -- BOSTON – Senator John Kerry sent a letter today to President George Bush, expressing his disappointment that the President sent an incomplete Colombian Free Trade Agreement to Congress for an immediate up or down vote.

“This trade deal is a slap in the face to thousands of people in Colombia who have been killed just trying to exercise the right to organize, and yet President Bush has refused to allow the proper Congressional committees even to have a voice in the process and negotiate improvements,” said Senator Kerry.

Senator John Kerry: Photo by Steve Rhodes (CC)    » read more »

04/08/2008 -- Washington, DC – Senator John Kerry today sent a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) urging the Department to immediately implement recommendations that came as a direct result of an investigation Kerry requested last year.

In March of 2007, Kerry requested an investigation into DOJ’s administration of federal death benefits for the families of 34 eligible firefighters, police officers and other public safety officers who died in the line of duty.

Massachusetts firefighters: Photo by ariwriter (CC)    » read more »