With the passing of Senator Edward Kennedy, the nation has lost one of our most dynamic, influential and esteemed statesmen. For nearly five decades, Sen. Kennedy was an exemplary public servant and worked tirelessly to find solutions to problems faced by working Americans each day, most notably the obligation to provide health care to the uninsured and elderly.

Sen. Kennedy continued the legacy of his brothers, President John F. Kennedy and New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy and showed that through hard work, decency and bipartisanship our nation could solve the problems it faced.

My thoughts are with the Kennedy family as they mourn this extraordinary American.