John Kerry - United States Senator for Massachusetts : About John

Accomplishments

Throughout more than two decades of service, John Kerry has fought for fiscal discipline, expanded children's health care, stood up for small businesses, and worked across party lines to support our nation’s veterans. As one of the Senate’s leading environmental advocates, last year he championed a bipartisan effort to pass comprehensive climate and energy legislation in the Senate. He has distinguished himself as one of our nation's most respected experts on national security issues. In his twenty-five years of service on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he now serves as Chairman, John Kerry has been a leader in fighting terrorism and preventing the spread of nuclear weapons. Toward that end, he successfully led the charge last year to ratify the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty with Russia.

Senator Kerry is a 22 year veteran and former chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, where he stands up every day for Americans who own and work for small businesses. Especially during tough economic times, Senator Kerry knows how important it is to make sure our small businesses have a level playing field in the global economy and his work in this issue area has proven that.

As a senior member of the Senate Commerce Committee, Senator Kerry also serves as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet, where he’s working to expand national broadband internet access and safeguard internet privacy for all Americans. Senator Kerry fights for tax fairness as a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, where he played a key role in finally delivering comprehensive health reform to all Americans.

Putting principle ahead of partisanship, John Kerry has worked with his Republican colleagues on important issues like balancing the budget and keeping government spending under control. And with a firm commitment to creating jobs and expanding and strengthening the middle class, he fights for an America that fulfills its great promise - that gives hard-working Americans the opportunity to build a better life for themselves and their families.

Click a Category Below to see details about Senator Kerry’s Accomplishments:

Fighting for American Workers and Standing Up for Small Business
Fighting to Protect America's Environment
Making America Safer and More Respected in the World
Supporting Fiscal Discipline
Expanding and Improving Health Care for All Americans
Fighting for America's Veterans
Standing Up for America's Children
Fighting for Affordable Housing

Fighting for American Workers and Standing Up for Small Business

Creating jobs in Western Massachusetts. A contract for 10 new ships awarded to General Dynamics in Pittsfield was secured after months of negotiations with the Congress, Navy, and Obama Administration by Senator Kerry, Governor Patrick, and Pittsfield Mayor Ruberto. This project will create 500 new jobs for the city.

Helping Increase the Minimum Wage. John Kerry was instrumental in passing the two most recent increases in the minimum wage - to $5.15 per hour in 1997, and then to $7.25 an hour in 2007.

Providing Heating Assistance for Struggling Families. In 2010 and 2011 Senator Kerry fought to provide $182 million in heating assistance for eligible, low-income families in Massachusetts through the LIHEAP program.

Standing Up for Small Business. As the former Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, John Kerry promoted policies to increase access to capital, open international markets, foster innovative technology companies, reduce red tape and increase federal contracting opportunities for women, veterans, and minority-owned small firms. In 2010 the Small Business Jobs Act became law, enacting many job-creating provisions that Senator Kerry initiated when he chaired the Small Business Committee. This law is helping small businesses grow and create jobs by making it easier for them to access needed capital.

Senator Kerry also created and improved the Microloan program which proportionally serves more women and minorities than other programs, worked to increase access to working capital from $15 billion in 1998 to $24.5 billion in 2006 for small businesses, strengthened the successful nationwide Women's Business Centers (WBC) through his sustainability legislation, and created a loan program to help reservist entrepreneurs keep their small businesses afloat while they are on active duty.

Providing support for MA businesses. A tax credit Senator Kerry wrote into the Affordable Care Act sent $128 million to 558 Massachusetts life science companies engaged in life-saving medical research.

Helping Small Businesses Provide Health Insurance. In the 110th Congress, Senator Kerry sponsored the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit Act to provide financial incentive and tax relief for small businesses to offer health insurance to their employees. Senator Kerry successfully included a similar small business health care tax credit provision in the health care reform bill which was enacted into law.

Fighting to Protect America's Environment

Fighting global climate change. In September of 2009 Senator Kerry introduced the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act with Senator Barbara Boxer. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee passed CEJAPA in November, making it the only comprehensive climate bill to pass through committee in the 110th Congress. Senator Kerry then championed a bipartisan effort to pass comprehensive climate and energy legislation in the Senate. He strongly advocated for U.S. participation in the Kyoto accords and other international environmental initiatives, and personally participated in many major world environmental summits, including conferences at Rio de Janeiro, Kyoto, The Hague, Poznan, and Copenhagen. He has chaired ten major hearings on global climate change and energy security since taking the gavel of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee

Fighting to Protect America's Environment. John Kerry has been described by the League of Conservation Voters as an "environmental champion." He has introduced legislation to improve standards for clean air and establish a fund to finance emissions reductions. He secured millions of dollars in funding to clean America's waterways, harbors, and drinking water, worked to strengthen the Safe Drinking Water Act, and introduced legislation in 1996 to ensure "protection in the quality of our water." He sponsored legislation that extended and strengthened laws protecting marine mammals from commercial fishing.

Protecting America’s national treasures. He helped protect America's National Parks and National Forests from pollution, excessive logging, and overdevelopment while ensuring that endangered species are preserved for all Americans to experience. He has opposed opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling for over a decade, ensuring that future generations can experience this national treasure.

Making America Safer and More Respected in the World

Working to Prevent the Spread of Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Weapons. John Kerry has made preventing the spread of nuclear weapons a top priority. In 2010 he led the effort in the Senate to ratify the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty with Russia. He has also fought for ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, fought against withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, and has been a strong and persistent advocate of programs that help secure nuclear, biological and chemical weapons stockpiles and materials in the former Soviet Union so they do not fall into the hands of hostile states or terrorists.

Fighting For 100,000 Additional Cops on the Street. As a former prosecutor, John Kerry understands the importance of strong law enforcement. That's why he led the fight to add police on our streets through his amendment to the 1993 Crime Control bill. John Kerry's amendment provided for $150 million to hire 100,000 new police officers - a measure widely regarded as having helped to lower the crime rate across the country.

Fighting to Modernize and Strengthen America's Military. John Kerry has supported over $4 trillion in defense funding and has supported virtually every successful weapons system in use by today's military. In 2002, John Kerry voted for the largest increase in defense spending since the 1980's. And because John Kerry understands that our national security begins with the men and women who risk their lives to protect it, he has supported pay increases, benefit increases, and quality-of-life improvements for America's men and women in uniform throughout his career.

Fighting Global Terrorism. John Kerry was one of the key architects of anti-money-laundering provisions in the Patriot Act designed to deny financing for terrorists, and he consistently used these provisions to press the Bush administration to crack down on terrorist financing activities by Syria and Saudi Arabia. His bill to ban arms exports to countries that provide support for acts of international terrorism, was also incorporated into the final 1990 State Department Authorization Bill.

Making the Homeland More Secure. John Kerry was an original co-sponsor of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001, which improved our nation's airline security after September 11th. He also helped pass legislation in response to September 11th that placed armed Coast Guard personnel on high-risk vehicles such as oil and gas tankers as they enter port.

Spreading Democracy and Human Rights Throughout the World. John Kerry was a leading advocate for democratic elections in the Philippines, serving as an elections monitor as part of a Senate delegation that uncovered the fraud that led to the ouster of President Ferdinand Marcos. He was a strong proponent of U.S. participation in the NATO intervention that put an end to the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo. He worked with the United Nations and Cambodian government officials to facilitate the creation of the genocide tribunal in Cambodia that will prosecute key members of the Khmer Rouge. He sponsored the Code of Conduct of Arms Transfers Act, which prohibited U.S. military assistance and arms transfers to nations that do not adequately protect the human rights of their citizens. And he co-sponsored bipartisan legislation which imposed sanctions on Burma's military regime for detaining Aung San Suu Kyi and repressing her National League for Democracy party.

Fighting Global HIV/AIDS. John Kerry authored major elements of the Global AIDS and Tuberculosis Relief Act of 2000, legislation which at the time provided the most money ever for fighting AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis around the world. In 2002, he sponsored the bipartisan U.S. Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act. This comprehensive legislation was unanimously approved by the Senate and became the foundation of the global AIDS legislation that was passed by congress and signed by President Bush. In 2008 the Senate passed Sen. Kerry’s legislation to repeal the outdated, misguided provision in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which barred HIV positive individuals from entering the United States, including HIV positive doctors and experts, as well as refugees seeking asylum.

Fighting International Crime, Corruption and Drug Trafficking. In 1992 John Kerry chaired the landmark hearings that uncovered the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) scandal - the largest banking corruption scandal in modern times. He later led hearings which provided evidence that Haitian military officials were involved in drug trafficking to the United States. He also led hearings on corruption and drug trafficking by Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, and introduced legislation requiring the Reagan administration to cut off foreign aid to Panama because of drug-related corruption within its government.

Uncovering Government Corruption. Shortly after coming to the Senate in 1985, John Kerry went on a fact-finding mission to Nicaragua and presented his findings to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Based in part on John Kerry's groundbreaking findings, the committee reached a consensus decision to investigate the Contra guerillas and their connection to drug trafficking in the United States. The resulting investigation uncovered the Iran-Contra scandal, a scheme that diverted profits from illegal arms sales to Iran to support the Contra guerilla fighters in Nicaragua.

Supporting Fiscal Discipline

Crossed Party Lines to Support a Balanced Budget and Cast the Decisive Vote to Create 23 Million New Jobs. Shortly after joining the Senate, John Kerry crossed party lines to bring fiscal discipline back to Washington. In 1993, he supported the Deficit Reduction Act, which put America back on track toward a balanced budget and fiscal discipline. His vote reduced the deficit and resulted in the creation of 23 million new jobs. John Kerry also voted for the historic 1997 Balanced Budget Act, which dramatically reduced spending and balanced the budget for the first time in a generation.

Fought for Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act. John Kerry cosponsored and voted for the landmark Gramm-Rudman-Hollings balanced budget and deficit reduction bill to end runaway deficits.

Expanding and Improving Health Care for All Americans

A Leader in Expanding Access and Lowering the Cost of Health Care for America's Children. John Kerry was there at the beginning of the fight to provide the largest investment in children's health care since the creation of Medicaid. His 1996 bill, the Healthy Children, Family Assistance Health Insurance Program, was the precursor to the successful State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP) that became law in 1997. S-CHIP provides funding to cover 5 million children.

Ensuring Access to Affordable Health Care in Massachusetts. Senator Kerry worked to secure a Medicaid Waiver Amendment that brought $157 million to Massachusetts to ensure that safety net hospitals – like Boston and Holyoke Medical Centers - can continue delivering quality, affordable healthcare for vulnerable citizens.

Improving Coverage and Care for America's Veterans. John Kerry has been a tireless champion of mandatory funding for veterans' health care. He fought vigorously for full funding of Veterans Administration (VA) health care and opposed the Bush administration's exclusion of Priority 8 veterans and its elimination of VA outreach efforts. He sought improved prescription drug benefits and authored legislation in 2003 to let veterans fill prescriptions written by non-VA doctors through the VA pharmacy.

Improving Post-Natal Care. John Kerry co-sponsored an amendment that successfully required health care plans to provide coverage for a minimum hospital stay for a mother and child following the birth of the child.

Fighting HIV/AIDS. John Kerry was among the earliest supporters of the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act, which today is the largest discretionary federal investment in treatment and support services for individuals and families living with HIV or AIDS. Today, 533,000 Americans with HIV/AIDS receive better treatment through this program.

Addressing America's Nursing Shortage. In 2001 John Kerry wrote the Nurse Reinvestment Act to help relieve a nationwide, crisis-level shortage of registered nurses by encouraging more young people to choose a career in nursing. Today, enrollment rates at undergraduate nursing programs are up by 17 percent.

Fighting for America's Veterans

Fighting to Keep Our Promise to America's Veterans. John Kerry has been a tireless champion of mandatory funding for veterans' health care. He fought vigorously for full funding of VA health care and opposed the Bush administration's exclusion of Priority 8 veterans and its elimination of VA outreach efforts. He sought improved prescription drug benefits and authored legislation in 2003 to let veterans fill prescriptions written by non-VA doctors through the VA pharmacy. In 2010 Senator Kerry introduced the Corey Shea Act, which allows eligible parents of a fallen servicemember to be buried with their child in any of the 131 cemeteries run by the VA’s National Cemetery Administration, if that child has no living spouse or children. The Corey Shea Act was signed into law later that year.

Took on the Task of Investigating POW/MIA Issues. As chairman of the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs, John Kerry worked with John McCain to investigate the fate of missing American soldiers in Vietnam and brought about the resolution of this difficult issue for their families and for the governments of both countries. Regarding the investigation, John McCain said, "John Kerry handled the chairmanship of that committee with tremendous skill." In 1994, John Kerry sponsored an amendment with McCain that urged the American government to lift its 25-year trade embargo with Vietnam. He then worked closely with McCain and President Clinton to facilitate full normalization of trade and diplomatic relations with Vietnam.

Fighting to Help Victims of Agent Orange. Beginning more than 15 years ago, John Kerry introduced legislation to assist veterans in receiving medical compensation after being exposed to the toxic chemical Agent Orange. John Kerry even testified before Congress to force the government to care for Vietnam veterans. John Kerry's bill, the Comprehensive Agent Orange Scientific Evidence Review Act, sought to require that the Veterans Administration (VA) look into the "health effects of exposure" to Agent Orange. John Kerry also voted to pass the Agent Orange Act of 1991 and the Veterans' Agent Orange Exposure and Vietnam Service Benefits Act of 1989.

Protecting Servicemembers from Mortgage Abuse. As the author of the Helping Heroes Keep Their Home Act, John Kerry introduced legislation that would provide enhanced protections for servicemembers and military families against foreclosure and increased interest rates as part of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). On December 29, 2010 the bill was signed into law, and continues to ensure that those who have sacrificed in Iraq and Afghanistan don’t lose their home simply because of the time and financial sacrifice they made in the course of their service to our nation.

Standing up for America's Children

Standing up for the Health and Education of our Children. John Kerry wrote the bill that became the foundation for the 1997 State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP), which provided states with federal funding to help extend health insurance coverage to children whose families do not qualify for Medicaid. He also introduced legislation to expand state and local early childhood development efforts, including education, child care and health care for children between birth and six years old. At the end of 2000, a version of this bipartisan legislation was signed into law.

Established the Federal Youthbuild Program. To address the needs of America's at-risk youth, John Kerry led the effort to establish the YouthBuild program, which provides young people with basic education toward a diploma and the skills training they need to get a good-paying job. YouthBuild also teaches leadership and civic engagement while providing students with adult mentors who help them overcome personal problems and participate in a supportive community with positive values.

Fighting Child Exploitation. Senator Kerry’s anti-child exploitation bill (S. 2155, introduced in the 109th Congress) – entitled Masha’s Law – became law in the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. The Kerry legislation, inspired by the tragic story of a 13-year-old girl who was sexually-exploited by her adopted father, will help prevent child exploitation by increasing the civil statutory damages available to a victim of child exploitation and ensuring that victims of child pornography whose images remain in circulation after they have turned 18 can still recover when those images are downloaded.

Fighting for Affordable Housing

Fighting for Affordable Housing. John Kerry has a long record of fighting for affordable housing. He shaped the first significant rewrite of the public housing program in over 20 years and worked to craft and pass a bill that helped save the government billions of dollars in rental assistance payments, preserved thousands of affordable rental apartments, and helped finance the rehabilitation of those apartments. With Senator Jim Jeffords (I-VT), John Kerry sponsored the Affordable Housing Preservation Act to foster local partnerships between non-profits, state and local governments, and private landlords in order to keep existing housing projects available and affordable for low-income tenants. He worked to create and implement the "mark-up to market" program and he co-authored the Affordable Housing for Seniors and Families Act of 2000.