Biography

IN CONGRESS
The people of Rhode Island’s 1st congressional district have chosen to send Patrick J. Kennedy to Washington to be their advocate and champion six times. The voters of Rhode Island know that Patrick Kennedy will fight for them, that he is tenacious as their advocate and that he is tireless in his work on their behalf.

Across the nation, Patrick is recognized as a leader on health care issues. From his legislation to modernize, improve the quality of, and lower the cost of health care through the use of information technology, to his national leadership in breaking down the barriers and stigma of mental health care, Kennedy has made health care issues a hallmark of his legislative career.

Patrick also has earned a reputation as a staunch advocate for senior citizens, making it one of his top priorities to protect Social Security and Medicare from the Republican efforts to privatize the most successful programs in our government’s history. Kennedy has also been a leader in calling for a prescription drug benefit under Medicare, not the current law which is riddled with handouts to prescription drug companies and doesn’t allow the government to negotiate lower prices.

In December 1998, as a way to strengthen Rhode Island’s opportunities for successes in congress, he accepted an appointment to a two-year term as the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, at that time he was also began accruing seniority on the House Appropriations Committee. While overseeing the operations of the DCCC, the House Democrats' campaign and political arm, Patrick temporarily remained a member of the Armed Services and Resources Committees for which he served the previous three terms.

Although Patrick had been gaining tenure on the powerful Appropriations Committee, which has authority over the federal government’s discretionary spending, while chairing the DCCC, he officially took the seat in 2001. He utilizes this committee membership in order to bolster economic growth and to improve the standard of living in Rhode Island in many areas such as health care, education, and jobs. His Subcommittees on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education, and on Commerce, Justice, State, and Judiciary, also determine how to fund vital agencies such as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute of Health, and Head Start among others.

Prior to service on the Appropriations Committee, Patrick served as a member of the Armed Services Committee where he fought to create jobs as well as economic growth in the First District, and worked tirelessly to improve teacher quality and educational opportunity.

Throughout his six terms in Congress, Patrick has been a champion for Rhode Island’s working families. He has consistently supported measures to raise the minimum wage, lower the cost of a college education and reduce health care costs.

Congressman Kennedy considers it a great honor to carry on the family legacy of public service. Following in the footsteps of his father, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, who has championed the legislative process for over 40 years now, as well as his uncles, continues to be a challenging and fulfilling endeavor.

THE BEGINNING
Patrick J. Kennedy, the youngest of three children of Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA) and Joan Bennett Kennedy was born on July 14, 1967, in Brighton, MA. Patrick graduated from Phillips Academy in Andover, MA, and attended Providence College where he earned his degree in 1991. Patrick became politically active at PC, first helping to revive the college's Young Democrats organization, and then in March of 1988 serving as the Democratic National Convention delegate for then Gov. Michael Dukakis. In September of 1988, he ran for the Rhode Island State House and was elected at the age of 21, becoming the youngest Kennedy family member ever to win office.

As a member of the Rhode Island State House, Patrick represented District 9, comprised of the Mount Pleasant and Elmhurst neighborhoods of Providence. He served on both the Health, Education and Welfare Committee and the Special Legislative Committee. In 1992, he was named Chairman of the House Rules Committee where he championed reform and open government in the General Assembly. Patrick was also a leader on gun control issues, sponsoring the state's seven-day waiting period for gun purchases. Patrick was re-elected to the State House in 1990 and 1992.

In November 1994, Patrick won an open seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. At the age of 27, he was the youngest member elected to the U.S. Congress that year.

Patrick looks forward to serving Rhode Islanders for another 2 years in the U.S. Congress and continuing his fight for opportunity and security for all American families.