On the recordSeptember 18, 2013
today I am here to give my first speech on the floor of the Senate. I do so with deep respect and reverence for the history of this Chamber and for the giants of the Senate who have served before us. From Massachusetts, our recent roster of Senators reads like a history textbook: President John F. Kennedy, who inspired a Nation--President Kennedy's desk is right here, and it is so appropriate that my extraordinary partner from Massachusetts, Senator Warren, occupies it today--the legendary Ted Kennedy--he had the vision to make health care a right and not a privilege; Ed Brooke, the first African-American popularly elected to the Senate; Paul Tsongas, a model of independence; for 28 years John Kerry was a champion for the people of Massachusetts. Now he is our chief diplomat to the world, his skill already shown in his ability to bring Russia and Syria to the negotiating table. America is the greatest country on Earth. My father drove a truck for the Hood Milk Company. He graduated from the vocational program at Lawrence High School. My mother was going to be senior class president in high school, but her mother died when she was a junior. She had to abandon her college dreams to stay home and take care of her younger sisters. That was before the New Deal, before Social Security, and before Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In those days the only social safety net for families was that one of the girls had to stay home.…
