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Sen. John Kerry
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John F. Kerry was born on December 11, 1943 at Fitzsimons Army Hospital in Colorado. His father, Richard, volunteered in the Army Air Corps and flew DC-3's and B-29's as a test pilot during World War II. His mother, Rosemary, was a lifelong community activist and devoted parent. She was a Girl Scout leader for 50 years, and one of her proudest possessions was her 50 year Girl Scout pin. She was an environmentalist and a community activist.

Not long after John Kerry was born, the family settled in Massachusetts. Growing up there, his parents taught him the values of service and responsibility and the blessings of his Catholic faith, lessons John Kerry carries with him to this day.

Because his father was a Foreign Service Officer in the Eisenhower administration, John Kerry traveled a lot when he was young. On these trips, he learned firsthand what makes America a leader in the world - our optimism and our democratic values. And he learned that nations across the world share many common goals and that the best way to achieve them is through building strong alliances.

John Kerry volunteered to serve in VietnamAs he was graduating from Yale, John Kerry volunteered to serve in Vietnam, because, as he later said, "it was the right thing to do." He believed that "to whom much is given, much is required." And he felt he had an obligation to give something back to his country. John Kerry served two tours of duty. On his second tour, he volunteered to serve on a Swift Boat in the river deltas, one of the most dangerous assignments of the war. He was awarded a Silver Star, a Bronze Star with Combat V, and three Purple Hearts.

John Kerry volunteered to serve in VietnamBut John Kerry's wartime experience taught him a painful lesson that he could not forget, even after he returned home. In the midst of battle, he had seen the lives of his fellow soldiers, his friends, put at risk because some leaders in Washington were making bad decisions. He decided he had a responsibility to his friends still serving, the friends he had lost, and his country, to help restore responsible leadership in America.

Kerry began to speak out against the war. After he came home, and after his friend Don Droz was killed in Vietnam, Kerry began to speak out against the war. It wasn't easy. Only 27 years old, John Kerry sounded a call to reason in April 1971 when he testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and posed the powerful question, "How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?"

Kerry accepted another tour of duty - to serve in America's communitiesLater, John Kerry accepted another tour of duty - to serve in America's communities. After graduating from Boston College Law School in 1976, John Kerry went to work as a top prosecutor in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. He took on organized crime and put behind bars "one of the state's most notorious gangsters, the number two organized crime figure in New England." He fought for victims' rights and created programs for rape counseling.

John Kerry was elected Lieutenant Governor in 1982John Kerry was elected Lieutenant Governor in 1982. In that office, he organized the nation's Governors to combat the acid rain that was polluting lakes, rivers, and the nation's water supply. Two years later, he was elected to the United States Senate and he has won reelection three-times since. He is now serving his fourth term, after winning again in 2002.

John Kerry entered the Senate with a reputation as a man of convictionJohn Kerry entered the Senate with a reputation as a man of conviction. He confirmed that reputation by taking bold decisions on important issues. He helped provide health insurance for millions of low-income children. He has fought to improve public education, protect our natural environment, and strengthen our economy. He has been praised as one of the leading environmentalists in the Senate, who stopped the Bush-Cheney plan to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

John Kerry has never forgotten the lessons he learned as a young manJohn Kerry has never forgotten the lessons he learned as a young man - lessons that have been strengthened in his 19 years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He has learned that America must work with other countries to achieve our goals and the world's common goals. From his ground-breaking work on the Iran-Contra scandal to his leadership on global AIDS, John Kerry has distinguished himself as one of our nation's most respected voices on national security and international affairs.

As chairman of the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA AffairsAs chairman of the Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs, he worked closely with John McCain to learn the truth about American soldiers missing in Vietnam and to normalize relations with that country. As the ranking Democrat on the East Asian and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee, he is a leading expert on that region, including North Korea.

Years before September 11th, John Kerry wrote The New War, an in-depth study of America's national security in the 21st Century. He worked on a bipartisan basis to craft the American response to September 11th and has been a leading voice on American policy in Iraq and Afghanistan, the war on terrorism, the Middle East peace process and Israel's security.

In 2003, John Kerry announced that he would run for president of the United states and mounted a come from behind campaign to win the Democratic nomination. Running against a wartime incumbent, Kerry came close to the presidency in 2004 - and dusted himself off, thought about what mattered to him most, and kept up the fight for the people whose concerns had been his cause these last 35 years.

John Kerry is married to Teresa Heinz Kerry, and they have a blended family that includes two daughters, three sons, and one grandchildJohn Kerry is married to Teresa Heinz Kerry, and they have a blended family that includes two daughters, three sons, and one grandchild. At home, they enjoy spending time chasing their four dogs.

Blog Entries by Sen. John Kerry

America Must Not Back Down on Sustainable Energy

442 Comments | Posted December 16, 2011 | 12:06:49 (EST)

If you read just the headlines these days, you might think renewable energy in America is going the way of Solyndra. Don't take our word for it: a recent headline from Fox News declared "ENTIRE Solar Industry on Brink of Collapse."

We cannot allow long-time opponents of...

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Your Airwaves, Your Voice

46 Comments | Posted December 13, 2011 | 13:30:22 (EST)

Our Congress is broken. And this week, the House Republicans will again show you how and why.

They will bring to the Floor for a vote, legislation that takes the American people's need to extend a middle class tax cut and turns it into a vehicle to hinder the...

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Stopping America's Silent Killer: Viral Hepatitis

1 Comments | Posted November 7, 2011 | 14:35:36 (EST)

By Congressman Michael Honda (D-Calif.) and Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.)

There's a silent killer loose in America. It is viral hepatitis, and it contributes to the death of 15,000 Americans every year. Most people don't even know they have it until years later when it's too late for any treatment...

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Remembering John Adler

Posted August 26, 2011 | 12:46:30 (EST)

A busy week with the work we're engaged in on the special committee on the economy and the deficit, and obviously right now all of us up and down the east coast are buttoning up and getting ready for Irene's arrival this weekend. Still, I wanted to take a few...

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Climate Change Threatens to Undermine Progress on Development

Posted September 21, 2010 | 11:55:56 (EST)

Ten years ago, 189 nations united behind eight ambitious development goals for 2015, known as the Millennium Development Goals. Despite financial crises and natural disasters, we have made dramatic advances toward targets such as halving global poverty and achieving universal primary education.

Even as we race to achieve these targets...

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Clearing the Air on Swirling Mistruths About Kagan's Military Stance

Posted June 24, 2010 | 17:09:29 (EST)

On Monday, I will have the chance to introduce Elena Kagan to the Senate Judiciary Committee as our confirmation process begins in earnest. Before I do, I wanted to clear the air about a mistruth that some are determined to keep recycling and recirculating -- I guess not surprising, but...

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Exchanging People and Ideas to Bridge the World's Divides

Posted June 4, 2010 | 16:25:35 (EST)

One year ago in Cairo, President Obama promised America and the world's Muslims a new beginning "based on mutual interest and mutual respect." Translating this message into better relationships will take action from all of us.

In the coming weeks, I will introduce a bill in Congress to create...

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President Obama Says "Let's Go," Special Interests Conjure Up New Distortions to Say No

Posted May 26, 2010 | 16:47:26 (EST)

So, on the biggest issue we can deal with in this Congress, President Obama just weighed in big-time: "There's been some good work done by John Kerry and Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham. Let's go. Let's not wait. Let's show the American people that in the midst of this crisis,...

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Transforming Our Power

Posted May 12, 2010 | 12:00:14 (EST)

I don't think there are many people left who really question that we need a major transformation in the way we produce power, the disaster in the Gulf being the latest wakeup call for anyone who was still sleeping. It was the most recent reminder that 40 years after Richard...

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The Power of Earth Day in America

Posted April 22, 2010 | 08:34:12 (EST)

I'm strategizing and planning with the environmental community this morning, but wanted to emphasize something -- and I thought of it this morning listening to my morning radio:

If you've ever gotten caught up in the conventional wisdom of Washington that says no big change can happen, and politicians will...

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Net Neutrality Needs Your Help Today

Posted April 14, 2010 | 09:19:04 (EST)

It would be at best sophomoric and at worst patronizing to stop by here and "tell you" you how important the Internet is to our economy and political culture now.

But when you're talking about almost 200 billion emails sent each day and more than $3 trillion in e-commerce a...

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The Refugee Act: More Reason to Celebrate Ted Kennedy's Legacy

Posted March 15, 2010 | 15:55:13 (EST)

My colleague of twenty five years, Ted Kennedy, left an enormous imprint on the Senate and on our country. Today we quietly mark the 30th anniversary of one of his most visionary legislative accomplishments.

The Refugee Act of 1980 paved the way for what is now the most robust and...

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Listen To These Vets

Posted March 4, 2010 | 17:56:02 (EST)

The Senate needs to listen to these veterans:

Enough words have been spoken in Washington, with none as powerful as what these vets have to say. Let's keep it simple and straight. Politicians have...

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Not a Game

Posted March 2, 2010 | 09:28:24 (EST)

Too often -- the way it's played and the way it's reported -- Americans might think everything that happens in Washington is a game.

But look, this is anything but a game. The business before the Senate is literally life and death on many issues, and the parliamentary tricks to...

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Republicans Attack Military Leadership to Defend Ban On Gays

Posted February 3, 2010 | 15:26:38 (EST)

{crossposted from the VoteVets blog, VetsVoice}

"Admiral Mullen and Secretary Gates are both political appointees. They're going to be biased. They're going to say what the administration wants them to say." -- U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, Jr.

Stunning. That was my reaction when I listened...

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Standing Up For Internet Freedom

Posted January 21, 2010 | 11:22:01 (EST)

{Cross-posted from TalkingPointsMemo}

The recent dispute between China and Google should matter to everyone in the United States and around the world. Everyone accepts that any sovereign nation has the right to establish their own laws and regulations. But businesses that grow internationally have rights as well. America...

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Why This Progressive Is Sticking By the Tax on Insurance Companies

Posted January 7, 2010 | 14:10:19 (EST)

There've been a lot of claims made and exaggerations leveled in the last days about a provision in the Senate-passed health reform bill that places an excise tax on the insurance companies that offer high cost health insurance plans. A lot of it comes from the right wing that wants...

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A New Green Youth Movement

Posted November 9, 2009 | 13:22:26 (EST)

I know the difference a generation of young Americans in motion can make.

I was in college at a time of great political ferment and fundamental changes to our social fabric: the Civil Rights Act, the beginning of the counterculture and the passage of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution...

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Taking Control of Our Energy Future

Posted September 30, 2009 | 16:00:46 (EST)

It's on.

Today, Senator Boxer and I introduced our "Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act" that aims to put Americans back in charge of our energy future and our security -- doing nothing less than reinventing the way America produces and uses energy. At the same...

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We Can't Ignore the Security Threat from Climate Change

Posted August 31, 2009 | 13:21:13 (EST)

{crossposted at Operation Free}

On August 6, 2001, President George W. Bush famously received an intelligence briefing entitled, "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S." Thirty-six days later, al Qaeda terrorists did just that.

Scientists tell us we have a 10-year window -- if even that -- before catastrophic...

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