Mr Patrick J. Kennedy (30) is a Democratic Congressman representing the first district of Rhode Island. A son of Senator Edward Kennedy, he is a member of the House National Security Committee and the House Resources Committee.
Mr Kennedy has campaigned on behalf of the elderly, working families and veterans, and has advocated better educational opportunities, preserving the environment and protecting the interests of consumers in healthcare.
When elected to the US Congress in 1994, he was its youngest member. He is currently its second-youngest. A graduate in social science from Providence College in Rhode Island, he was elected to the Rhode Island House of Representatives in 1988, at age 21, and re-elected in 1990 and 1992. He served on the Health, Education and Welfare and Special Legislative Committees and was chairman of the House Rules Committee. He took the initiative on gun-control issues and sponsored the state's seven-day waiting period for gun purchases.
While supporting some initiatives to end illegal immigration, Mr Kennedy has expressed strong opposition to legislation penalising legal immigrants who are permanent, tax-paying residents. He was a primary co-sponsor of legislation which extended supplemental security income benefits to legal immigrants.