Patrick J. Kennedy II

Early Life and Political Career

Patrick Joseph Kennedy II was born on July 14, 1967, the son of Senator Edward M. Kennedy and Joan Bennett Kennedy. He attended Providence College, earning his BA in 1991, and launched his political career in Rhode Island at an unusually young age. First elected to the Rhode Island state legislature at 21, he won election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994, representing Rhode Island's First Congressional District — a seat he would hold for sixteen years.

Patrick Kennedy's tenure in Congress, from 1995 to 2011, made him the longest-serving Kennedy in a legislative role after his father. During those years he sat on the House Appropriations Committee and the House Armed Services Committee, and built a reputation as a tenacious advocate for mental health policy and veterans' affairs.

Mental Health Advocacy and Personal Struggles

Patrick Kennedy has been among the most candid public figures in America about the realities of mental illness and addiction. He has spoken openly about his own diagnoses of bipolar disorder and addiction to prescription drugs and alcohol. In May 2006, he crashed his car into a Capitol Hill security barrier in the early morning hours while impaired; he subsequently checked into the Mayo Clinic for treatment and gave a public statement acknowledging his struggles. Rather than retreat from public life, he used the episode as a turning point, becoming an even more vocal champion for mental health parity.

Alongside his father, he co-authored the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, landmark federal legislation requiring that insurance coverage for mental health and substance use disorders be provided on terms no more restrictive than those for physical health conditions. The law is widely regarded as one of the most consequential advances in behavioral health policy in American history.

Post-Congress Work and The Kennedy Forum

After leaving Congress in 2011, Patrick Kennedy founded The Kennedy Forum, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing mental health and addiction equity in health care policy, insurance, and public culture. He has also authored "A Common Struggle: A Personal Journey Through the Past and Future of Mental Illness and Addiction" (2015), a memoir that interweaves his personal experiences with a policy blueprint for mental health reform.

He married Amy Petitgout in 2011, and the couple has three children: Owen, Harper, and Nora. His post-congressional career has demonstrated that a politician's most enduring contribution can sometimes come after leaving office.

What major mental health law did Patrick Kennedy help pass?

Patrick Kennedy co-authored the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 alongside his father, Senator Ted Kennedy, requiring insurance coverage for mental health and addiction treatment to be equivalent to coverage for physical health conditions.

What is The Kennedy Forum?

The Kennedy Forum is a nonprofit organization founded by Patrick Kennedy to advance mental health and addiction equity in health care policy, insurance practices, and public awareness.