Sen. Jay Rockefeller says his colleague and friend Ted Kennedy was a champion for people without power.

Rockefeller said in a statement Wednesday that Kennedy, who died after a battle with brain cancer, was a champion for justice in the United States.

West Virginia's junior senator worked particularly closely with Kennedy on the legislation that created the Children's Health Insurance Program, which provides health care coverage to children in low-income families.

Rockefeller says Kennedy forged a special bond with the state and continued to visit West Virginia regularly during his life.

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