Kennedy Returns To Washington
Mar 23, 2009 6 Comments ›› Pat Dollard
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), who is battling brain cancer, has returned to Washington for what is expected to be his longest stretch back on the job since the new Congress convened in January.
Kennedy will vote Monday night in Senate, and remain in town for at least the next two weeks to work on health care reform and national service legislation, a senior Democratic aide said.
The senator had been receiving cancer treatments in Florida. His staff has said he would return to Washington when the weather turned warmer, and Capitol Hill insiders did not expect to see him until after the April recess.
Kennedy’s staff has been working on health care reform in his absence, although aides say the senator has stayed in constant contact with key players on the issue.
The effort, however, is moving towards the critical next stage as Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.), Kennedy and other senior senators begin writing the legislation that Democrats have promised to bring to the floor by July.
