Senate passes Medicare bill with Kennedy’s help
By Kim Dixon, Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — A Medicare bill opposed by the White House won final congressional approval on Wednesday with the help of Sen. Edward Kennedy, who returned to the Senate floor for the first time since brain surgery last month.
With Kennedy’s dramatic and surprise appearance, he and fellow Democrats overcame a Republican procedural hurdle and, on a voice vote, passed the measure earlier approved by the House of Representatives.
“Aye,” declared a smiling Kennedy of Massachusetts — a Democratic icon, the party’s leading liberal voice and a longtime champion of expanding health care. Democratic as well as Republican colleagues applauded.