Kennedy Returns to Senate

Ailing senator makes his first trip back since brain surgery
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 9, 2008 4:01 PM CDT
Kennedy Returns to Senate
Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., followed by his nice Caroline Kennedy, and others, enters the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 9, 2008, for the first time since his brain surgery.    (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke)

Edward Kennedy returned to the Senate today for the first time since his surgery for brain cancer to cast a vote on Medicare legislation, CNN reports. Fellow senators greeted him with a long standing ovation. Kennedy, 76, made a thumbs-up gesture after casting his vote with a loud "aye." His vote helped Democrats break a GOP filibuster and overturn a 10% cut in Medicare payments to doctors.

“I return to the Senate today to keep a promise to our senior citizens,” Kennedy said in a statement, “and that’s to protect Medicare. Win, lose or draw, I wasn’t going to take the chance that my vote could make the difference.” (More Ted Kennedy stories.)

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