by Mike Hall, Jul 10, 2008

Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), in the middle of chemotherapy treatments for brain cancer, made his first appearance yesterday in the U.S. Senate in nearly two months to vote to strengthen Medicare.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), in the middle of a presidential campaign, didn’t bother to show up for the vote. But Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) found time to vote on this critical bill for our nation’s seniors.

Kennedy’s vote on the bill that stops the Bush administration’s cuts in payments to doctors who treat Medicare patients, broke the Republican filibuster that had bottled up the legislation. Two weeks ago, a move to end the filibuster failed by a single vote.

Once it was clear there would be enough votes to end the filibuster, several Republican lawmakers switched their position from two weeks ago and the measure to end the debate on the bill passed 69–30. Or as dday puts it over on Digby’s Hullabaloo:

Once Kennedy triumphantly showed up and bellowed, “Aye,” cloture was assured, so a bunch of cowardly Republicans, who earlier voted proudly to kick Medicare patients out into the street, in a manner of speaking, flipped their votes, and cloture passed by 69–30.

In a statement following the vote, Kennedy said:

I return to the Senate today to keep a promise to our senior citizens—and that’s to protect Medicare. Win, lose or draw, I wanted to be here. I wasn’t going to take the chance that my vote could make the difference.

Medicare should not be a partisan issue. Illness and age know no party boundaries. The 44 million Americans who rely on Medicare to meet their health care needs are both Democrats and Republicans.

The Bush administration has threatened to veto the bill because it also would cut payments to the insurance companies in Bush’s Medicare privatization experiment, Medicare Advantage. But those private insurers are paid, on average, 13 percent more than it costs the government to provide benefits directly under Medicare. Under the current payment formula, the big insurers were estimated to pocket $150 billion over the next 10 years.

Says George Kourpias, president of the Alliance for Retired Americans: 

It is fitting that the first vote Sen. Kennedy cast upon his return was in favor of a bill to strengthen Medicare. Thanks to Senator Kennedy and his colleagues, physicians will continue to treat Medicare patients, low-income seniors will receive extra assistance with their health care costs, and Medicare Advantage programs will be reformed so that more money goes to seniors and not large corporations.

The bill passed the House in June by a veto-proof 355–59 margin. If the Republican senators who switched their votes yesterday don’t bow to Bush White House pressure, a Bush veto would be overridden. It requires a three-fifths majority to override a veto.

Following the Senate vote, Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) said:

Sen. Kennedy managed to make it back from treatment for cancer, but Sen. McCain couldn’t be bothered. Sen. McCain, who wants to be our next president, has skipped this vote three times now. Clearly, he’d rather hide than face up to the insurance industry. You can do that when you’re in the U.S. Senate, maybe voters should leave him there.

Also check out video coverage and accounts of Kennedy’s appearance yesterday on Think Progress and The Huffington Post. 

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