Kennedy Returns to Senate - Medicare & FISA Pass

In a busy day in the Senate, two controversial bills were passed, one with the help of Senator Edward Kennedy who received a standing ovation. Watch video here. He is still recovering from his surgery to remove the cancerous brain tumor and is in the midst of his chemotherapy treatment. The Medicare funding bill had easily passed previously in the House. But, appeared to be one vote short of passage in the Senate due to Republican opposition. The bill passed with Kennedy's support. Read more here. Interestingly, Senator McCain was absent for the vote.

FISA was the other hotly debated bill and it passed with a 69-28 vote after previously receiving support in the House. The main area of contention was the retroactive immunity for the telecom industry. Senator Obama voted for the bill and has received criticism from the liberal Netroots for this anticipated vote on his part. Senator Clinton was among those Democrats who voted against the bill. Senator McCain was absent for this vote as well. Read more here.