Senator Max Baucus said yesterday that he plans to have lunch with Senator Edward M. Kennedy this week to discuss a major healthcare overhaul, the top priority for both Democrats.
The appointment is significant because Kennedy, who is suffering from brain cancer, has mostly been in Florida since Inauguration Day, when he experienced a seizure during a luncheon. The Massachusetts senator returned to Capitol Hill briefly last month to cast a key vote on the economic stimulus package.
At a Kaiser Family Foundation breakfast, Baucus said he has been speaking frequently with Kennedy about healthcare, the subject of a summit President Obama is convening tomorrow.
Baucus, who said he wants a bill voted on by the Senate by early summer, did not say whether Kennedy would attend the summit, but he said the two are working together closely. They recently coauthored a Wall Street Journal opinion piece about the need for a health overhaul.
Obama put $634 billion in his 10-year budget plan as a down payment and on Monday named two key aides to push an overhaul: Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius as health and human services secretary, and former Clinton administration official Nancy DeParle as director of the White House Office of Health Reform.
The appointment is significant because Kennedy, who is suffering from brain cancer, has mostly been in Florida since Inauguration Day, when he experienced a seizure during a luncheon. The Massachusetts senator returned to Capitol Hill briefly last month to cast a key vote on the economic stimulus package.
At a Kaiser Family Foundation breakfast, Baucus said he has been speaking frequently with Kennedy about healthcare, the subject of a summit President Obama is convening tomorrow.
Baucus, who said he wants a bill voted on by the Senate by early summer, did not say whether Kennedy would attend the summit, but he said the two are working together closely. They recently coauthored a Wall Street Journal opinion piece about the need for a health overhaul.
Obama put $634 billion in his 10-year budget plan as a down payment and on Monday named two key aides to push an overhaul: Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius as health and human services secretary, and former Clinton administration official Nancy DeParle as director of the White House Office of Health Reform.
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http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2009/03/04/as_market_staggers_obama_keeps_focus_on_long_term/
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