Via Congressional Quarterly:

Medicare Bill Cleared in Senate By Drew Armstrong, CQ Staff In the end, it was a landslide. An ailing Sen. Edward M. Kennedy returned Wednesday to break an impasse on a Medicare bill, and with his vote came enough Republicans to send the president one of the strongest rebukes of his administration. The Senate cleared the bill (HR 6331) on a voice vote after Democrats won a crucial procedural vote, 69-30. It was a wide enough margin to override a threatened veto of the bill, with votes to spare. The administration quickly reiterated its pledge to continue fighting the legislation. But Wednesday belonged to the Democratic senior senator from Massachusetts, whose presence electrified the chamber. “I’m glad to be back in the Senate. It’s enormously important,” Kennedy said in a brief gathering with reporters after the vote. “I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to be able to express my voice and my vote.” The veteran lawmaker is recovering from brain tumor surgery June 2 and has not been to the Capitol for more than six weeks. Kennedy, 76, entered the chamber midway through the roll call vote. With an arm around his shoulder was presumed Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama of Illinois. As they walked through the door, stunned fellow senators, aides and gallery watchers broke into raucous applause. With the cheers still cascading, Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., walked to the center of the aisle and blew a kiss at the Republican side, grinning. The legislation would replace a 10.6 percent cut to Medicare’s physician pay rates with 18 months of stable payments. The measure would also cut bonus payments to private Medicare plans known as Medicare Advantage. Those cuts total $12.5 billion over five years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.