Sen. Edward Kennedy holds video conference with HELP Committee Democrats to discuss health care reform strategy

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) on Thursday held a videoconference with Democratic committee members to discuss a strategy to pass legislation next year that would overhaul the U.S. health care system, CongressDaily reports.

It was the first time since Kennedy was diagnosed with brain cancer that he met with all the committee members at once (Edney, CongressDaily, 9/18). The videoconference was "all part of a concerted effort by [Kennedy's] colleagues, family and staff to reinforce the impression that despite his illness, Kennedy is still in charge and his legislative agenda remains on track," CQ Today reports (Armstrong, CQ Today, 9/18).

Kennedy spokesperson Anthony Coley said, "The senator has spoken privately with many committee members recently, but this videoconference gave them all the chance to discuss together how best to hit the ground running next January." Senate Banking Committee Chair Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) said after the meeting that the members united around the idea that all key committees should work together on a single health care proposal to "dramatically" increase the chances of it getting passed. He added that the senators also discussed keeping in touch with the campaign of Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) as they develop health care legislation (CongressDaily, 9/18).