BOSTON – US senator Edward Kennedy, who has advanced brain cancer, has urged Massachusetts leaders to change state law so it could quickly fill a vacancy in the Senate as it decides on an overhaul of US healthcare.
Mr Kennedy sent a letter on July 2nd suggesting the governor be allowed to appoint an interim US senator, should one be needed, rather than wait up to five months for a special election.
A spokesman for Mr Kennedy (77) said yesterday the letter was not related to any deterioration in his health. The long-time Massachusetts Democrat did not attend the funeral of his sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, last week.
Democrats need Massachusetts’s two senators to muster 60 votes in the US Senate, which is crucial to blocking any Republican manoeuvres to stall healthcare legislation.
Under Massachusetts law, once a Senate seat becomes vacant, there is a 145- to 160-day period before a special election is held, opening a potential five-month gap during which Massachusetts would only have one US senator.
“It is vital for this Commonwealth to have two voices speaking for the needs of its citizens and two votes in the Senate during the approximately five months between a vacancy and an election,” Mr Kennedy urged state leaders in the letter. – (Reuters)