Politics
NEW: Democrat ‘Missing’ From Congress Weeks After Mysterious ‘Medical Procedure’
The office of U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) has yet to announce when the congresswoman will be returning to work after a medical procedure. The absence is generating increased concern among Democrats, who can ill afford to lose any votes as the chamber debates a number of important legislative items.
Beatty, 75, who represents Columbus and surrounding areas in the U.S. House, was not present for a June 11 vote on a recession package that cut federal funding to NPR and PBS, among other things. A medical procedure forced her to miss that vote, as well as another key vote on a foreign aid package that was already approved by Congress.
Beatty’s office previously told the Columbus Dispatch that the representative missed the vote “due to a medical procedure that could not be delayed.” The congresswoman’s staffers did not provide additional updates on the procedure, stating only that the congresswoman was “in good health.”
Staffers for Beatty also declined to provide a timetable on when the elderly lawmaker will be returning to work, stating only that she “is looking forward to returning to the House as soon as her recovery provides for her to return.”
Rep. Joyce Beatty
The House Democrat’s absence proved consequential for the party, as the recession measure would have failed had she been available to vote.
If passed by the Senate, the claw-back package would strip funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS, and from foreign aid agencies such as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Health Organization.
Passing it will only require a simple majority in the upper chamber due to Senate rules, as opposed to the 60-vote threshold that is generally required to pass legislation.
Beatty’s absence comes as Democrats are already down one vote after Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) passed away following a battle with cancer last month. A special election to fill the safe Democrat seat is scheduled for September 9.
