Updated: 12:23 p.m.

Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), who is battling brain cancer and has spent much of the past two months undergoing treatment in Florida, is back at work in the Capitol this week as the Senate takes up a national service bill he has pushed since last year.

“This national service legislation is extremely important to him, and he’ll be here until the recess to see it across the finish line,— a Kennedy spokesman said Tuesday.

Kennedy wrote the bill with Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah); the House approved a similar measure last week.

Kennedy, chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, is also expected to hold private meetings on health care reform during his two-week stint in Washington before Congress breaks for the Easter recess.

Meanwhile, Minnesota Democratic Senate hopeful Al Franken will be in Washington Wednesday to pick up an award for his work overseas with the United Service Organizations.

Franken is embroiled in a lengthy recount trial in Minnesota, where he leads former Sen. Norm Coleman (R) by 225 votes. A three-judge panel is expected to hand down a decision on the recount trial within days.

Coleman is also back in Washington, D.C., this week and will attend the Senate GOP’s weekly policy luncheon Tuesday.