Posted on: Wednesday, September 25, 2002

Inouye home with flu, missed 9/11 commission vote

Associated Press

U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye was home ill yesterday with what appears to be a flu bug, his Honolulu office said.

Inouye, D-Hawai'i, missed the Senate's 90-8 vote to create a commission to look into intelligence failures and other government missteps before the Sept. 11 attacks and recommend how to prevent future disasters.

Inouye's schedule for yesterday was canceled and may be canceled for today, depending on how he feels, his office said.

The 78-year-old senator's illness puts half of Hawai'i's congressional delegation out of commission.

Rep. Patsy Mink, 74, D-Hawai'i, remains at Straub Hospital and Clinic in Honolulu where she was admitted Aug. 30 after contracting viral pneumonia from a case of chickenpox.

Her office has provided few details on Mink's medical condition, beyond saying she was in serious condition and recovering.

Despite the secrecy about her illness, Mink easily won the Democratic nomination for a 13th term in Congress in Saturday's primary election.