Rep. Kennedy to fight addiction

PROVIDENCE — U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy, in his first public remarks after a month of treatment for addiction, said Monday that he will have to battle substance abuse for the rest of his life under extraordinary scrutiny because of his famous name and position.

But Kennedy, who has acknowledged struggling with bipolar disorder, alcoholism, and addiction to painkillers, said that he was confident that he can remain an effective congressman and that he expected to face the consequences of his early morning accident in Washington last month without special treatment from the police and courts.

"I never asked for preferable treatment," said Kennedy, who appeared robust at a press conference at Brown University. "I expect at the end of the day to have made sure that I will have done the same thing, in terms of the charges, in terms of bookings, in terms of mug shots, fingerprints — whatever they might have me do, if I were an African-American in Anacostia and were picked up."

The 38-year-old Rhode Island congressman checked himself into the Mayo Clinic shortly after he crashed his Mustang convertible into a Capitol Hill barricade around 3 a.m. May 4, an accident he attributed to confusion caused by two prescription medicines, Ambien, a sleep aid, and Phenergan, for gastric distress. Kennedy said he thought he was showing up for a vote.

Although some Capitol Police officers said that they suspected Kennedy had been drinking and complained that their supervisors barred sobriety testing, the six-term congressman insisted Monday that he had not had any alcohol.

"Every bar in Washington was combed, through and through and through," Kennedy said. "There wasn't a person in that city that wasn't asked, did they see me out that night?"

The accident remains under investigation, said a Capitol Police spokeswoman who declined to give details Monday. Police have cited Kennedy for failure to stay in the proper lane, speeding and failure to give full attention to a vehicle.

During the appearance, Kennedy's tone ranged from confessional to jocular to defiant. He said he has attended two 12-step meetings in Washington since he left Mayo Clinic and would continue doing so on the "90 meetings in 90 days" approach that Alcoholics Anonymous favors.

Kennedy said he realized that he cannot trust his own perception of his illness, and must rely more on a small group of people who support him.

He said he has drawn strength from his brother, Teddy Jr., and from Rep. James M. Ramstad, Republican of Minnesota, who visited him four times at Mayo Clinic.