When Congress returns to work today after its long August recess, at least one of its members will be a especially happy to be back in the office.

Senator Tim Johnson will be in the Senate today for the first time in nine months. South Dakota's senior senator is back, with some physical challenges but no loss of enthusiasm, after months of hospitalization and at-home recovery following a congenital arteriovenous malformation that burst on Dec. 13, 2006, causing bleeding in his brain.

Today at 8:30 a.m. (MDT), Senator John Thune and Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, will open wide the doors of Johnson's office in the Hart Senate Building as the senator and his wife, Barbara, arrive.

The welcome-back and well wishes will continue at a Democratic Caucus luncheon and then on the floor of the Senate later this afternoon, where Johnson is expected to address the Senate and thank his fellow senators for their support.

He'll also talk policy with his legislative staff, discuss agriculture, education and energy priorities for South Dakota with Thune and Herseth Sandlin, answer questions from South Dakota's media, and maybe get in a vote or two on the Senate floor.

It's going to be a full day at the office.

South Dakotans are thrilled to have Johnson back at work, both because it means he's physically healthy enough to be there and because the state needs his expertise and perspective in what promises to be a busy legislative session.

Always known as a policy wonk with a good grasp of the fine print, Johnson will be back in his seat on the Senate Appropriations Committee. That's good for South Dakota, as funding for a military construction/VA spending bill that includes monies for Ellsworth Air Force Base is expected to move soon. He will also be essential to shepherding bills that fund the Lewis & Clark and Mni Wiconi water systems through the full Senate.

Soon, the Senate is expected to deal with the 2007 Farm Bill, an energy bill and the expanded state and federal Children's Health Insurance Program.

As if those domestic issues weren't enough, there's the mid-September report on the war in Iraq from General Petraeus, too.

The Senate has a lot on its plate this month.

It's good to know that South Dakota will have two voices, and two votes, at the table.