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US Democrats secure 60th vote on health bill
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-12-20 09:02
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 Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) (R) wipes his eyes as he and Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) (L) address senate health care legislation at the US Capitol in Washington December 19, 2009. [Agencies] |
WASHINGTON: US Senate Democrats reached a compromise on Saturday with a holdout senator that secured the 60 votes they need to pass a broad healthcare overhaul sought by President Barack Obama.
A marathon negotiating session of nearly 13 hours on Friday clinched an agreement with Senator Ben Nelson ensuring federal funds would not be used to pay for abortions and providing extra Medicaid funds for his home state of Nebraska.
"Today is a major step forward for the American people," Obama told reporters at the White House. "After a nearly century-long struggle we are on the cusp of making healthcare reform a reality in the United States of America."
Nelson's backing should secure victory for Democrats in the first of a series of crucial procedural votes scheduled to begin at 1 a.m. (0600 GMT) on Monday and possibly conclude with final passage on Christmas Eve.
"It seems that way," Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said when asked if Democrats had the 60 votes they need to muscle the bill through the Senate against unified Republican opposition.
If the Senate approves the bill, it must be melded with a version passed on Nov. 7 by the House of Representatives and both chambers must approve the new measure again before sending it to Obama for his signature.
Reid introduced a 383-page amendment on Saturday making changes aimed at securing the last votes, including the abortion compromise and the dropping of a government-run public insurance option to appease moderates like independent Joe Lieberman.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office gave the revised bill a rosy review, saying it would cost $871 billion over 10 years and cut the federal deficit by $132 billion in the same period -- meeting Obama's cost target and goal of deficit reduction.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who has vowed to use every tool possible to delay the bill, forced the public reading of Reid's amendment. That took much of the day on Saturday.
The moves came during a rare Saturday session of the Senate as a huge snowstorm slammed the US capital, shutting down traffic.
'Middle of the Night'
"If they were proud of the bill they wouldn't be doing it this way," McConnell told reporters. "They wouldn't be jamming it through in the middle of the night on the last weekend before Christmas."
Obama has asked the Senate to finish by year's end to prevent the issue from spilling into the campaign for November 2010 congressional elections. Opinion polls show the bill losing public support, with majorities now opposed to it.
