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US President Barack Obama - Source: Reuters -
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A sweeping healthcare overhaul narrowly cleared its first hurdle
in the US Senate on Saturday, with Democrats casting 60 party-line
votes to open debate on the biggest healthcare changes in
decades.
In the first Senate test for President Barack Obama's top domestic
priority, Democrats unanimously backed a procedural motion to open
debate over the opposition of 39 Republicans. Republican George
Voinovich did not vote.
Democrats needed 60 votes to approve the motion in the 100-member
Senate and had no margin for error - they control exactly 60
votes.
The Democratic victory was assured earlier in the day when the
party's last two holdouts, Blanche Lincoln and Mary Landrieu, said
they would support the motion but would not commit to backing the
final bill without changes.
"I believe that it is more important that we begin this debate to
improve our nation's healthcare system for all Americans rather
than just simply drop the issue and walk away," Lincoln said in a
speech hours before the vote.
The debate will begin on November 30 and is expected to last at
least three weeks.
The House of Representatives has passed its own version, and
differences in the two would have to be reconciled in January
before Obama could sign a final measure.
The healthcare reform bill would expand coverage to millions of
uninsured and bar insurance practices like denying coverage to
those with pre-existing conditions.
The legislation would spark the biggest changes in the $2.5
trillion healthcare system - which accounts for one-sixth of the US
economy - since the 1965 creation of the Medicare government health
insurance plan for the elderly.
The stakes are high for Obama, with his political standing and
legislative agenda on the line less than a year into his first
term.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama was gratified by
the vote and "looks forward to a thorough and productive
debate."
During a formal roll call, senators sat at their desks and called
out their votes as their names were read.
Visitors in the galleries cheered when the final tally was
announced.
The healthcare overhaul still faces significant challenges, with
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid trying to accommodate competing
views in his party on issues like abortion, a government-run
insurance plan and efforts to rein in costs.
Republicans also have vowed to delay or block the bill, which they
condemned as a costly government intrusion in the private sector
that would raise insurance premiums, reduce consumer choices and
raise taxes.
Debate under way
"The healthcare debate is now officially under way on this 2,074
page, multi-trillion-dollar healthcare experiment," Republican
Senate leader Mitch McConnell said.
He said the final Democratic holdouts had to "twist themselves into
a pretzel" to justify voting to move ahead on the bill.
Almost all Senate bills that clear the first hurdle eventually
pass, he said.
"The easiest time to change this bill, if you were serious about
it, is right now," McConnell told reporters.
"The time of maximum leverage would have been before tonight's
vote."
Landrieu and Lincoln, moderates from conservative Southern states
where the overhaul is unpopular, said they simply wanted the debate
to begin so they could work for more changes.
Lincoln, who faces a tough re-election battle next year, said she
opposes the government-run insurance option included in the bill
and will not vote for final passage if it remains.
"I'm not thinking about my re-election, the legacy of a president
or whether Democrats or Republicans are going to be able to claim
victory," she said.
Landrieu said she wanted to change the bill to make healthcare more
affordable, ease the burden on small businesses and rein in the
growth of costs.
"There are enough significant reforms and safeguards in this bill
to move forward, but much more work needs to be done before I can
support this effort," Landrieu said.
Landrieu and Lincoln had been showered with attention by Reid and
Obama administration officials as they pondered their vote.
In her Senate floor speech, Landrieu defended her successful effort
to win more funds in the bill for Medicaid, the government health
program for the poor, for her home state of Louisiana.
"I am proud to have fought for it," she said. "But that is not the
reason I am moving to debate."
The Senate bill would require virtually all Americans to buy
insurance and would set up exchanges where they could choose among
various options.
It would offer subsidies to help low-income workers pay for the
coverage.
Republicans have criticized its tax increases to help pay for the
expanded insurance coverage. It would also raise the Medicare
payroll tax on high-income workers, which is used to finance
Medicare, and impose a tax on high-cost "Cadillac" insurance
plans.
