By John Whitesides
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Democrats moved closer on Monday to passing landmark healthcare legislation by Christmas after scoring what President Barack Obama called "a big victory for the American people" in its first major test.
In a middle-of-the-night vote in the snowbound U.S. capital, Democrats rounded up 60 votes to clear a crucial Republican procedural hurdle and put a sweeping overhaul of the healthcare system on a path for passage on Christmas Eve on Thursday.
"The United States Senate knocked down a filibuster aimed at blocking a final vote on healthcare reform and scored a big victory for the American people," Obama said.
"The Senate has moved us closer to reform that makes a tremendous difference for families, for seniors, for businesses, and for the country as a whole," Obama said.
The vote early on Monday was the first test of whether Democrats could stick together to secure the 60 votes needed to overcome unified Republican opposition and muscle healthcare reform through the Senate.
The healthcare overhaul, Obama's top legislative priority, faces two more procedural tests with a 60-vote threshold -- on Tuesday morning and Wednesday afternoon -- before a vote on final passage now scheduled for the night of Christmas Eve.
"We'll get this passed before Christmas and it will be one of the best Christmas presents this Congress has ever given the American people," Democratic Senator Tom Harkin said.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed its own version of healthcare legislation last month. After the Senate passes its bill, lawmakers will have to iron out differences between the competing versions in early January. Congress then would have to pass the measure again before sending it to Obama to sign.
The House bill has a government-run insurance option, which was dropped in the Senate bill to appease moderate Democrats. But the final measure is unlikely to stray far from the Senate version given the difficulties in winning approval there.
Republicans acknowledged they cannot stop the Senate bill, which would require most Americans to have insurance, extend coverage to 30 million uninsured and give subsidies to help some pay for it in a vast overhaul of the $2.5 trillion (1.55 trillion pounds) U.S. health sector.
'TURNED OUT PRETTY WELL'
"All in all, relative to the last version of health reform issued by the Senate, things have turned out pretty well for the health insurance industry," said Carl McDonald, an analyst at Oppenheimer.
Healthcare shares rose on Monday as it became clear the bill was headed to final passage. The Senate version does not include a new government-run insurance program that private health insurers oppose and it delays a $6.7 billion industry tax one year to 2011.
Democrats were assured of victory on Saturday after their last holdout, Senator Ben Nelson, agreed to a compromise aimed at ensuring that federal funds would not be used to pay for abortions and sending extra healthcare money to his home state of Nebraska.
Nelson said he will oppose the combined bill if it changes his abortion deal or reinstates the government-run insurance option, and other Democrats voiced similar concerns.
The loss of even one Democrat would sink the plan in the 100-member Senate. Democrats control 60 votes, the exact number needed to overcome united Republican opposition.
The bitter healthcare debate has consumed the U.S. Congress for months and raised the stakes for Obama, with his political standing and legislative agenda on the line less than a year into his first term.
In addition to requiring most Americans to have health insurance, the Senate bill would set up exchanges in which those who are not covered by work-based policies could choose which plans to buy.
It would also halt industry practices like refusing insurance to people with pre-existing medical conditions.
Obama has asked the Senate to finish by the end of the year 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.
The vote early on Monday formally cut off debate on an amendment offered on Saturday by Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid that made the final changes needed to win the support of all 60 Democrats.
Democrats hope Republicans will surrender once Democrats prevail in the three procedural test votes that require a 60-vote threshold.
If Republicans insist on using all of their allotted time under Senate rules, they can delay the final vote until late on Christmas Eve. That vote requires only a simple majority.
"We are not going to give up after this vote, believe me," Republican Senator John McCain said.
(Additional reporting by Alister Bull; Editing by Will Dunham)
