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Democrats in the U.S. Senate have united to push health care reform legislation past a key procedural hurdle, paving the way for full-scale debate starting later this month.
President Barack Obama has made passing sweeping health care reform his top domestic priority.
It was an unusual Saturday night showdown in the U.S. Senate on whether a health care reform bill pushed by Democrats should proceed to the floor for full debate. Since all 40 Republicans were on record as opposing the bill, the Democrats did not have a single vote to spare, needing every Democrat and Independent who normally votes with Democrats to cast their votes for it, or else have the vote dead before it ever reached the floor.
