Game On

Reid Gets 60 for Health-Care Vote

"Let's begin the debate," said Sen. Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana, as the Senate voted along party lines to move health-care legislation one step closer to fruition. The vote allows debate proceedings to start after Thanksgiving over a bill which would cost $848 billion and add 31 million Americans to the number of insured in the United States. The vote was a victory for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who was able to lure Democratic centrists Sen. Mary Landrieu, Sen. Blanche Lincoln, and Sen. Ben Nelson over to his side—if only for the moment. Republicans are digging in. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said, "The battle has just begun." Getting all the Democrats in line proved to be an expensive feat, as Landrieu's support came after she won at least $100 million in federal aid for her state.