US senate to vote on healthcare bill
Published:Tuesday | December 22, 2009 | 1:22 PM
US senators are preparing for the second of three procedural votes on a major healthcare reform bill.
This follows yesterday’s vote in the Senate to end debate on the bill, putting the legislation on course to face a final vote on Christmas Eve.
President Barack Obama has hailed the late-night vote, which followed a long debate, as a big victory for the American people.
He has set health reform as a key domestic objective for his first term.
If approved, the legislation, which aims to cover 31 million uninsured Americans, could lead to the biggest change in US healthcare in decades.
Yesterday’s vote, in which senators split 60 to 40 along party lines, was a crucial victory for the President.