Healthcare bill passes first Senate test

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Senator Dodd speaks with Senate Majority Leader Reid in Washington

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Historic health ... Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid D-Nev., speaks after the U.S. Senate voted to begin debate on legislation for a broad healthcare overhaul at Capitol Hill in Washington on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009, as Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., right, and Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa looks on. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Kennedy says RI ... FILE - Providence Bishop Thomas Tobin, is shown in his office in Providence, R.I, in this Aug. 21, 2008 file photo. Rep. Patrick Kennedy says Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Tobin has barred him from receiving communion because of his support of abortion rights. The Providence Journal reported on its Web site Sunday Nov. 22, 2009. Under church rules, Tobin can prevent Kennedy from receiving communion within his diocese, which covers Rhode Island. It's unclear whether bishops outside Rhode Island will take the same path. (AP Photo/Stew Milne, File)
Sizing up the Ke... FILE - In this Oct. 31, 2002 file photo, then-Maryland Democratic gubernatorial candidate Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend is embraced by her uncle, Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., at a campaign rally at Bowie State University in Bowie, Md. The late Sen. Edward Kennedy will be a tough act to follow, even for the Kennedys. Kennedy's brain-cancer death, coupled with the decision by family members not to seek the seat he held for nearly five decades, has prompted plenty of speculation that the family's long-running political dynasty is over. (AP Photo/Roberto Borea, File)
More Americans e... Travelers line up at Delta counter at Reagan National Airport on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009, in Washington. The number of Americans traveling away from home for Thanksgiving will be up only slightly this year than in 2008, according to a report from the AAA auto club.(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Fort Hood suspec... FILE - This 2000 file picture provided by the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences shows Nidal Malik Hasan when was a medical student at the F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. The Army psychiatrist charged with killing 13 people at Fort Hood will be confined until his military trial, initially staying in a hospital where he is recovering from gunshot wounds, his attorney said Saturday Nov. 21, 2009. (AP Photo/Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, file)
Biden says Senat... Vice President Joe Biden speaks to fellow Democrats at the Jefferson Jackson Dinner, Saturday Nov. 21, 2009 in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Steve Pope)
McCain: Tension ... Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin waves to the crowd during a book signing appearance for, "Going Rogue", at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in in Norwood, Ohio, on Nov. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Tom Uhlman)
Terror trials di... FILE - In this Nov. 17, 2009 file photo, members of the NYPD Counterterrorism unit talk outside the old federal courthouse at 40 Centre Street in New York. The federal courts and military tribunals that will prosecute suspected terrorists vary sharply in their independence, public stature and use of evidence. But the Obama administration has so far offered no clear-cut rationale for how it chooses which system will try a detainee. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
Levin: More e-ma... file - This Oct. 2008 file photo by Muhammad ud-Deen shows Imam Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen. The imam, who communicated with the Fort Hood shooting suspect Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, said he did not pressure Hasan to harm Americans, The Washington Post reported Monday, Nov 16, 2009. (AP Photo/Muhammad ud-Deen, File) MANDATORY CREDIT NO SALES
McCain links pol... U.S. Senator John McCain, R-Ariz., right, answers a question at a press availability after a session on Afghanistan at the Halifax International Security Forum in Halifax, Nova Scotia on Saturday Nov. 21, 2009. Rick Hillier, left, former chief of Canada's defence staff, listens. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Andrew Vaughan)
GOP: Health test... Senate Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell of Ky., center, shows copy of the Democratic health care reform bill during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Nov. 20, 2009. From left are, Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., McConnell, Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl of Ariz., Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
US to drop shoot... FILE - In this Jan. 6, 2009, file photo Blackwater Worldwide security guard Nick Slatten of Sparta, Tenn., right, and his attorney Thomas Connolly leave federal court in Washington after pleading not guilty to manslaughter charges. In court documents Friday, Nov. 20, 2009, prosecutors said they have asked that the case against Slatten, one of the Blackwater Worldwide contractors charged in a deadly 2007 Baghdad shooting, be dropped. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
Ethics committee... FILE - In this Nov. 3, 2009 file photo Sen. Roland Burris, D-Ill. is seen during a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington. On Friday, Nov. 20, 2009, the Senate ethics committee admonished Burris for making "inconsistent, misleading or incomplete" statements about the circumstances surrounding his appointment to the seat once held by Barack Obama. The committee didn't recommend any punishment. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
Moderate Dems pi... Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin of Ill., right, accompanied by Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., gestures during a health care reform news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Nov. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Business foes of... Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nev., center, is asked questions by reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009. Reid is considering a plan for higher payroll taxes on the upper-income earners to help finance health care legislation he intends to introduce in the Senate in the next several days, numerous Democratic officials said Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009. (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg)
Report: 20-somet... Chicago Cardinal Francis George, left, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, left, and Monsignor David Malloy, general secretary, address members during the group's fall meeting Monday, Nov. 16, 2009, Baltimore. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)
Obama arrives in... President Barack Obama walks down the stairs from Air Force One during his arrival at Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, China, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
GOP chairman end... FILE - In this July 14, 2009 file photo, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele speaks at the 100th annual NAACP Convention in New York. The Republican National Committee's health insurance plan covers elective abortions for its employees, an option Republicans strongly oppose in health overhaul legislation that Democrats are trying to push through Congress. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
US presses diplo... U.S.Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addresses a press conference after attending APEC ministerial meetings in Singapore, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009. Singapore will host 21 world leaders at the APEC summit later in the week. (AP Photo/Amarasinghe Gemunu)
AP-GfK Poll: A g... President Barack Obama speaks at a memorial service in Fort Hood, Texas on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009 for the victims of Thursday's shootings. (AP Photo/Pool, Jay Janner)
UN chief prods S... U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon attends a news conference on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009, in Washington. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)
Democrats say el... Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid gestures while meeting with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009, following the weekly caucus luncheons. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. is at right. (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg)
GOP sweep: Big g... Republican Governor-elect Bob McDonnell waves to the crowd at his victory party in Richmond, Va., Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009. Unofficial results showed McDonnell, a conservative and former state attorney general, with about 60 percent of the vote over Democrat R. Creigh Deeds. He will be the state's first Republican governor in eight years. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Tight NJ governo... Republican gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie addresses a gathering at a campaign stop Monday, Nov. 2, 2009, in Tinton Falls, N.J. Christie will face Gov. Jon S. Corzine and Independent candidate Chris Daggett in Tuesday's election. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
Romney: Obama ec... FILE - In this June 1, 2009 file photo, Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney gestures while delivering remarks at the Heritage Foundation in Washington. Former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney said Monday Nov. 2, 2009, the time has come to stop the economic stimulus program, contending that it has not worked as the Obama administration planned.(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, file)
Healthcare bill ... Senator Dodd speaks with Senate Majority Leader Reid in Washington
Obama asks for p... U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during a rally with troops at Osan Air Base
Honduras de fact... Honduras' de facto leader Roberto Micheletti speaks during a news conference in Tegucigalpa
Obama job approv... U.S. President Barack Obama tours the Badaling section of the Great Wall in Beijing
Senate sets hear... Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke speaks during the Economic Club of New York luncheon in New York
U.S. to tighten ... Defense Secretary Gates speaks in Maryland
Senate leader at... Senate Majority leader Reid speaks about healthcare reform legislation during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington
No Obama decisio... U.S. Army soldiers of A-BTRY 2/377 PFAR Task Force Steel operate a 105mm Howitzer during a fire mission at FOB Tillman
Nearly half of A... Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner listens to a statement by the chairman of the Joint Economic committee prior to testifying in Washington
West Virginia go... File photo of West Virginia Governor Manchin talking to reporters in Tallmansville, West Virginia
Pelosi calls Afg... Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi speaks in Capitol
India PM heads t... India's Prime Minister Singh poses with U.S. President Obama at a reception for the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh
John Kerry's dau... File photo of Alexandra Kerry at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston
Senators seek pr... An employee counts Renminbi banknotes at a Bank of China branch in Changzhi
Obama praises di... Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez listens to a question during an interview with Reuters in her house in Havana
Embattled NY gov... New York Governor Paterson and New Jersey Governor Corzine speak about economy at luncheon in New York
U.S. warns Iran ... Iran's FM Mottaki looks on as he attends official meeting with his Venezuelan counterpart Maduro in Tehran
Iran unrest deat... U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives at the Afghanistan's ministry of foreign affairs in Kabul for meeting
U.S. makes debut... Rapp, U.S. ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues, addresses a news conference in Kenya's capital Nairobi
Obama ready to h... U.S. President Barack Obama takes part in a welcoming ceremony at the Blue House in Seoul
U.S. food safety... Bundled spinach is pictured in a cooler at a wholesale farmer's market in Washington
Senate to press ... US President Obama speaks during the III Corps and Fort Hood Memorial Ceremony in Texas
Obama to end Asi... U.S. President Obama smiles as he walks past a South Korean Air Force general upon his arrival from Beijing at the U.S. airbase in Osan
McCain defends c... A man holds a copy of Sarah Palin's book 'Going Rouge' as he waits in line for her book signing at Barnes and Noble bookstore in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Democrats seek s... A customer shops for over-the-counter medicine at a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Rogers