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The Senate is set to start its "vote-a-rama" on amendments to a budget reconciliation package this evening, with Democrats ripping Republicans for blocking committee hearings and pushing back against GOP talk of repealing healthcare reform.
The 20 hours of debate allowed under health care will run out just after 5 p.m. Aides said votes on scores of GOP amendments will then kick off and continue late into the night. It was unclear by presstime how long the Senate will continue voting.
Democrats hope to pass the bill by Friday, but that will depend on rulings by the Senate Parliamentarian Al Frumin, who Democrats hope will prevent Republicans from offering points of order. At some point, he might have to decide whether amendments have become the equivalent of a filibuster, which is barred under budget reconciliation, and thereby allow Democrats to proceed to a final vote with a majority vote.
While Democrats concede Republicans might succeed in forcing changes to the bill that would require the House to vote again on it, senior lawmakers, including Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, downplayed the consequences of that result. Baucus said the House could quickly pass the package if necessary.
Senate Majority Leader Reid mocked GOP amendments as obstructionist at a news conference.
"How serious could they by offering amendments ... on gay marriage? How serious could they be offering an amendment dealing with Viagra for rapists?" Reid asked.
He was referring to one amendment blocking gay marriage in the District of Columbia and another by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., that bars sex offenders from getting drugs like Viagra through healthcare exchanges.
"We'll take care of them," Reid said of the GOP amendments.
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Chairman Tom Harkin urged Democrats to resist every amendment during a call with Health Care for America Now.
"These amendments are all going to have nice sounding names and a lot of them are going to be tough to vote against God, motherhood and apple pie kind of amendments," Harkin said. "A vote for any amendment is a vote against health reform."
Harkin expected votes on four amendments starting later today and going late into the night.
"We could be here all night tonight and into tomorrow," he said.
Republicans so far have offered about a dozen amendments, and more are expected throughout the day.
Meanwhile, in an apparent protest against the reconciliation process, Senate Republicans for the second day blocked a daily unanimous consent agreement allowing Senate committees to meet for more than two hours, forcing several to cut short or cancel hearings and drawing Democratic denunciations.
"Let me get this straight: In retaliation for our efforts to have an up-or-down vote to improve healthcare reform, Republicans are blocking an Armed Services Committee hearing to discuss critical national security issues, among other committee meetings?" Reid spokesman Jim Manley said.
Two senators whose votes were question marks announced today they would vote for the reconciliation package. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said he would support the bill "despite its flaws."
Some thought his vote might be up in the air because the reconciliation bill nixes an amendment Nelson fought for to protect Florida seniors from Medicare Advantage cuts.
Nelson said the bill still takes care of the problem fairly by putting "companies on the hook for their performance. If they don't provide quality service, their reimbursements are cut."
He added he still has concerns that the overhaul does not force drug makers to offer low-income seniors a discount on their prescription drugs through Medicare, and he plans to continue to push the issue.
Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., also said he will support the reconciliation package. But other conservative Democrats are still expected to withhold support from the reconciliation process.
Top Senate Democrats said Republican calls to repeal the healthcare overhaul bill will backfire politically. Democrats repeatedly said the GOP efforts would strip Americans of new "rights" created by the bill.
"We are actually pursuing every Republican and want them to say for the record that they're for repeal," said Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chairman Robert Menendez of New Jersey. "If they want to run on taking away benefits ... then we are happy to battle them on that field."
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