Health bill clears second Senate hurdle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Democrats cleared the second of three 60-vote hurdles on President Barack Obama''s healthcare overhaul on Tuesday, moving its version of the landmark legislation one step closer to passage before Christmas.

For a second straight day, Democrats mustered 60 party-line votes to cut off debate on the healthcare bill and move toward Senate passage over unanimous Republican opposition.

The last 60-vote hurdle will come on Wednesday, with a vote to approve the bill -- which requires a simple majority in the 100-seat chamber -- scheduled for 8 a.m. EST on Christmas Eve on Thursday.

"The finish line is in sight," Democratic Senator Max Baucus, chairman of the Finance Committee, told reporters. "Now we know with certainty we have the will to cross it."

The Senate also passed Democratic leader Harry Reid''s 383-page amendment making final changes to the measure, including striking a government-run insurance plan and tightening restrictions on using federal funds for abortions.

Those changes helped secure the 60th vote for Democrats on Obama''s top legislative priority, which would extend health coverage to more than 30 million uninsured and halt industry practices like refusing insurance to people with pre-existing medical conditions.

The healthcare fight has consumed Congress for months, sparking intense political brawling and resulting in a grueling schedule this week in which senators were summoned for votes after midnight and at daybreak.

"There is a lot of tension in the Senate," Reid said after the votes. "Let''s just all try to get along. Let''s try to work through this."

Once passed, the Senate bill must be melded with a version passed by the House of Representatives on November 7 in what promises to be difficult negotiations. Both chambers must approve it again before sending it to Obama for his signature.

TOUGH TALKS

Democrats hope to complete House-Senate negotiations and send the bill to Obama before his State of the Union message in late January, although deadlines for finishing the healthcare package have been missed repeatedly.

But the negotiations face looming clashes on issues like the government-run plan, which is in the House bill but not the Senate, abortion, and competing approaches on how to pay for the changes.