WASHINGTON -- Senate Democrats pushed their health-care legislation past its final procedural hurdle Wednesday afternoon, setting up a Christmas Eve vote on its passage. Democrats voted 60-39 to end a GOP filibuster and move to a final vote. All 58 Democrats and two independents hung together against unanimous Republican opposition. "The finish line is in sight, said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, the Montana Democrat who is a chief architect of the Senate bill. "Now we know with certainty that we have the will to cross it." The final vote is now set for 7 a.m. Thursday, not 8 a.m. as agreed to earlier in the week. It had originally been scheduled for 7 p.m., but Republicans agreed not to use all their debate time so they could leave town earlier for the holidays and avoid bad weather looming in the Midwest. After the health-bill vote, the Senate is also planning to vote on House-passed legislation increasing the government's borrowing authority. Health Overhaul in Congress View Interactive See key dates in the back and forth between Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate.[Read more...]