On Capitol Hill, Senate Democrats have moved a step closer to passing a major healthcare bill. Early this morning the Senate voted 60 to 40 to cut off a Republican filibuster. The votes put the legislation on pace for final passage later this week. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid accused Republicans of trying to stall the vote.

Sen. Harry Reid: “This is not about partisanship or about procedure, and everyone knows we’re here at one o’clock in the morning because of my friends on the other side of the aisle. For them to say with a straight face, and I noticed some of them didn’t have that straight face, that we’re here because of us is without any foundation whatsoever, and everyone knows that.”

The early morning vote was the first test of whether Democrats could secure the sixty votes needed to overcome unified Republican opposition. Democrats were assured of victory on Saturday after their last holdout, Senator Ben Nelson, agreed to a compromise ensuring federal funds would not be used to pay for abortions. Unlike the House healthcare bill, the Senate legislation does not call for the creation of a government-run public insurance option.