GOP Vows Fight As White House Defends Health Bill

The White House and its Senate allies defended a final push for historic health care legislation Sunday as outflanked Republicans pledged a fight to the end. A dead-of-night vote neared in a frenzy one GOP lawmaker said lacked "legislative sanity."

Republican Sen. John McCain, President Obama's opponent in last year's election, said there was probably nothing to keep Democrats from passing the bill by Christmas Eve.

Still, he said, the GOP would not relent in the battle for public opinion.

"We'll fight the good fight. We will fight until the last vote," said McCain (R-AZ). He said the political climate under Obama has become more partisan than ever.

To keep the process moving under Senate rules, Democrats will need to show 60 votes — now secured, with the locked-in support of Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson — in a series of votes.

The next one is set for 1 a.m. ET Monday.

"I think the American people are entitled to a vote," said David Axelrod, a senior adviser to President Obama, as the Senate bill moved toward passage on Christmas Eve.

At its core, the legislation would create a new insurance exchange where consumers could shop for affordable coverage that complies with new federal guidelines. Most Americans would be required to purchase insurance, with subsidies available to help defray the cost. New protections would be offered to ensure people don't lose coverage because of health problems.

Yet major differences between the Senate version and the bill the House already passed, ranging from abortion restrictions to the new taxes that would help pay for the legislation. The White House refused to weigh in on that, focusing on the landmark action in the Senate.

Signs of difficult House-Senate negotiations ahead were already becoming apparent.

The House must stick close to the Senate's version of health care overhaul or risk losing the 60-vote coalition needed to overcome Republican opposition in the Senate, said Kent Conrad (D-ND), the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, on Sunday.

To get Nelson's deciding vote, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) agreed to a series of concessions on abortion and other issues. McCain said Obama and Democratic lawmakers chose a partisan path that left them "having to purchase the last vote or two."

Democrats shot back that the health care debate has unfolded, exhaustively, for months.

The Senate bill has not drawn support from a single Republican.

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