US healthcare bill passes crucial Senate test

Washington, December 21: A broad healthcare overhaul passed its first crucial test in the U.S. Senate on Monday, with 60 Democrats voting to put President Barack Obama’s top legislative priority on a path to passage by Christmas.

In a middle-of-the-night vote in a snowbound U.S. capital, Democrats unanimously backed the first in a series of three procedural motions to cut off debate and move the bill to a final vote by the night of Christmas Eve.

–Agencies