The US Senate voted very early this morning to end debate on the controversial healthcare package proposals in a move that CNN hailed as a “major victory” for Democrats. The 60 to 40 “dead-of-night procedural vote”, which took place shortly after 1 a.m. in Washington, DC, shoots down an attempted Republican filibuster, The New York Times reported, and keeps the Senate on track to passing the sweeping, $871 billion healthcare reform bill before Christmas Eve.

Capitol Hill, Washington, DC. Photo credit: Will Palmer

If the bill is passed, it will have to be reconciled with the roughly $1 trillion healthcare reform bill the House of Representatives passed in November and there are significant differences between the two bills. One major difference – the issue that much of the controversy over healthcare reform in the US has centered on – is that the House healthcare bill contains a government-run healthcare plan, the so-called “public option”, while the Senate bill does not. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said that the House “would not just accept the Senate bill,” The New York Times reported.

The healthcare bill has been an incredibly divisive issue in both the Senate and the House; The New York Times reported that Democrats accuse Republicans of throwing up every possible procedural roadblock to the bill’s progress, while Republicans charge that Democrats “recklessly rushing” to adopt the complex, 2,700-page document that would affect every American and would drastically effect the national economy.

The bill is targeted at the 30 million Americans who are living without healthcare; much like the current state-based universal healthcare model in Massachusetts, the bill would require every American to get health insurance or face financial penalties.

The vote also, according to CNN, leaves President Barack Obama “on the cusp of claiming victory on his top domestic priority.” If passed, it will be the most sweeping healthcare reform the nation has seen since the building of Medicare and Medicaid more than 40 years ago.

The Senate will resume debate in Washington today at 12 p.m.