FOXNews.com: Senate advances budget bill, Reid poised to pull anti-ObamaCare measure

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Senate advances budget bill, Reid poised to pull anti-ObamaCare measure Sep 27th 2013, 18:20 Published September 27, 2013 FoxNews.com Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid narrowly won approval Friday to restore funding for ObamaCare in a must-pass budget bill, in a direct challenge to Republicans who are insisting the law be defunded -- or at least delayed -- as a condition for their approval.  The 54-44 vote fell along party lines. The back-and-forth played out at the close of a dramatic and chaotic week on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers are facing an end-of-the-month deadline to approve a spending bill or face a government shutdown.   The Senate voted earlier Friday to advance the bill, which in its original form would keep the government open while defunding ObamaCare. The Senate voted 79-19 to advance that bill. Several Republicans joined Democrats in voting "yes," ignoring appeals by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and other conservatives to stall the vote.  Many of those Republicans, though, are expected to vote "no" now that the ObamaCare funding has been restored -- a final vote is expected in a matter of minutes.  The first roll call had put Republicans in a difficult position, and prompted a very-public spate of infighting. Tea Party-aligned Republicans like Cruz, who staged a 21-hour anti-ObamaCare speech on the Senate floor this week, argued that Republicans should stop this bill in its tracks.  Though the bill technically would defund ObamaCare -- which Cruz and his colleagues want -- they argued that since Reid would restore the funding, they should vote "no."  A number of Republicans rejected this logic.  "I don't understand how I can otherwise vote on a matter that I want to see passed," Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said.  Though the test vote put Senate Republicans in a tricky spot, the bigger question is -- should the Senate complete its work on the bill -- what House Republicans will do next.  The House plans to convene on Saturday to take up the bill. If Republicans stand by their demand that ObamaCare be defunded, delayed or otherwise undermined, then the two chambers could easily be at an impasse by midnight on Monday.  That's when the current government spending bill expires; without a new bill, the government would partially shut down.  Tempers and rhetoric were heated on Friday as Democrats accused their Republican colleagues of playing with legislative fire.  "We are at one of the most dangerous points in our history right now -- every bit as dangerous as the break-up of the Union before the Civil War," said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa.  But Republicans are treating their push to defund ObamaCare with urgency, in part because a key part of the law is set to go into effect next week.  "It's about showing people we're going to do what we say we're going to," Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, told colleagues, "even when, especially when, it's inconvenient."  The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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