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Dems appear ready for floor debate vote

WASHINGTON, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Three holdout Democrats say they will vote for a procedural measure Saturday to allow floor debate to start in the U.S. Senate on a healthcare reform bill.

Lincoln announced on the Senate floor her support of cloture on the motion to proceed despite not agreeing with everything in the bill.

"Let me be perfectly clear: I am opposed to a new government-administered healthcare plan as a part of comprehensive health insurance reform and I will not vote for the proposal that has been introduced," she said.

"I have concluded that I believe it is more important that we begin this debate to improve our nation's healthcare system for all Americans, rather than simply drop the issue and walk. That's not what people sent us here to do."

Landrieu said earlier she "decided there are enough significant reforms and safeguards in this bill to move forward but much more work needs to be done."

"My vote today to move forward on this important debate should in no way be construed on how I might vote" on the final bill, she said.

Political observers say Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada needs at least 60 votes to block a promised Republican filibuster and open debate on the bill, the first step in what is expected to be a long and rocky road for approval of the Democratic Party-backed reforms to the nation's healthcare infrastructure.

A parade of Democratic senators made the case for a healthcare reform bill crafted by Reid ahead of the crucial procedural vote, The New York Times reported.

Under the measure, health benefits would be extended to roughly 31 million uninsured Americans at a cost of $848 billion over 10 years, analysts said.

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GOP: Senate health bill to raise premiums

WASHINGTON, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Democratic healthcare reform proposals will mean higher premiums and higher healthcare costs, a Republican U.S. senator said Saturday.

Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, speaking in the GOP's weekly radio and Internet address, said a healthcare reform package released this week by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., "will result in higher premiums and higher healthcare costs for Americans -- period."

"At a time when we are experiencing record double-digit unemployment, the Reid bill raises taxes by nearly half a trillion dollars," Crapo asserted. "A significant number of these provisions violate President Obama's promise to the American people, namely that lower- and middle-class Americans would not see a tax increase under his proposals."

Crapo also alleged the Democratic package would "increase taxes by hundreds of billions of dollars; cut Medicare for senior citizens by hundreds of billions of dollars; grow the federal government by over $2.4 trillion in new spending; and push the needy uninsured into a failing Medicaid system," among other ills.

"It's a real eye-opener!" Crapo said of the bill, which he encouraged all Americans to read.

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Sri Lanka to free war-displaced Tamils

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Sri Lanka announced Saturday it will release 130,000 war-displaced Tamils living in a heavily guarded camp near Vavuniya since May.

The Tamils will be free to leave Dec. 1, said Basil Rajapaksa, the head of the Tamil resettlement program and brother of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

As many as 300,000 Tamils were put in the squalid camp after the Sri Lankan military defeated Tamil rebels this year, CNN reported Saturday.

The United Nations for months had pressed for release of the Tamils, while the government had said it needed time to sort refugees from rebels hiding in the camp.

The government plans to resettle the refugees by the end of January, Rajapaksa said. Many of them are from the Wanni region, which has yet to be cleared of land mines from the war.

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Pope, Archbishop of Canterbury meet

VATICAN CIY, Vatican City, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Pope Benedict XVI and Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams held a "cordial" meeting Saturday, their first since the Vatican targeted disaffected Anglicans.

The Vatican released a statement saying the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England and Anglican Communion discussed areas of common work and of difference. The two engaged in

"cordial discussions," the statement said.

A recent Vatican initiative would allow congregations and even dioceses to become Catholic while keeping some of the Anglican liturgy and traditions. On Friday, Archbishop Vincent Nichols, the senior Catholic prelate in England, warned Anglicans should only make the move if they are prepared to accept papal authority and not just because of disagreements on the ordination of gay and women clergy.

The Vatican said the pope and Williams discussed "recent events" between their two churches and agreed to continue ecumenical discussions.

Sources in Rome told The Daily Telegraph the Vatican's respect for Williams has grown during his trip.

"He hasn't flinched from bringing up difficult subjects, and has been respectful without being deferential," the source said.