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Connecting the unconnected

Divided House Approves Expansion of Medicare
By ROBERT PEAR and ROBIN TONER

WASHINGTON, Nov. 22 - A divided House on Saturday approved the biggest expansion of Medicare since its creation, narrowly passing legislation that would help millions of elderly people buy prescription drugs while giving private health plans a huge new role in the program.

Under heavy pressure from President Bush and Republican Congressional leaders, lawmakers backed the legislation by a vote of 220 to 215, sending it to the Senate, which is expected to act in the next few days. The vote, which ordinarily takes fifteen minutes to record, was kept open for an extraordinary three hours as Republicans struggled to switch votes and obtain a majority.

The vote came after a day of fast-paced developments on Capitol Hill, as opponents of the energy bill in the Senate blocked a final vote on the measure. Congress also struggled Friday to finish work on spending bills. Resolving one major issue snarling the spending measures, lawmakers said they had abandoned an effort to block new White House rules on overtime pay.

Mr. Bush immediately plunged into the Congressional debate upon his return from Britain on Friday afternoon. In a brief exchange with reporters after stepping off his helicopter, Mr. Bush urged lawmakers to accept the Medicare plan and, he blamed a "minority of senators" for holding up the energy measure.

"For the sake of our national security and economic security, the Senate's got to pass this bill," Mr. Bush said of the energy initiative.