we were still trying to reach out to some republicans to see if we could convince them. the yeas are 60. the yeas are 39. hr 35 as amended, the patient protection and affordable care act, is passed. an historic vote, a first for the senate on christmas eve since the late 1800s, bringing health care reform one step closer to reality. senate democrats pushed through their version of the bill against unanimous opposition from republicans. democrats took their victory lap and republicans warmed up for another round in the fight. this fight isn t over. in fact this fight is long from over. my colleagues and i will work to stop this bill from becoming law. we had passed a bill out of the house and we had passed a bill out of the senate. when the house passes a bill and the senate passes a bill, it goes to something called a conference committee. the conference committee resolves differences between the two bills.