this lame duck session of congress. senate majority leader harry reid scheduled a vote to end senate debate on this finish for tomorrow. that means 60 votes for passage, which appears to be a given. the uncertainty, however, is the ratification vote, which needs 67 votes, and that means votes from at least nine republicans. you can count against senate minority leader mitch mcconnell being one of the nine republican votes as you heard. the white house says it wasn t expecting mcconnell s vote, however. democrats still believe they can get these 67 votes for ratification but it won t be easy. in addition to work on the new start treaty, the senate will be taking action on the health care legislation for 9/11 first responders, as well as action on the continuing resolution. i know that s washington speak to keep the government in operation until march. back to you, savannah. but we re all familiar with it now. nbc news deputy political