U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln said Saturday that she supports bringing the health care bill to the floor for debate, giving Democrats the 60 votes needed to prevent a GOP filibuster.

Speaking on the Senate floor hours before the 8 p.m. procedural vote, the Arkansas Democrat said she would give Majority Leader Harry Reid and President Obama the crucial vote required to move the Democrats’ contentious health care measure forward for debate.

“Although I don’t agree with everything in this bill, I believe it is important to begin this debate,” Lincoln said. She added that she still opposes the public option.

“This issue is very complex. There is no easy fix,” she added.

Reid says the 2,074-page bill would expand health insurance coverage to 31 million more Americans. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has estimated the cost of the plan at $849 billion over 10 years, though Republicans argue it’s much more.

A House bill was passed nearly two weeks ago.

Earlier Saturday, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-Louisiana, became the 59th lawmaker to side with Reid, who needed the support of all 58 Senate Democrats and independent Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Joe Lieberman of Connecticut to avoid a GOP filibuster.

All 40 Republicans are expected to oppose having a debate.

After the Saturday night vote, senators won’t reconvene until after Thanksgiving. Then there will be several weeks of amendments being introduced, impassioned debates on the Senate floor and news conferences.

If the Senate manages to pass a bill, a congressional conference committee would need to merge the House and Senate proposals into a consensus version requiring final approval from each chamber before moving to Obama’s desk to be signed into law.

(Source: CNN)