When the Senate voted for cloture on the manager's amendment on healthcare reform in the wee hours this morning, we cleared yet another hurdle to improving the health and financial security of millions of Americans. Although the abortion compromise and the demise of the public option have opened divisions among supporters of reform, we've never been this close to health reform, and we're still on the move even though the bill isn't perfect. There's simply too much at stake for the 30 million uninsured Americans and millions more who pay too much for insurance that delivers too little.

For me personally, the effort has been really inspiring and educational. FPL, Faithful America, and great partners such as PICO, Sojourners, Catholics United, Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, Faithful Reform in Healthcare, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, NETWORK and numerous denominational leaders have been pulling together on this for months now. I've only been working in this community for a little more than three years now, but this is by far the biggest, most innovative team effort in which I've ever taken part. Collectively, we've run radio and tv ads, met with Members of Congress and their staffs, generated many thousands of phone calls and emails to Congressional offices, held press conferences that have received local and national media attention, had a national call-in program with faith leaders and President Obama (which has been listened to online 300,000 times), appeared on cable tv numerous times, published op-eds, held vigils and worships services for reform, and worked with secular partners to keep reform moving past countless hurdles. There are more to come, so we won't rest just yet, but the finish line is in sight.