Over two years, 500 amendments and hours of deliberation later, the Senate Finance Committee has passed the fifth and last of the health care bills that will be brought to the House and Senate floors. The committee voted 14-9, with Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine joining the Democrats to pass the legislation.

The vote came shortly after the release of a report by America's Health Insurance Plans - which has been widely discredited (even the report's own researchers, PriceWaterhouseCooper, have backed away from it) as a flawed and deceptive attempt at blocking reform. Not surprisingly, AHIP's study was cheered on by several Republicans in today's hearing. At least it's more honest than touting the so-called "independent" and "non-partisan" findings of the Lewin Group, which is owned by an insurance company.

Sen. Olympia Snowe crossed the aisle for today's vote, joining Democratic colleagues in voting to pass the final bill out of committee. Sen. Snowe's vote is a clear victory for the Change That Works campaign in Maine, which spent nine months mobilizing Mainers in support of health care reform. While we still have a ways to go, it's a good time to thank the people in Maine who wrote letters, made calls and met with Sen. Snowe and her staff. Thanks to your efforts, she stood up to strong opposition within her party and represented the voters of her state.