"The countdown is on. Excluding the Veterans Day and Thanksgiving recesses," the New York Times notes "lawmakers have just about four-and-a-half weeks to line up 60 votes in favor of the Senate's plan to overhaul the health care system, hash out the differences -- and there are plenty -- between the two chambers' versions and get a bill to President Obama's desk by the end of the year."
The first step: Senate Democrats hope to get a CBO score for the merged Senate bill later this week.
Meanwhile, the New York Times reports the White House, "growing concerned that the Congressional timetable for passing a health care overhaul could slip into next year, is stepping up pressure on the Senate for quick action."