Medicare Drug Bill Passes; Dems Preparing New Legislation.

With today's 54-44 U.S. Senate vote on passage of the Medicare prescription drug bill barely behind them, Democratic critics are already preparing new legislation aimed at fixing problems that they say are created by the 10-year $395 billion package. Meanwhile, Republican backers of the bill and their Democratic allies claimed victory, as the drug legislation cleared its final hurdle before heading to the president's desk. Nine conservative Republicans crossed party lines to vote against the bill, while 11 moderate Democrats, along with Senator James Jeffords, supported it. Democrats plan early next year to introduce legislation removing a provision they say bars the U.S. government from using its purchasing power to negotiate lower drug prices.