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WASHINGTON - A House committee has voted for fast-track rules for health care legislation, the first step toward a decisive floor vote on President Barack Obama's sweeping overhaul.

The 21-16 largely party-line vote in the House Budget Committee Monday was a procedural but necessary step toward getting the historic overhaul before the full House at the end of this week.

The health care legislation has not yet been released and the Budget Committee was voting on a shell bill. But the action set off a 48-hour countdown toward a vote by the House Rules Committee, the final step before the bill can be brought to the floor.