The U.S. Senate voted 84-11 to invoke cloture to proceed with debate on FDA regulation of tobacco.
It was a strong repudiation to Sens. Richard Burr and Kay Hagan's efforts to stop the bill, Barb Barrett reports.
The Senate will begin 30 hours of debate on the bill. Burr will spend most of his time on the floor, arguing against the legislation.
Hagan and Burr's hopes now rest in trying to defeat a second cloture vote later this week to end debate.
Update: The following Republican senators also voted against cloture: Kit Bond, Missouri; Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts, Kansas; Jim Bunning and Mitch McConnell, Kentucky; Tom Coburn and James Inhofe, Oklahoma; Jim DeMint, South Carolina; and Orrin Hatch, Utah.
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