Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) instructed colleagues Monday to “definitely— prepare for weekend votes this month as the chamber races to pass sweeping health care reform legislation before the end of the year. “We’ll do this work transparently and we’ll do this work tirelessly,— Reid said, gaveling the chamber into session following the weeklong Thanksgiving Day recess. “That may mean debating and voting late at night. It definitely means the next weekends — plural — we’ll be working.—Reid, who faces a potentially difficult re-election next year, noted that he will have to postpone and even cancel events back in his home state to work on the health care bill, and he warned that his colleagues will likely have to do the same.“I know people have things they want to do back in their states, and rightfully so,— Reid said. “But nothing could be more important than this.—The Senate, which voted on Nov. 21 to begin debate on a $848 billion health care bill, will begin debating amendments to the package this week. A host of other legislative priorities remain on the chamber’s to-do list, including passing a handful of appropriations bills and extending provisions in the USA PATRIOT Act.