Post by zandyne on Nov 8, 2009 6:17:13 GMT -5
The House of Representatives passed legislation for the first time Saturday night that would provide health coverage to almost every American after nearly a century of false starts and un-kept campaign promises.
The final vote was 220-215. In all, 219 Democrats voted to approve the measure in a largely party-line vote, with 39 Democrats voting no. One Republican supported the bill, Rep. Joseph Cao (R-La.).
The bill has a steep cost – both in dollars, $1.2 trillion, and political capital – but Democrats hailed its passage as the next chapter in a governing legacy that produced Medicare and Social Security.
“Oh what a night,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said moments after the vote, after fielding a congratulatory call from President Barack Obama. “Without President Obama in the White House, this victory would not have been possible. He provided the vision and the momentum for us to get the job done for the American people.”
Obama has made health care reform his signature legislative priority — and he put his personal prestige on the line Saturday by traveling to the Capitol to rally Democrats, telling them to “answer the call of history” by passing the bill.
In a written statement after the vote, Obama hailed the House bill as one that would “make real the promise of quality affordable health care for the American people.”
But Republicans were equally sweeping in their condemnation of the bill. “This is perhaps the worst bill I have seen come to the floor in my 11 years in Congress,” said Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan.
The bill includes fundamental changes to the American health care system – creating a public health insurance option to compete with private insurers and for the first time, requiring employers to offer health insurance.
The path ahead remains shaky – for the bill and for many of the Democrats who voted to approve it. Party leaders need to mend the bruised feelings that will linger from this debate before they can address whatever legislation the Senate can produce.
And in the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid is still struggling to find 60 votes for Senate legislation and made clear he might not meet the White House’s Christmas deadline to pass a bill. Obama said in his statement, however, that he expects to sign a bill this year.
Fights over abortion, immigration and the size of the federal government exposed long-standing cultural and regional divides within the disparate Democratic caucus. A last-minute abortion fight left a particularly bitter taste in the mouth of Democratic women who spent the early part of their careers fighting for reproductive rights.
“People are furious,” said Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette.
After hours of negotiations with a group of abortion opponents, led by Indiana Rep. Brad Ellsworth, and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Pelosi made a final painful sacrifice to pick up crucial support, allowing a vote on an amendment sponsored by Ellsworth and Michigan Rep. Bart Stupak that would bar any insurance company participating in the exchange program from covering the procedure.
Stupak’s amendment passed with a vote of 240 -194-1. Republican Rep. John Shadegg of Arizona was the one present vote.
On abortion, the two sides engaged in a fevered debate on the House floor hours before the House approved the overarching health care bill, with DeGette calling the amendment “a wolf in sheep’s clothing” and Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Pelosi ally, saying, “It attempts an unprecedented overreach.”
But in the end, Democrats, like DeGette, subverted their political prerogatives and personal anger for a bigger goal – providing health care to 96 percent of the country.
“I don't believe any of us believe we can hold up what we've been fighting for ... and that's health care," said Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.), who left her own chamber when the panel granted Stupak his vote.
The bill would expand coverage to 36 million uninsured Americans through a mix of subsidies and incentives and mandates on individuals and businesses. Under the plan, individuals would have to secure insurance through their employers or through an insurance exchange established by the bill. Authors set aside subsidies to help lower- and middle-income Americans who don’t qualify for Medicaid pay for that insurance.
In an effort to lower premiums across the marketplace, House Democrats would create a government insurance option to compete with private insurers that would operate in the exchange. And businesses with more than $500,000 in annual payroll would be required to cover their employees or pay a penalty of as much as 8 percent of the combined salaries.
Republicans oppose almost every aspect of the bill, from the cost to the requirements on individuals and small businesses. They characterized the creation of a so-called public plan as a “government takeover of the health care system.” And members of the minority malign the president and his congressional allies for failing to make a genuine effort at bipartisanship.
Republican Leader John Boehner called the requirement that individuals purchase insure "the most unconsitutional thing I've seen in my life."
The GOP is also gambling that voters will reward them for their unified opposition to the package. For months, Republicans have been chomping at the bit to hang this vote around the necks of vulnerable Democrats. The National Republican Congressional Committee chastised those who were on the fence and tore into anyone who publicly supported it. Throughout the floor debate Saturday night, Republicans referred to the bill as “The Pelosi Plan,” in a bid to tar the legislation with her label.
The vote amounts to a big win for Pelosi and her leadership team. Her no. 2, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), spent much of the year patiently working the caucus, and a roster of supporting players ushered the bill through three committees of jurisdiction and two turbulent months of internal negotiations that produced the final bill.
Pelosi and her team got a big push Saturday morning from Obama, who steered clear of legislative details to focus on the historic impact of the vote, comparing the reform push to the establishment of Social Security and Medicare – and reminding Democrats that both were criticized by those who predicted they would eventually lead to the country's collapse.
Obama also reminded them that voting no on the health care bill wouldn’t insulate them from Republican attacks anyway.
“Remember why you got into politics in the first place and when you do, remember we can’t afford to let this moment pass,” Obama told Democrats during a 30-minute speech in the Cannon Caucus Room Saturday morning, according to the notes of one attendee. “When I’m in the Rose Garden signing a piece of legislation to give health care to all Americans, we’ll look back and say that was our finest moment.”
Congressional Democrats echoed their president all day Saturday by highlighting the historic context of this vote.
Michigan Rep. John Dingell, who presided over Medicare’s passage in 1965 and whose father first introduced universal health care in 1943, presided over debate again from the speaker’s chair. Pelosi and others invoked Ted Kennedy’s name repeatedly. And Democrats were quick to remind each other that Saturday was the third anniversary of the 2006 election, when they bounced Republicans from power for the first time in 12 years.
When Dingell closed, he hobbled from the podium back to his seat as his colleagues rose in applause. He then exchanged a hug with Pelosi and Hoyer came from his seat to shake his hand.
But the day belonged to Pelosi. The speaker spent months leaning on her members to iron out their issues. And the ever-practical former whip abandoned her own priorities when the votes weren’t there on abortion and a stronger version of government-sponsored insurance.
The speaker, in resplendent red, got a surprise Saturday when her grandkids made an unexpected visit to the Capitol as she scrambled to corral the final votes she needs for this historic bill. Her two grandsons ran through the hallways of her office as she called wavering Democrats, an aide said. At least one member could hear them in the background as Pelosi tried to secure that lawmaker’s vote.
“For nearly a century, leaders of every party and political philosophy – as far back as Teddy Roosevelt - have called for health care for the American people,” Pelosi said. “For generations, the American people have called for affordable, quality health care for their families. Today, the call will be answered.”
The final vote was 220-215. In all, 219 Democrats voted to approve the measure in a largely party-line vote, with 39 Democrats voting no. One Republican supported the bill, Rep. Joseph Cao (R-La.).
The bill has a steep cost – both in dollars, $1.2 trillion, and political capital – but Democrats hailed its passage as the next chapter in a governing legacy that produced Medicare and Social Security.
“Oh what a night,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said moments after the vote, after fielding a congratulatory call from President Barack Obama. “Without President Obama in the White House, this victory would not have been possible. He provided the vision and the momentum for us to get the job done for the American people.”
Obama has made health care reform his signature legislative priority — and he put his personal prestige on the line Saturday by traveling to the Capitol to rally Democrats, telling them to “answer the call of history” by passing the bill.
In a written statement after the vote, Obama hailed the House bill as one that would “make real the promise of quality affordable health care for the American people.”
But Republicans were equally sweeping in their condemnation of the bill. “This is perhaps the worst bill I have seen come to the floor in my 11 years in Congress,” said Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan.
The bill includes fundamental changes to the American health care system – creating a public health insurance option to compete with private insurers and for the first time, requiring employers to offer health insurance.
The path ahead remains shaky – for the bill and for many of the Democrats who voted to approve it. Party leaders need to mend the bruised feelings that will linger from this debate before they can address whatever legislation the Senate can produce.
And in the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid is still struggling to find 60 votes for Senate legislation and made clear he might not meet the White House’s Christmas deadline to pass a bill. Obama said in his statement, however, that he expects to sign a bill this year.
Fights over abortion, immigration and the size of the federal government exposed long-standing cultural and regional divides within the disparate Democratic caucus. A last-minute abortion fight left a particularly bitter taste in the mouth of Democratic women who spent the early part of their careers fighting for reproductive rights.
“People are furious,” said Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette.
After hours of negotiations with a group of abortion opponents, led by Indiana Rep. Brad Ellsworth, and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Pelosi made a final painful sacrifice to pick up crucial support, allowing a vote on an amendment sponsored by Ellsworth and Michigan Rep. Bart Stupak that would bar any insurance company participating in the exchange program from covering the procedure.
Stupak’s amendment passed with a vote of 240 -194-1. Republican Rep. John Shadegg of Arizona was the one present vote.
On abortion, the two sides engaged in a fevered debate on the House floor hours before the House approved the overarching health care bill, with DeGette calling the amendment “a wolf in sheep’s clothing” and Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Pelosi ally, saying, “It attempts an unprecedented overreach.”
But in the end, Democrats, like DeGette, subverted their political prerogatives and personal anger for a bigger goal – providing health care to 96 percent of the country.
“I don't believe any of us believe we can hold up what we've been fighting for ... and that's health care," said Rules Committee Chairwoman Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.), who left her own chamber when the panel granted Stupak his vote.
The bill would expand coverage to 36 million uninsured Americans through a mix of subsidies and incentives and mandates on individuals and businesses. Under the plan, individuals would have to secure insurance through their employers or through an insurance exchange established by the bill. Authors set aside subsidies to help lower- and middle-income Americans who don’t qualify for Medicaid pay for that insurance.
In an effort to lower premiums across the marketplace, House Democrats would create a government insurance option to compete with private insurers that would operate in the exchange. And businesses with more than $500,000 in annual payroll would be required to cover their employees or pay a penalty of as much as 8 percent of the combined salaries.
Republicans oppose almost every aspect of the bill, from the cost to the requirements on individuals and small businesses. They characterized the creation of a so-called public plan as a “government takeover of the health care system.” And members of the minority malign the president and his congressional allies for failing to make a genuine effort at bipartisanship.
Republican Leader John Boehner called the requirement that individuals purchase insure "the most unconsitutional thing I've seen in my life."
The GOP is also gambling that voters will reward them for their unified opposition to the package. For months, Republicans have been chomping at the bit to hang this vote around the necks of vulnerable Democrats. The National Republican Congressional Committee chastised those who were on the fence and tore into anyone who publicly supported it. Throughout the floor debate Saturday night, Republicans referred to the bill as “The Pelosi Plan,” in a bid to tar the legislation with her label.
The vote amounts to a big win for Pelosi and her leadership team. Her no. 2, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), spent much of the year patiently working the caucus, and a roster of supporting players ushered the bill through three committees of jurisdiction and two turbulent months of internal negotiations that produced the final bill.
Pelosi and her team got a big push Saturday morning from Obama, who steered clear of legislative details to focus on the historic impact of the vote, comparing the reform push to the establishment of Social Security and Medicare – and reminding Democrats that both were criticized by those who predicted they would eventually lead to the country's collapse.
Obama also reminded them that voting no on the health care bill wouldn’t insulate them from Republican attacks anyway.
“Remember why you got into politics in the first place and when you do, remember we can’t afford to let this moment pass,” Obama told Democrats during a 30-minute speech in the Cannon Caucus Room Saturday morning, according to the notes of one attendee. “When I’m in the Rose Garden signing a piece of legislation to give health care to all Americans, we’ll look back and say that was our finest moment.”
Congressional Democrats echoed their president all day Saturday by highlighting the historic context of this vote.
Michigan Rep. John Dingell, who presided over Medicare’s passage in 1965 and whose father first introduced universal health care in 1943, presided over debate again from the speaker’s chair. Pelosi and others invoked Ted Kennedy’s name repeatedly. And Democrats were quick to remind each other that Saturday was the third anniversary of the 2006 election, when they bounced Republicans from power for the first time in 12 years.
When Dingell closed, he hobbled from the podium back to his seat as his colleagues rose in applause. He then exchanged a hug with Pelosi and Hoyer came from his seat to shake his hand.
But the day belonged to Pelosi. The speaker spent months leaning on her members to iron out their issues. And the ever-practical former whip abandoned her own priorities when the votes weren’t there on abortion and a stronger version of government-sponsored insurance.
The speaker, in resplendent red, got a surprise Saturday when her grandkids made an unexpected visit to the Capitol as she scrambled to corral the final votes she needs for this historic bill. Her two grandsons ran through the hallways of her office as she called wavering Democrats, an aide said. At least one member could hear them in the background as Pelosi tried to secure that lawmaker’s vote.
“For nearly a century, leaders of every party and political philosophy – as far back as Teddy Roosevelt - have called for health care for the American people,” Pelosi said. “For generations, the American people have called for affordable, quality health care for their families. Today, the call will be answered.”
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With successful government programs like Cash for Clunkers, the DMV, Public Education, Medicare, Social Security and the Stimulus Packages that totally helped the country out of its economic crisis, what could go wrong with this universal health care?