RSS
Home
Health care reform bill, votes will be close
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
President Barack Obama awaits health care reform vote
In just a few hours, elected leaders will be voting on our health and future.
In his meeting today on Capital Hill, President Barack Obama urged the democrats of the U.S House of Representatives to pass House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi's health reform bill, informing them that this is a historic opportunity.
"This is our moment to live up to the trust that the American people have placed in us," President Obama said in a speech at the White House rose garden. "Even when it's hard. Especially when it's hard."
Democratic leaders wouldn't say how many votes they'd secured to pass the bill, but they projected confidence. "We will pass health care reform," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said after the meeting. They need 218 votes among the democrats to pass the bill.
Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, and Chairman of the Blue Dog Caucus, announced Friday that he has decided to vote against the House Democrats' health-care reform bill, saying he could not gain enough changes in it to win his support.
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., told reporters Friday that leaders did not yet have enough votes to pass the reform bill.
There will be a vote on an amendment by Rep. Bart Stupak (D., Mich.) which puts in place further restrictions intended to ban federal funding of abortions through an "exchange" created by the bill.
In order for the bill to pass, the vast majority of opponents of the Stupak amendment will have to vote for the final passage of the bill.
"I do not believe that this bill makes the system reforms needed to ensure financial stability for our families, our businesses and our federal treasury," Jim Matheson said.
Jan Schakowsky, called it an inspirational speech. President Obama even warned the democrats during his closed- door meeting saying, “Do any of you expect the Republicans not to go after you if you vote against this bill?”
On Thursday, the American Association for Retired Persons (AARP) and the American Medical Association announced their support for the House health reform bill.
Check out: Sundance Institute sends screenings to 8 US cities, Qtrax helping to cut online music piracy, Charles L. Beck Selected as the New LAPD Chief, Polanski's Bail Rejected, UCLA Stem Cell Scientists Awarded $49.2 Million, Cell Phone Radiation and Our Health, Los Angeles: The Big Winner for Ozone Pollution
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
