WASHINGTON (AP) – Victory within reach, President Barack Obama rallied House Democrats on Saturday for a final health care push, and party leaders appeared confident they had overcome a flare-up over abortion funding restrictions in the legislation.
Building on Democrats’ momentum, House leaders decided on a straight up-or-down vote on Obama’s top priority and the defining issue of his first year in office, backing off a much-challenged plan to vote on the bill indirectly. With the vote scheduled for Sunday, the battle tilted in Obama’s direction as more Democrats disclosed how they would vote.
Congressman Chris Carney, D-Dimock Township, stated in a news release that he will support the health insurance reform bill when Congress votes on Sunday.
“I am voting for this legislation because all Americans should have the same insurance choices enjoyed by members of Congress and their families. If it’s good enough for members of Congress, it is good enough for the people they represent,” Carney stated.
The president decided to make a final personal appeal with a Saturday afternoon visit to the Capitol. He spoke after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., reassured House rank and file that the Senate will complete the legislation. More than 50 Democratic senators have signed a pledge to do, Reid’s spokesman said.
“Is this the single most important step that we have taken on health care since Medicare?” Obama asked lawmakers. “Absolutely.”
The legislation, affecting virtually every American and more than a year in the making, would extend coverage to an estimated 32 million uninsured, bar insurers from denying coverage on the basis of existing medical conditions and cut federal deficits by an estimated $138 billion over a decade.
Congressional analysts estimate the cost of the two bills combined would be $940 billion over a decade.
Republicans, unanimous in opposition to the bill, complained anew about its cost and reach.
One option on abortion emerged Saturday — an executive order from Obama — that would reflect long-standing law barring federal aid for abortions except for cases of rape, incest or when the mother’s life is in danger. Party leaders saw that approach as crucial to winning the support of anti-abortion Democrats for the health care bill.
“We’ve been through a long, difficult debate over health care. I’ve listened to my constituents through 14 town halls and thousands of phone calls, personal visits and letters. I’ve talked with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. And I’ve heard from health care experts, economists, and the Congressional Budget Office, which estimates the cost of the program,” Carney stated.
Carney continued: “Throughout this debate I have focused on several overarching priorities and I believe, after careful review, that this bill addresses them. This measure denies insurers the ability to reject coverage to people with so-called ‘pre-existing conditions,’ a common sense provision that, as a cancer survivor, I feel particularly strongly about. Covering maternity care will no longer be optional for insurers; pregnant women and their unborn children will be guaranteed coverage when they need it most. And the arbitrary and exorbitant insurance premium increases that have hamstrung small businesses and working families will no longer be possible.”
“This bill takes critical steps toward providing quality, affordable health care while reducing the cost burden on our hardworking families and small businesses. It does so in a fiscally responsible manner, reducing the deficit by an estimated $138 billion over the first 10 years and an additional $1.2 trillion in the following decade,” Carney stated.
Carney added, “This bill also continues the longstanding ban on public funding for abortion, a factor that weighed heavily on my mind in recent days.”
The House Rules Committee worked through the day Saturday to set the terms for the vote. Democratic leaders dropped plans to “deem and pass” the bill with a vote simply on the rule, a procedure used by both parties but one that has been widely criticized for legislation as massive as health care overhaul.
The vote count seemed to be breaking in Obama’s favor.
Be the first to comment