Yesterday, Democrats took a historic vote that was certainly the right thing to do, but which was difficult politically for many of them. Now, it’s time for us to tell them – as Adam B writes on Daily Kos – that “when Democrats act courageously in the interests of our country, progressives will have their backs and support them.” So, please give generously to the members on this list, particularly to Virginia’s own Tom Perriello. In addition, please call Tom and say “thank you!” at (202) 225-4711. To thank Gerry Connolly, call (202) 225-1492; to thank Bobby Scott, call (202) 225-8351, and to thank Jim Moran, call (202) 225-4376.
I spent all weekend reading about nothing but the politics & process of health insurance reform. And that seems to be all the morning papers are focused on, too. I know journalists are neck deep in this stuff, but can’t they pull themselves out of the muck for one morning and explain what this health insurance reform bill means for real people?
What if you’re at the office coffee maker this morning & a coworker asks “Well, what does this thing DO anyway?” What should you say? Let’s try to cut through the clutter:
40 million people who don’t have health insurance right now will get it thanks to this bill — 24 million through tax credits & new state-based exchanges and 16 million who earn less than 133% of the poverty line through their new Medicaid eligibility.
You can keep your health insurance when you get sick. Let that sink in. Also, your insurer won’t be able to demand you get prior approval before you go to the emergency room.
The bill will cut the deficit by $1.3 trillion over the next 20 years and include major cost savings through common sense steps, like Medicare changes intended to deliver care more efficiently and at a lower price.
What about the political implications? Again, let’s focus not on things like reconciliation that no one will remember a month from now, but on long-term impacts:
Republicans gambled on being able to obstruct this bill, ignoring policy and focusing solely on dealing Democrats a defeat — and lost. Badly. As David Frum first pointed out and Josh Marshall echoed this morning, if voters ultimately like this bill, Democrats will get 100% of the credit, and Scott Brown’s election may look less like the tip of the iceberg than the continuance of the GOP’s Ice Age.
It’s hard to overstate how much opposition Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid were able to overcome — not just from the Party of No, but from reluctant members of their own party, the right wing noise machine, and millions upon millions of dollars spent by groups like the Chamber of Commerce trying to kill reform.
The lasting image of the Republican opposition will be John Boehner trembling with rage and someone shouting “baby killer” because anti-abortion language was insufficiently draconian, all while refusing to condemn Tea Partiers who hurled epithets at anyone different from them. Good luck selling all that to independent voters this fall.
There’s plenty more to do, especially in the Senate, which has lagged behind the House, particularly on clean energy & climate and financial reform bills. And there’s the public option and immigration reform and deficit reduction and more. But that’s for another day.
In a town where Democrats so regularly have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, this is a day to celebrate. You may live a long and full and happy life and never see a greater progressive victory. Enjoy it.
UPDATE: Matthew Yglesias argues that, with the passage of health care reform, “Barack Obama will go down in history as one of America’s finest presidents” and that “he’s reshaped the policy landscape in a way that no progressive politician has done in decades.” So far, in a little over a year, President Obama has helped keep America from Great Depression Part II and has achieved a victory on health care reform that had eluded presidents, Republican and Democratic, for decades. Not too shabby, and there’s a lot more to come – clean energy, climate change, immigration, education, financial reform. If President Obama gets all of those done, he’d seriously be in the ranks of the greatest, most transformative U.S. Presidents.
The House of Representatives has just taken the historic step of passing comprehensive health care reform. I want to congratulate President Barack Obama and the members of our Virginia Congressional delegation who voted for the bill: Democratic Congressmen Jim Moran, Bobby Scott, Gerry Connolly, and Tom Perriello. Their strength and leadership has helped to preserve a better tomorrow for all Virginians. Joining these gentlemen in voting “yea” as your Congressman from the 10th District is the only way I could feel prouder to be a Virginia Democrat. The bill passed tonight will extend affordable coverage, fix our broken healthcare system, and lay the groundwork for long-term cost cutting.
By extending affordable coverage to 30,000,000 uninsured Americans we will bump the number of Americans with health insurance to 95%. No longer will parents have to make the gut wrenching decision of choosing between healthcare for themselves and healthcare for their kids because coverage was just too expensive for the whole family. No longer will people be stuck in dead-end jobs due to pre-existing conditions. No longer will small businesses and individuals pay more than big companies for healthcare. No longer will insurance companies cancel health coverage after a severe illness occurs.
Health care reform will have a positive impact on small businesses. I have spoken with small business owners all over the 10th District who tell me that the passage of this bill means they will be able to extend coverage to their employees. For-profit health insurance companies will no longer stifle the small business owner who is trying to compete in today’s challenging marketplace.
Finally, this bill takes the important step of cutting overall heath care costs. The United States currently spends 16% of our GDP on healthcare. That is twice the percentage of many of our global competitors. This bill lays the groundwork for cutting costs.
It is important to remember that today’s passage is an important and long overdue step-but the job is not done. We will need to constantly monitor our health care system to make sure these reforms actually produce their desired affects. If they do not, I will tell you immediately. When I am elected to Congress, I will work with my neighbors and colleagues on continuing to improve our health care system. We must continue to cut costs and work on effective implementation.
Not too bad, 200,000 people are reported at today’s “March for America” in support of comprehensive immigration reform. In comparison, the Washington, DC Fire Department estimated 60,000-70,000 people attended Glenn Beck’s “9/12” March last year. In other words, it appears that 3 times as many people marched for comprehensive immigration reform today than for…well, whatever it was Glenn Beck told them to march for (actually, against) last year.
UPDATE: According to Change.org, “it’s just been reported that local Fox News is counting immigration reform supporters in the national mall at half a million!”
According to TPM, the schedule for today’s historic health care reform votes in the U.S. House of Representatives.
1 pm: House convenes
~5-6 pm: Vote on the “self-executing” rule
~8 pm: Vote on reconciliation bill
~9 pm: Vote on Senate bill
You can watch all this, plus whatever commotion in the galleries goes on before the police haul the protestors out of there, live on CSPAN.
In other news related to this debate: at least a few Republicans are denouncing the racist and homophobic slurs from anti-health-care-reform protestors yesterday; Rick Boucher reportedly “has decided his vote — but isn’t telling anyone what it is;” and Rep. Bart Stupak’s vote remains in question. Stay tuned…
UPDATE 7:08 pm: The Hill reports, “House Democrats have approved the rule for debate on the healthcare bill, moving them one step closer toward a final vote on the legislation. The rule was passed 224-206, with 28 Democrats voting against the measure. All Republicans cast “no” votes. A procedural vote on the rules passed by a similar count, 228-202.” Here is the roll call vote on the 224-206 vote, showing Glenn Nye and Rick Boucher voting “nay.” Not good.
UPDATE 8:23 pm: Rich Anthony tweets, “As we stand on the verge of passing historic Health Care Reform, I am proud of my fellow Democrats and I urge them to continue to improve the bill until we have true universal health care. Heath Care is a right of all Americans.”
UPDATE 9:24 pm: Former Bush 43 economic speechwriter David Frum says this is “Waterloo” for someone – the Republicans. “Conservatives and Republicans today suffered their most crushing legislative defeat since the 1960s. It’s hard to exaggerate the magnitude of the disaster.”
UPDATE 9:57 pm: While we’re waiting for history to be made, here’s Ted Kennedy on why “now is the time for health care reform.” This one’s for you, Teddy!
UPDATE 10:17 pm: John Boehner is unhinged. Great credit goes to Nancy Pelosi for her leadership on this issue. Shortly, the House votes and America becomes a better, stronger nation.
UPDATE 10:32 pm: House now voting on “Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendments to H.R. 3590 – Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.”
UPDATE 10:47 pm: H.R. 3590 just passed, 219-212 history is made! 🙂 [The roll call vote is here.
UPDATE 11:04 pm: House now voting on “Motion to Recommit H.R. 4872.”
UPDATE 11:08 pm: House rejects the Motion to Recommit H.R. 4872.
UPDATE 11:20 pm: Last but not least, the House will vote on “Final Passage of H.R. 4872 – Reconciliation Act of 2010.”
UPDATE Monday morning: Tom Perriello issues a statement that says, in part…(see after the “flip”)
For more than a century, our leaders have promised affordable universal healthcare to all Americans. Today we delivered that result in a way that our local hospitals say will improve quality and reduce costs for patients. Middle-class families will save $1,000 to $2,000 per year, and small business owners will see the cost of covering their workers drop. This bill will help our rural hospitals and clinics keep their doors open, improve health care for over 400,000 local residents, reduce the federal deficit, and provide coverage to 48,000 more individuals in the 5th district alone — more than the population of Danville.
At the end of the day, this decision for me came down to whether working families would see savings at the kitchen table. They will. I asked whether seniors will see the Medicare Trust Fund extended and the cost of prescription drugs drop. They will. As I have heard from our major hospitals that endorsed the bill, this legislation will improve health care and bring down costs for Virginians.
UPDATE: Jim Moran says…
Today we will define who we are – as Americans, and as Democrats or Republicans.
No Republican will vote for this bill because they say they want a smaller government, lower taxes, and less spending.
Democrats, on the other hand, believe that America’s government can be fiscally responsible and play an essential role in helping America achieve its true greatness.
We can see America is a lesser nation when we have to pay twice what other countries citizens’ pay for health care, but we live shorter and less healthy lives; when millions of America’s families lose their homes and life savings because a loved one gets seriously sick.
We know that we can reduce the suffering of our people, while lengthening and bettering their lives.
As with Social Security and Medicare and Civil Rights legislation, it is now time for another change. That’s why we chose public service and why we, as Democrats, will pass this bill today.
UPDATE: Gerry Connolly says…
Tonight, the Congress made history by sending to the President landmark legislation that will better the lives of tens of millions of American families and tens of thousands of families in Northern Virginia.
After more than a year’s work, we have fulfilled a promise I made to my constituents. This is not a new concept or a new process. For more than 100 years, since the presidency of Teddy Roosevelt, Democratic and Republican presidents and Congresses have attempted to enact meaningful health care reform in this country. Tonight, we succeeded.
The Passage of this reform legislation will stop insurance company abuses, rein in health care costs for families and small businesses, strengthen and guarantee the solvency of Medicare for our seniors, reduce the deficit by $1.2 trillion, retain access to doctors and health plans, and expand quality health care to more than 30 million Americans.
This legislation rivals the passage of the Social Security and Medicare laws in terms of how it will improve the lives of all Americans and for future generations. For 30 million Americans who lack health insurance and for the 14,000 Americans who lose their health insurance each day, this was a life-changing, and sometimes lifesaving, vote.
Tonight the U.S. House of Representatives put principle above politics. This was not an easy vote, but it was the right vote for the 11th Congressional District of Virginia and our nation.
Hopefully, today will be an historic day in American history. This afternoon, the House of Representatives will vote on health care reform legislation that is years in the making, and decades overdue. Assuming it passes, which right now looks likely, this country’s health care system will not change as much as many of us had hoped – for starters, it will remain a “healthcare for profit” system – but nonetheless will be a major step forward both in terms of quality and quantity of coverage. When President Obama signs this bill into law, as soon as tonight, it will mark not the end, but the middle of a long journey. In years to come, we will continue the journey towards high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans, health care that can’t be taken away if you lose your job or are told you have a “pre-existing condition” or whatever.
For now, though, we’re talking about an important step forward, one that many people thought was impossible. Fortunately, it looks like we proved them wrong. We also proved that the power of “yes we can” is greater – albeit just barely – than the power of “no we can’t.”
Yes we can: improve health care for all Americans.
Yesterday, Democrats took a historic vote that was certainly the right thing to do, but which was difficult politically for many of them. Now, it’s time for us to tell them – as Adam B writes on Daily Kos – that “when Democrats act courageously in the interests of our country, progressives will have their backs and support them.” So, please give generously to the members on this list, particularly to Virginia’s own Tom Perriello. In addition, please call Tom and say “thank you!” at (202) 225-4711. To thank Gerry Connolly, call (202) 225-1492; to thank Bobby Scott, call (202) 225-8351, and to thank Jim Moran, call (202) 225-4376. 
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