President Obama Heralds as 'Significant Progress' Unpopular Compromise Health Care Bill, Non-Binding Climate Change Accord

December 19, 2009 4:40 PM

President Obama came to the Diplomatic Reception Room Saturday afternoon to herald the unpopular compromise Senate health care reform bill and the watered-down non-binding international climate change accord as "significant progress" on resolving "the crushing cost of health care and our dangerous dependence on fossil fuels."

Responding to a deal hashed-out between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb. -- the last hold-out among all 60 senators who caucus with Democrats -- the president said "it now appears that the American people will have the vote they deserve on genuine reform that offers security to those who have health insurance and affordable options to those for do not."

You can read the text of the compromise HERE.

According to the Congressional Budget Office analysis, the legislation "would establish a mandate for most legal residents of the United States to obtain health insurance; set up insurance exchanges through which certain individuals and families could receive federal subsidies to substantially reduce the cost of purchasing that coverage; significantly expand eligibility for Medicaid; substantially reduce the growth of Medicare’s payment rates for most services...impose an excise tax on insurance plans with relatively high premiums; and make various other changes to the federal tax code, Medicare, Medicaid, and other programs."

The bill would "yield a net reduction in federal deficits of $132 billion" over the next decade, would raise taxes by $518.5 billion, and by 2019 would reduce by approximately 31 million the number of non-elderly Americans who are uninsured -- "leaving about 23 million nonelderly residents uninsured (about one-third of whom would be unauthorized immigrants)."

President Obama called the bill "a major step forward for the American people.  After a nearly century long struggle we are on the cusp of making health care reform a reality in the United States of America."