Here is what Speaker Pelosi just said !  (Gretawire)

Obama Executive Order on Abortion Funding

The White House just released this statement:

STATEMENT FROM COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR DAN PFEIFFER

Bart Stupak Schedules Yet Another Press Conference: 4PM ET (FDL) - By: David Dayen Sunday March 21, 2010 12:37 pm

UPDATE: Looks like there’s a deal. That would wrap this up. Stay tuned.

Bart Stupak has scheduled his third press conference in less than a day, presumably to announce the state of play on health care and the abortion language. The first two press events were cancelled, so that’s always a possibility here.

Last Updated: 2:25 pm ET, 3/21/09

Source: FireDogLake - 4pm ET

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Done

OK, nothing is sure in this world. Intrade is still giving Obamacare a 2.2% chance of failing, and I suppose Bart Stupak might have a Bwahahaha moment on the House floor. But it looks as if health reform has been achieved.

There is, as always, a tunnel at the end of the tunnel: we’ll spend years if not decades fixing this thing. But kudos to all involved, with special praise for Nancy Pelosi, who is now a Speaker for the ages.

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Source link

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Well, I am less enthusiastic than Paul Krugman, but I agree, we will spend years and years fixing this thing.

Sanders wrote:

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H.R. 3590 (Senate Bill as is) has passed the House and is ready for Pres.Obama's signature.


Dems --- 219 Y----- 34 N
Rep ----------------- 178 N
Totals:-- 219 Y ---- 212 N


So, that makes Health Care bill the law of the land.. as soon as the President signs it!

The Stupak bloc was really needed to pass the bill.


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Next they will vote on the Reconciliation bill.


-- Edited by Sanders on Sunday 21st of March 2010 11:02:28 PM

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 and the Stupak group sold out the nation for an executive order that is completely unenforcable.  The president can't make an executive order for an already existing law.

The Stupak group was just looking for cover and they should be ashamed of themselves.

-- Edited by Sanders on Wednesday 24th of March 2010 05:32:41 PM

It is truly historic. So...


Adding some pictures:


Source: MotherJones.com

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How The Clintons Fought For Health Care Behind The Scenes

Rachel Slajda | March 24, 2010, 5:51PM

The Clintons and health care: It was their issue, their passion and their failure in the '90s. This time around, both President and Secretary Clinton worked behind the scenes to get it done, giving pep talks and campaign speeches and, in Hillary's case, calling one stubborn Democrat as the clock ticked down to Sunday's vote.

It ended with a hug, Hillary Clinton's arms thrown out exuberantly to congratulate President Obama once the bill passed. The White House made sure to snap a picture and posted it online. But Hillary, and even Bill, were kept out of the spotlight for nearly all of the debate.

President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

Hillary has been almost completely out of the public eye. It's certainly benefited the White House -- which has for months refused to discuss the Clintons' level of involvement -- to keep someone who once brutally attacked President Obama's health care plans out of the debate.

So she extended a hand privately. She was reportedly called in as a closer over the weekend, making last-ditch appeals to difficult lawmakers. She called Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA), a surprise holdout who refused to vote for the Senate bill even after a one-on-one meeting with President Obama. (Lynch ended up voting against the Senate bill but for the reconciliation package.)

The White House kept her in the bullpen, she told CNN in February, taking the mound only when needed.

"When I am asked, I am very happy to respond. I mean, it's not anything I have direct responsibility for, but I have had a number of conversations and both in the White House and on the Hill and with others who are playing a constructive role," she said. The New York Times also reported that she made calls to on-the-fence lawmakers as the Senate neared its Christmas Eve vote.

Bygones indeed seem to be bygones. In 2008, some of the nastiest attacks between Clinton and Obama were over health care. After John Edwards dropped out, she said she was the only candidate who cared about universal health care.

Obama, in turn -- and now rather ironically -- dismissed Clinton's ability to get health care passed because she was too polarizing.

So Bill Clinton has been much more visible than his wife, serving as the Democrats' own inspirational speaker. In November, he inspired Senate Democrats to fight on after months of tough fighting.

"His message was very simply it is so important that this be done, that there are so many people, I think 30 percent of the population he said at one point or another, don't have any health care coverage," Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) told TPMDC at the time, "and so the ability to fix the problem is really upon us."

In January, he implored the House to forge ahead while they had the Senate votes.

Clinton's remarks were, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi described, "master class."

[SNIP]

Asked after the meeting how he would feel if it passed, he told reporters he'd be "one happy fella."

"Maybe Hillary'll be the happiest person in America, I'll be the second happiest person," he said. "Even more than President Obama."

Additional reporting by Christina Bellantoni

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Source: Gallup.com

Senate Republicans have backed away from a plan to offer hundreds of amendments to slow the passage of healthcare reform fixes under budget reconciliation.

This means the Senate will finish work on House-demanded changes to healthcare reform law sooner than expected.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) had hoped to finish the process by Friday or Saturday but now Thursday afternoon appears a possible end-point.

Special budget rules known as reconciliation limit floor debate in the Senate to 20 hours and enable the majority party to pass legislation with 51 votes.

But the rules do not limit the number of amendments that can be offered once debate has expired.

Senate Republicans had threatened to offer scores or even hundreds of amendments to keep the healthcare legislation from getting out of the chamber.

But GOP lawmakers have decided not to employ the dilatory tactic and instead call for votes on substantive amendments.

“We’ve decided that offering 200 or 300 amendments doesn’t make sense,” said Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), one of the Senate’s leading conservatives. “The leadership has asked us to focus on substantive amendments.”

DeMint predicted the voting could wrap up by Thursday afternoon.

Continues @ The Hill

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