The U.S. House passed the Senate’s health care reform bill this evening, 219-212, and sent it to President Obama. They passed a second bill later in the evening that amends the Senate bill (a “reconciliation” bill), sending it back to the Senate. A reconciliation bill only needs 51 votes to pass. (The link above explains both bills, including the House amendments.)
New York Times coverage here and Talking Points Memo coverage—which is certainly partisan, but was also in deep all day—is here.
Earlier in the day, U.S. Rep. Brian Baird (D-3, WA) (who voted “No” on health care reform last November and was one of the Democratic votes in question this morning as President Obama and Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi were counting up to the magical 216) issued a statement saying he’d vote for the bill this time. And he did. Here’s the roll call.
All of Washington state’s Democrats voted for the bill and, along with the entire GOP caucus, all of Washington state’s Republicans voted against it, including Rep. Dave Reichert (R-8), who is—once again—facing a Democratic Challenger, Microsoft executive Suzan DelBene.
DelBene, who fortuitously enough was hosting a private fundraiser during the vote (I want see the numbers on that one), immediately issued a press release. We’ve linked it (along with Rep. Reichert’s statement) below the fold.
Renton, WA—Suzan DelBene, candidate for Washington’s 8th Congressional seat, today made the following statement regarding the passage of the health insurance reform bill H.R. 4872:
“Today marks a milestone in our fight to reform health insurance and provide relief to families across the 8th district,” DelBene declared. “By voting against the bill that passed in the House of Representatives today, Congressman Reichert said no to reforming the broken health insurance system, leaving many middle class families at risk.
“The health insurance reform bill will help tens of thousands of families in the 8th district,” DelBene said. According to the House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, in the 8th Congressional District alone the bill will:
Extend coverage to 20,500 uninsured residents.
Allow 45,000 young adults to obtain coverage on their parents’ insurance plans.
Protect 1,000 families from bankruptcy due to unaffordable health care costs.
Improve Medicare for 84,000 beneficiaries, including closing the donut hole.
Guarantee that 9,000 residents with pre-existing conditions can obtain coverage.
Give tax credits and other assistance to up to 120,000 families and 20,000 small businesses to help them afford coverage.“These figures represent our friends and neighbors—many of whom continue to struggle under the weight of a broken health insurance system,” DelBene continued. “By voting against the reform bill today, Congressman Reichert backed big insurance companies, turning his back on these suffering families and businesses. He continues to toe his party’s line, choosing politics and the status quo over the needs of middle class families. Today we saw meaningful progress and I’m thankful that Congressman Reichert did not get his way.
“But this legislation is far from perfect. In Congress I will continue to support public and private alternatives to provide more health insurance choices and reduce costs. I’m also particularly concerned about efforts to restrict a woman’s reproductive freedom and right to privacy. When elected, I will continue to fight on behalf of all women everywhere. And I will fight for every man, woman and child in the 8th district because they deserve a representative that looks out for them, not special interests and insurance companies,” DelBene concluded.
Rep. Reichert issued a statement of his own:
Washington, DC, Mar 21
Congressman Dave Reichert (WA-08), a member of the House Ways & Means Committee, today rejected a health care overhaul that would cripple efforts to rejuvenate the economy in the middle of a recession. The legislation would implement a government-run health plan estimated to cost more than $1 trillion, slash Medicare benefits by $523.5 billion, force crushing tax hikes of $569 billion on families and job creators, and take away their current health plans. The measure passed this evening.
“I voted against this bill because the majority of Americans have spoken loud and clear: they don’t want this bill,” Reichert said. “The legislation Congress voted on today is still a government takeover of healthcare. It still hurts our seniors and makes devastating cuts to Medicare. It still taxes medical devices including pacemakers, prosthetics and wheelchairs. And the taxes it imposes will stifle investment and cause millions of employers to cut wages and lay off their workers. In the middle of a recession, that is exactly the wrong thing to do.
“The American people were promised ‘If you like it, you can keep it.’ I’m sorry to say, that promise was broken here today. The American people will bear the brunt of these slashed benefits, and many of them will be put out of work by the half-a-trillion dollar tax hike in this bill. Yes, we do need to reform and strengthen our health care system, but this should be done without saddling Americans with massive tax hikes in the middle of a recession, and without cutting $500 billion in seniors’ health care. This has been a flawed process from the very beginning because the American people have been left out. Congress must work together on real solutions that begin to bring down the cost of health care and bring it to those who need it most, but this is not the right way.”
For more information on Congressman Reichert’s solutions for health care, including his work during the House Ways & Means Committee debate on health care legislation, visit http://reichert.house.gov/HealthCare.
