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Obama, Dems Work To Get 216 Votes To Pass Health Reform
By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 20, 2010
Modified Mar 20, 2010
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By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 20, 2010
Modified Mar 20, 2010
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President Obama visited Capitol Hill today to make his case for passing health care reform to House Democrats. According to the Caucus, he quoted Abraham Lincoln—"I am not bound to win but I am bound to be true"—and said, "This is a middle-of-the-road bill that is designed to help the American people in an area of their lives where they urgently need help... This is one of those times where you can honestly say to yourself: ‘Doggone it, this is exactly why I came here. This is why I got into politics. This is why I got into public service. This is why I made these sacrifices.’" (Video of his remarks after the jump.)
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi may be near the 216 votes (see this tracker) needed to pass the bill—Politico, which believes she has "202 definite yes votes" though some insiders think she could have 210, breaks down who she needs to convince: "Pelosi needs to either pick off six members of the Stupak Dozen..."
Speaking of Stupak who wanted a vote on language to restrict funding abortion, Pelosi told CNN that there will be no separate votes, "Not on abortion, not on public option, not on single payer, not on anything." But, the Times says, "Instead, Democratic officials said they were pursuing the idea of promising that Mr. Obama would issue an executive order prohibiting the use of taxpayer money for abortions. They said that approach would not mollify Mr. Stupak but could win the support of others still undecided because of their views on abortion."
The vote is tomorrow: The Washington Post reports, "The House will take three votes on Sunday: first, on a resolution that will set the terms of debate; second, on a package of amendments to the Senate bill that have been demanded by House members; and third, on the Senate bill itself." (The House is no longer avoiding a direct vote on the Senate bill.)
And as the vote draws nearer, House Republicans believe they'll be taking back the majority this fall.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
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health care legislation
health care reform
House SPeaker Pelosi
president obama
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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