Update: The Democrats’ health care reform bill passed the House on Saturday night by a vote of 220-215. Rep. Joseph Cao (R-La.), who represents a district that voted 75% for President Barack Obama, was the only Republican to vote in favor. Thirty-nine Democrats voted against the bill. All the focus is now on the Senate, where Harry Reid has to find 60 votes to fend off a filibuster and allow the bill to move forward.
Despite all the compromises that have been made, this is a historic achievement for Democrats. This is the farthest that universal health care has ever gotten, and the stakes get even higher with each step forward.
Here’s my original post from early Saturday evening, before the bill passed:
The House of Representatives is voting on health care reform tonight. Right now, there’s a vote on Rep. Bart Stupak’s (D-Mich.) amendment that would prevent people who receive subsidies to help them buy health insurance from purchasing plans that cover abortion. Stupak and his supporters say that they are maintaining existing law by prohibiting federal funding for abortion; pro-choice members of Congress point out that the amendment would mean that most private health insurance plans would have to stop covering abortion if they hoped to compete. The amendment is expected to pass. UPDATE: It passed.
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