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Health Care Bill Passed by Senate
Updated 11:15 a.m. ET
Senate Democrats passed a landmark health care bill in a climactic Christmas Eve vote that could define President Barack Obama's legacy and usher in near-universal medical coverage for the first time in the country's history.
"We are now finally poised to deliver on the promise of real, meaningful health insurance reform that will bring additional security and stability to the American people," Mr. Obama said shortly after the Senate acted.
"This will be the most important piece of social legislation since Social Security passed in the 1930s," said Mr. Obama, standing with Vice President Joe Biden in the State Room of the White House.
Read More on Obama's Remarks
Watch Obama's Statement
The 60-39 vote on a cold winter morning capped months of arduous negotiations and 24 days of floor debate. It also followed a succession of failures by past congresses to get to this point. Biden presided as 58 Democrats and two independents voted "yes."
No Republicans voted for the bill. Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., did not vote due to what his office called "family commitments."
During the vote, an exhausted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., initially cast a "no" vote by mistake, but then quickly corrected himself as fellow senators burst out laughing. (Read more and watch it here)
The tally far exceeded the simple majority required for passage.
The Senate's bill must still be merged with legislation passed by the House before Obama could sign a final bill in the new year. There are significant differences between the two measures but Democrats say they've come too far now to fail.
Analysis: Now Comes the Really Hard Part
Senate, House Seek Health Care Compromise
Key Differences Between House, Senate Bills
CBSNews.com Special Report: Health Care
Both bills would extend health insurance to more than 30 million more Americans. Mr. Obama said the legislation "includes the toughest measures ever taken to hold the insurance industry accountable."
Vicki Kennedy, the widow of the late Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, who made health reform his life's work, watched the vote from the gallery. So did Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., the longest-serving House member and a champion of universal health care his entire career.
"This morning isn't the end of the process, it's merely the beginning. We'll continue to build on this success to improve our health system even more," Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said before the vote. "But that process cannot begin unless we start today ... there may not be a next time."
At a news conference a few moments later, Reid said the vote "brings us one step closer to making Ted Kennedy's dream a reality."
The Nevadan said that "every step of this long process has been an enormous undertaking." (Watch the press conference here)
Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Finance Committee, said he "very happy to see people getting health care they could not get."
It was the Senate's first Christmas Eve vote since 1895, when the matter at hand was a military affairs bill concerning employment of former Confederate officers, according to the Senate Historical Office.
The House passed its own measure in November. The White House and Congress have now come further toward the goal of a comprehensive overhaul of the nation's health care system than any of their predecessors.
The legislation would ban the insurance industry from denying benefits or charging higher premiums on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions. The Congressional Budget Office predicts the bill will reduce deficits by $130 billion over the next 10 years, an estimate that assumes lawmakers carry through on hundreds of billions of dollars in planned cuts to insurance companies and doctors, hospitals and others who treat Medicare patients.
More on Health Care:
When Health Care Changes Could Take Effect
Obama Slams Liberal Critics of Health Care Bill
Abortion Still Threatens Health Care Bill
A Legal Challenge to Nelson's Health Deal?
Senate's Deal: Compromise or Corruption?
For the first time, the government would require nearly every American to carry insurance, and subsidies would be provided to help low-income people to do so. Employers would be induced to cover their employees through a combination of tax credits and penalties. The legislation costs nearly $1 trillion over 10 years and is paid for by a combination of taxes, fees and cuts to Medicare.
Republicans were withering in their criticism of what they deemed a budget-busting government takeover. If the measure were worthwhile, contended Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., "they wouldn't be rushing it through Congress on Christmas Eve."
House Minority Leader John Boehner assailed the bill moments after passage.
"Not even Ebenezer Scrooge himself could devise a scheme as cruel and greedy as Democrats' government takeover of health care," the Ohio Republican said in a statement.
"Senator Reid's health care bill increases premiums for families and small businesses, raises taxes during a recession, cuts seniors' Medicare benefits, adds to our skyrocketing debt, and puts bureaucrats in charge of decisions that should be made by patients and doctors," he said. (Read more on GOP reaction)
The occasion was moving for many who'd followed Kennedy, who died in August.
"He's having a merry Christmas in Heaven," Sen. Paul Kirk, D-Mass., appointed to fill Kennedy's seat, told reporters after the tally.
Kirk said he was "humbled to be here with the honor of casting essentially his vote."
Said Dingell: "This is for me, this is for my dad, this is for the country."
Reid nailed the last votes down in a rush of dealmaking in the last week that is now coming under attack because of special provisions obtained by a number of senators. In Nebraska, home to conservative Democrat Ben Nelson, the Democrats' crucial 60th vote, the federal government will pay 100 percent of the cost of a planned Medicaid expansion in perpetuity, the only state getting that deal.
Negotiations between the House and Senate to reconcile differences between the two bills are expected to begin as soon as next week.
The House bill has stricter limits on abortion than the Senate, and unlike the House, the Senate measure omits a government-run insurance option, which liberals favored to apply pressure on private insurers but Democratic moderates opposed as an unwarranted federal intrusion. Mr. Obama has signaled he will sign a bill even if it lacks that provision.
In an interview this morning on CBS' "The Early Show," Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd, a key player in the negotiation, said he was confident that Democrats can come to agreement on a final bill
"We're gonna get this done," the Connecticut senator said. "I don't think it's a question of one side or the other budging… It's trying to come to a common ground on these issues and I think there's a lot common interest and common goals in the bill. So I don't anticipate this to be an acrimonious discussion between the House and the Senate." (Read and watch more of the interview with Dodd.)
Washington Unplugged Video on Health Care:
Health Care On Hold?
Dean Tells Dems to "Toughen Up"
Rep. Stupak Opposes Senate Abortion Compromise
© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Senate Democrats passed a landmark health care bill in a climactic Christmas Eve vote that could define President Barack Obama's legacy and usher in near-universal medical coverage for the first time in the country's history.
"We are now finally poised to deliver on the promise of real, meaningful health insurance reform that will bring additional security and stability to the American people," Mr. Obama said shortly after the Senate acted.
"This will be the most important piece of social legislation since Social Security passed in the 1930s," said Mr. Obama, standing with Vice President Joe Biden in the State Room of the White House.
Read More on Obama's Remarks
Watch Obama's Statement
The 60-39 vote on a cold winter morning capped months of arduous negotiations and 24 days of floor debate. It also followed a succession of failures by past congresses to get to this point. Biden presided as 58 Democrats and two independents voted "yes."
No Republicans voted for the bill. Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., did not vote due to what his office called "family commitments."
During the vote, an exhausted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., initially cast a "no" vote by mistake, but then quickly corrected himself as fellow senators burst out laughing. (Read more and watch it here)
The tally far exceeded the simple majority required for passage.
The Senate's bill must still be merged with legislation passed by the House before Obama could sign a final bill in the new year. There are significant differences between the two measures but Democrats say they've come too far now to fail.
Analysis: Now Comes the Really Hard Part
Senate, House Seek Health Care Compromise
Key Differences Between House, Senate Bills
CBSNews.com Special Report: Health Care
Both bills would extend health insurance to more than 30 million more Americans. Mr. Obama said the legislation "includes the toughest measures ever taken to hold the insurance industry accountable."
Vicki Kennedy, the widow of the late Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, who made health reform his life's work, watched the vote from the gallery. So did Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., the longest-serving House member and a champion of universal health care his entire career.
"This morning isn't the end of the process, it's merely the beginning. We'll continue to build on this success to improve our health system even more," Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said before the vote. "But that process cannot begin unless we start today ... there may not be a next time."
At a news conference a few moments later, Reid said the vote "brings us one step closer to making Ted Kennedy's dream a reality."
The Nevadan said that "every step of this long process has been an enormous undertaking." (Watch the press conference here)
Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Finance Committee, said he "very happy to see people getting health care they could not get."
It was the Senate's first Christmas Eve vote since 1895, when the matter at hand was a military affairs bill concerning employment of former Confederate officers, according to the Senate Historical Office.
The House passed its own measure in November. The White House and Congress have now come further toward the goal of a comprehensive overhaul of the nation's health care system than any of their predecessors.
The legislation would ban the insurance industry from denying benefits or charging higher premiums on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions. The Congressional Budget Office predicts the bill will reduce deficits by $130 billion over the next 10 years, an estimate that assumes lawmakers carry through on hundreds of billions of dollars in planned cuts to insurance companies and doctors, hospitals and others who treat Medicare patients.
More on Health Care:
When Health Care Changes Could Take Effect
Obama Slams Liberal Critics of Health Care Bill
Abortion Still Threatens Health Care Bill
A Legal Challenge to Nelson's Health Deal?
Senate's Deal: Compromise or Corruption?
For the first time, the government would require nearly every American to carry insurance, and subsidies would be provided to help low-income people to do so. Employers would be induced to cover their employees through a combination of tax credits and penalties. The legislation costs nearly $1 trillion over 10 years and is paid for by a combination of taxes, fees and cuts to Medicare.
Republicans were withering in their criticism of what they deemed a budget-busting government takeover. If the measure were worthwhile, contended Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., "they wouldn't be rushing it through Congress on Christmas Eve."
House Minority Leader John Boehner assailed the bill moments after passage.
"Not even Ebenezer Scrooge himself could devise a scheme as cruel and greedy as Democrats' government takeover of health care," the Ohio Republican said in a statement.
"Senator Reid's health care bill increases premiums for families and small businesses, raises taxes during a recession, cuts seniors' Medicare benefits, adds to our skyrocketing debt, and puts bureaucrats in charge of decisions that should be made by patients and doctors," he said. (Read more on GOP reaction)
The occasion was moving for many who'd followed Kennedy, who died in August.
"He's having a merry Christmas in Heaven," Sen. Paul Kirk, D-Mass., appointed to fill Kennedy's seat, told reporters after the tally.
Kirk said he was "humbled to be here with the honor of casting essentially his vote."
Said Dingell: "This is for me, this is for my dad, this is for the country."
Reid nailed the last votes down in a rush of dealmaking in the last week that is now coming under attack because of special provisions obtained by a number of senators. In Nebraska, home to conservative Democrat Ben Nelson, the Democrats' crucial 60th vote, the federal government will pay 100 percent of the cost of a planned Medicaid expansion in perpetuity, the only state getting that deal.
Negotiations between the House and Senate to reconcile differences between the two bills are expected to begin as soon as next week.
The House bill has stricter limits on abortion than the Senate, and unlike the House, the Senate measure omits a government-run insurance option, which liberals favored to apply pressure on private insurers but Democratic moderates opposed as an unwarranted federal intrusion. Mr. Obama has signaled he will sign a bill even if it lacks that provision.
In an interview this morning on CBS' "The Early Show," Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd, a key player in the negotiation, said he was confident that Democrats can come to agreement on a final bill
"We're gonna get this done," the Connecticut senator said. "I don't think it's a question of one side or the other budging… It's trying to come to a common ground on these issues and I think there's a lot common interest and common goals in the bill. So I don't anticipate this to be an acrimonious discussion between the House and the Senate." (Read and watch more of the interview with Dodd.)
Washington Unplugged Video on Health Care:
Health Care On Hold?
Dean Tells Dems to "Toughen Up"
Rep. Stupak Opposes Senate Abortion Compromise
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What does it take for people to realize republicans are not for the people just out for themselves and other ridiculously rich partners. Why are we even at war ? because a republican says its neccesarry, were supposedly looking for terrosist that will never be found!! but the real reason behind it is making profits. profits from oils and weapons industry.
seriously people what is wrong with the health care bill? sure it will cost us some dollars but this act will help this country move forward and eventually have free health care for all!!(Canada!!!!)
Bruce Bartlett
The human capacity for self-delusion never ceases to amaze me, so it shouldn't surprise me that so many Republicans seem to genuinely believe that they are the party of fiscal responsibility. Perhaps at one time they were, but those days are long gone.
This fact became blindingly obvious to me six years ago this month when a Republican president and a Republican Congress enacted the Medicare drug benefit, which former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker has called "the most fiscally irresponsible piece of legislation since the 1960s."
What followed was one of the most extraordinary events in congressional history. The vote was kept open for almost three hours while the House Republican leadership brought massive pressure to bear on the handful of principled Republicans who had the nerve to put country ahead of party. The leadership even froze the C-SPAN cameras so that no one outside the House chamber could see what was going on.
Eventually, the arm-twisting got three Republicans to switch their votes from nay to yea: Ernest Istook of Oklahoma, Butch Otter of Idaho and Trent Franks of Arizona. Three Democrats also switched from nay to yea and two Republicans switched from yea to nay, for a final vote of 220 to 215. In the end, only 25 Republicans voted against the budget-busting drug bill. (All but 16 Democrats voted no.)
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Just to be clear, the Medicare drug benefit was a pure giveaway with a gross cost greater than either the House or Senate health reform bills how being considered. Together the new bills would cost roughly $900 billion over the next 10 years, while Medicare Part D will cost $1 trillion.
Moreover, there is a critical distinction--the drug benefit had no dedicated financing, no offsets and no revenue-raisers; 100% of the cost simply added to the federal budget deficit, whereas the health reform measures now being debated will be paid for with a combination of spending cuts and tax increases, adding nothing to the deficit over the next 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
http://www.forbes.com/2009/11/19/republican-budget-hypocrisy-health-care-opinions-columnists-bruce-bartlett.html