House Poised to Vote on Historic Health-Care Bill Sunday

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By William M. Macfadyen, Noozhawk Publisher

As Democrats scramble for last-minute votes, Capps touts legislation's reforms

Democratic congressional leaders, confident they have the votes needed to enact the most sweeping changes to the U.S. health-care system in history, have scheduled a vote on the legislation Sunday afternoon. Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, has said she will vote for the $940 billion bill.

In a politically charged speech on Capitol Hill on Saturday, President Barack Obama sought to rally Democrats behind the measure, which was considered to be a handful of votes short of the 216 required for approval in the House of Representatives. Last-minute talks appeared to center on differences over abortion within the majority Democratic Party caucus.

Obama said the bill “runs straight down the center of American political thought. This is a middle-of-the-road bill.” He dismissed contentions by minority Republicans that the bill represents a government takeover of health care and he exhorted Democrats to ignore dire predictions about possible major losses in November’s midterm elections.

“If you agree the system’s not working for ordinary families,” Obama said, “then help us fix this system.”

As thousands of angry protesters marched around the Capitol calling on lawmakers to “kill the bill,” Democratic leaders agreed to hold separate votes on the Senate’s larger version of the health-care legislation and a smaller companion package making changes to that bill. House Democrats earlier had indicated they would vote only on the companion package, using a “deem-and-pass” tactic to avoid a direct vote.

Approval of the Senate bill will clear the measure for Obama’s signature. The companion bill must go to the Senate for approval.

The 10-year, $940 billion health-care package is intended to extend health insurance to 32 million Americans now without coverage. According to a preliminary estimate by the Congressional Budget Office, the federal deficit would be reduced by $138 billion over the next decade through a series of tax increases and cuts in Medicare spending.

“I am thrilled we are taking the final steps to enact much-needed health insurance reform,” Capps said in a statement Friday. “Congress has debated this issue intensely for more than a year, and the need for reform is clear.

“Today, millions of Americans have no coverage, and everyone with coverage is at risk of losing it at any time due to unaffordable premium increases, the loss of a job, or even an untimely accident or illness. Insurance companies all too often drop people when they get sick and regularly raise premiums to unaffordable levels. Small businesses and families cannot afford skyrocketing health-care costs, which are a drag across the entire economy.

“This bill fixes those problems. It would help tens of thousands of Central Coast citizens without insurance today get coverage. Just as important, it will improve the coverage for the vast majority of my constituents who already have health insurance.”

— Noozhawk publisher Bill Macfadyen can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk.

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