Health Care Vote: LIVE UPDATES

Today is THE DAY for health care reform, and this page will bring you all the breaking news, tweets, photos, and video, all in one place.

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Obama: Government still works for the people.

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Obama watched the vote in the White House's Roosevelt Room with Vice President Joe Biden and dozens of aides. When the long sought 216th vote came in — the magic number needed for passage — the room burst into applause and an exultant president exchanged a high-five with his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel. "We proved that we are still a people capable of doing big things," the president said later in televised remarks. "We proved that this government — a government of the people and by the people — still works for the people." “This isn’t radical reform, but it is major reform,” Obama continued. “This is what change looks like.” CNN's Ed Henry, citing White House aides, reported that Obama will continue "barnstorming on health care" this week, delivering speeches outside of Washington heralding the immediate benefits of the health care bill. -- AP/Huffington Post

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Obama watched the vote in the White House's Roosevelt Room with Vice President Joe Biden and dozens of aides. When the long sought 216th vote came in — the magic number needed for passage — the room burst into applause and an exultant president exchanged a high-five with his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel.

"We proved that we are still a people capable of doing big things," the president said later in televised remarks. "We proved that this government — a government of the people and by the people — still works for the people."

“This isn’t radical reform, but it is major reform,” Obama continued. “This is what change looks like.”

CNN's Ed Henry, citing White House aides, reported that Obama will continue "barnstorming on health care" this week, delivering speeches outside of Washington heralding the immediate benefits of the health care bill.

-- AP/Huffington Post

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Kandahar said on 22 Monday 2010 pm31 1:42 pm: I don't care for Obama, but I support this health care reform bill

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Comments

[thinksoutsidebox]

02:07 PM on 03/28/2010

McCulloch v. Maryland states that a State may not tax an instrumentality of the Federal Government. The insurance industry is now an instrument of the US governement and therefore can not be taxed..This in itself put a dear burden on the tax payers of each and every state in the US...

So if an insurance company can't be tax for it's product , then also a purchaser of that said product can not be taxed either...

The US government turned the health care industry into it's own private money making platform... The state can not tax the insurance company... Nor can the government tax itself... Since insurance companies product are not taxed by the government neither can the IRS tax those that receive health care or wish not to.. Think of it this way.. The IRS can not collect taxes on exempt items.. Since the government has no tax revenue from insurance because it turned the health care insurance carries into a federal government instrument no taxes can be collected by either..

[sense oar sheep]

02:02 AM on 03/24/2010

over forty-one thousand comments!

[SilentSolidarity]

11:06 PM on 03/23/2010

NO! The government is NOT working for the people. Health Care Reform is a great example for that. We started with a House Health Bill that had:
-a strong public option
-Medicaid to 150% above poverty
-Federal Health Exchange
-Anti-trust exemption

Now we got the Senate Health Care bill with
-no public option
-Medicaid to 133% above poverty
-State Health Exchanges
-No anti-trust exemption

Obama can't be serious about this. If it wasn't for the House Reconciliation bill, nobody would support it.

[demlake]

11:55 PM on 03/23/2010

Does the phrase "better than nothing" mean any thing to you?

How about "the thin end of the wedge"?

The bill just passed. Anything more, and it wouldn't have passed.

So now you give the people a demonstration of the benefits, and go from there.

Rome wasn't built in a day, or so they say.

[Dosadi]

08:38 PM on 03/23/2010

"We will defeat healthcare reform."
"It will be Obama's Waterloo."
"This bill will not pass."
"It's a trap."
"We will repeal this bill."
"The dems will pay dearly in November."

The GOP is not the party of fortune tellers, just fortune seekers.

[JHemingway]

04:40 PM on 03/23/2010

Wonder if Rush Limbaugh's passport has fresh ink reading Costa Rica?

[xiaonan110]

02:38 PM on 03/23/2010

comrade mao zedong once said : "people , only the people , are the cteation of the real motive of world history" , the same is the same for health care reform , it must be "people-oriented" principle

[freespeech2]

06:19 PM on 03/23/2010

What did Chiang have to say to that?

[Dosadi]

08:17 PM on 03/23/2010

"Ditto"

[stylembe]

02:10 PM on 03/23/2010

The passing of the Health Care bill is very good news for this country. Why are there so many people against it? The health and well being of a population is very important.

www.stylembe.wordpress.com

[demlake]

11:58 PM on 03/23/2010

It's strange, isn't it?

If there were 32 million americans who didn't have access to clean drinking water because they couldn't afford it, would the Repubs say they should go without?

Of course not.

If the market cannot provide something as basic and important as health care to such a significant section of the populace, the government should be duty bound to do something about it.

[maxsumus]

12:57 PM on 03/23/2010

As Jesus said: "Let the dead bury the dead." These people are in the middle of destroying our great, (or what was once great), country, and they WANT TO CELEBRATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MOST OF AMERICA IS BLIND!! WE ARE ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL. WE WERE ASLEEP WHEN WE PUT THESE PEOPLE IN OFFICE, AND NOW WE ARE PAYING THE PRICE FOR IT! Its NOT about republican or demorcrat. If the great John F. Kennedy was here now, he WOULDN'T believe his eyes!!! HE WOULD FAINT, THEN WAKE UP, AND WISH HE WERE DEAD! At some point, what they are doing, WON'T be correctable. Thank you for your time. James S. a GOD loving and fearing man

[Senseimilla]

01:16 PM on 03/23/2010

It is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than it is for a camel to thread the eye of a needle.

Those who think America is somehow "blessed" because it is the "richest" nation seem to have forgotten that it is the meek and poor who will inherit the Earth.

I'm not a Christian but even I know this much. Shame on you.

[quindy]

05:48 PM on 03/23/2010

Fanned and faved.

[Dosadi]

08:17 PM on 03/23/2010

"I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country; corporations have been enthroned, an era of corruption in High Places will follow, and the Money Power of the Country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the People, until the wealth is aggregated in a few hands, and the Republic is destroyed. I feel at this moment more anxiety for the safety of my country than ever before, even in the midst of war"
-Abraham Lincoln

[Phantom111]

11:52 AM on 03/23/2010

Whats the big deal with mandating the purchase of health insurance. We have mandated auto insurance and people aren't claiming its a violation of the constitution. If states are successful in blocking this bill then we should also have the option of NOT purchasing auto insurance. So when an individual is stopped by law enforcement and asked for their license and insurance they can claim mandated auto insurance is unconstitutional. Would that work? Doubt it!!

[cabuccy]

12:34 PM on 03/23/2010

Obviously you don't live in the south...There are more people driving here with no insurance than those that do. ...Let's see I can't afford health care so you are going to fine me. I won't be able to pay the fine so you'll double the fine.. Still unable to pay you will put me in jail for not paying thus taking away any chance of making money and contributing to the tax base. But you will pay for my meals and "housing" and health care while I am in jail.....WOW what a choice!

[Senseimilla]

01:19 PM on 03/23/2010

And here I thought conservatives were all about personal responsibility. If you get in an accident and your finger gets chopped off, who's gonna pay for it when you go to the emergency room without insurance?

Oh that's right. Everyone else who pays taxes is going to pay for YOUR inability to purchase even the cheapest healthcare (costs less than tv bill).

[Phantom111]

02:35 PM on 03/23/2010

You are correct, I don't live in the South. Judging from what I have read auto liability coverage is mandatory in approximately 47 states.But even in these states, uninsured motorists still comprise anywhere from 4 to 34 percent of all drivers. So I expect the new health care insurance mandate will have some serious problems making sure everyone buys coverage. How could they possibly police this type of law? It wont happen....

[Topper1458]

01:52 PM on 03/23/2010

Who pays for those who don't have any money to pay for insurance?

[marketgirl]

02:06 PM on 03/23/2010

I shopped around for health insurance last year when we lost our jobs. What we received from unemployment was a lot less than what cobra cost. Way more that a tv bill.. It was cheaper for us to just pay for doctor visits and meds than insurance. As for you comment "Oh that's right" That was my point...wether they receive free health care or go to jail it is EVERYONE ELSE that pays.,,What don't you understand about that? Nothing has changed..The working people are still paying for EVERYONE ELSE...car insurance, health insurance...what ever!

[Dosadi]

08:36 PM on 03/23/2010

The same people who pay for security, police forces, schools, the military and nuclear weapons. The tax payers pay. That is the reason for taxes, not bailing out banks. When the military drops a bomb on the enemy, they do it in your name if you are a citizen. If you do not pay any taxes, the rest of us pick up the tab, same as for the fire dept, and the police department.

[supergenius02]

10:49 AM on 03/23/2010

This bill is taking down the Democratic Party and ensuring a GOP majority in November.

According to CBS News Nancy Pelosi only has an 11% favorablility rating. Harry Reid only has an 8% favorability rating.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20000937-503544.html

Even George Bush was in the 30% range at his worst. The Dems are done. I have said it a 100 times. Heathcare will destroy the Dems the same way the wars took out the GOP.

[katieandtom]

10:58 AM on 03/23/2010

i hope so.

as a small business owner, investor, home owner and HUGE tax payer, - i need a president who is focusing on the economy so that we can all get back to work and stabilize. you should not increase governmental programs by the trillions when we need to "shore up" the financial and economic stability of the country. its crazy!

i hope that in november the americans tell the president that we need jobs, we need to clean up banking and we need to recover. and that doesnt mean handouts.

[quindy]

05:54 PM on 03/23/2010

As a small business owner you will get big tax brake for health insurance. Just read carefully, and see for yourself.

[Dosadi]

08:59 PM on 03/23/2010

"Handouts?" You mean the ROI that all of us citizens deserve?



Cue the violins, we got another one.

[BDiggy]

04:35 PM on 03/23/2010

George Bush's final approval rating was 22% - look it up.

And healthcare will not destroy the Dem's. This is part of the reason I voted for Obama - to overhaul the healthcare system, and I'm happy to say that he's done it!

Now we are no longer at the mercy of the private insurers. They cannot drop us when we get sick and they have to cover all our children - even those with pre-existing conditions. Every mother and father with a sick child in this country should be ecstatic.

[stylembe]

10:21 AM on 03/23/2010

Quite a day in American history. Obama does it again - He will certainly go down in history for providing much needed change. Now if only he'd be more careful with photo-ops,

http://stylembe.wordpress.com/2010/03/20/unfortunate-photo-op/

[supergenius02]

10:58 AM on 03/23/2010

Obama and the Democrats are paying a serious political price for this travesty. CBC News' poll out this morning has Obama slipping to a lowly 46% appproval rating and Pelosi is only at 11% approval and Reid at 8% approval.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/03/22/cnn-poll-majority-disapprove-of-obama-for-first-time/?fbid=bFutXRsaQkf

These horrendous approval numbers show America is dissatisfied with Democratic Party leadership and this travesty of a healthcare bill in particular. A local tv news report yesterday morning here in liberal L.A. showed that 65% of Los Angeles residents surveyed OPPOSED the healthcare bill.

[gonzie46]

03:06 PM on 03/23/2010

As of this morning Obama's approval rating according to the Gallup poll is 51%. I live in LA who did they poll I was never asked and every time I turn on the News the News stations are in the parts of the cities that are republican territories they never come to the Valley San Fernando Valley and ask the citizens here...So polls to me are bogus, pretty much everybody I know and talked to are for the health bill

[quindy]

05:56 PM on 03/23/2010

It's 49% according to CNN. Just watch when the law kicks in and people start liking it.

[waynesmyer]

10:03 AM on 03/23/2010

WHO IN THE SENATE WILL SPONSOR THE BILL FOR A PUBLIC OPTION??? Sen. Bennet???
CALL AND ASK!

[stylestorymedia]

09:59 AM on 03/23/2010

You're all missing the point. To quote a debunked prez: we have a lot of work to do--and here's a cause that ANYONE can, uh, get behind. But it's a job for the gov't:

http://stylestorymedia.wordpress.com/2010/03/22/health-care-reform-one-more-vital-gap-to-plug/

[twiggoat]

05:13 AM on 03/23/2010

FREE HEALTH CARE IS A HUMAN RIGHT you racist gop bstds

[Topper1458]

09:55 AM on 03/23/2010

Could you please explain what you mean by "FREE HEALTHCARE"?
It may be free to you, but it's not FREE to many hard working Americans. Is it fair to have hard working Americans that are working 40 to 80 hours a week pay for the healthcare of people who choose not to work and contribute? Do you know where they money comes from to pay for healthcare? Understand, it is not FREE-someone is paying for it.

Also, why do you feel it is a human right? Don't you feel everyone should have to do something (meaning work and put a portion of their money into the system) in order to receive healthcare?

[MighteeAphrodite]

11:14 AM on 03/23/2010

I agree, health care is not free for many hard working Americans, as you say. It wasn't free for me. I paid my health insurance premiums for years, only to be dropped when I became ill. After that, my "health care" was not only NOT "free", the medical bills I received from unpaid claims obliterated my savings.

[tominnyc]

12:48 PM on 03/23/2010

won't we all be paying for it individually for ourselves?

i do not know the amount, but isn't it that iss a person, for instance here in Manhattan, New York, NY "very low income" (versus low income) in the working world (not the non-working) stated as $26000-$2999/year.
SO if that lowest bracket can pay PAY their money (adjusted for what they can afford by tax credits) to go ahead into the insurance system
Thereby, they will join the insurance pool to make the risk more equal across the pool/ the citizens and from an actuarial point of view it make the insurance company more affording of it as less people are having catastrophies befall them with a pool of MILLIONS more as this decade continues along with this new law.
We can also quell by a 1trillion dollar factor the tsunami created by the BushCheney wars at $1billion/month and associated deaths of 1000s of soldiers and 10000s injured.
We can help save this country AND it's people with access to Preventative and Real-time Healthcare. That makes sense from the whole spectrum from human/Constitution life liberty pursuit point of view through the monetary advantage to counter the WAVE of massive debt and job recession left in the 8 years of BushCheney. No blame just stating an important fact in the equations of saving this country from demise. CAN YOU IMAGINE OTHERWISE what your premium might have been by 2014?

[WakeUp2021]

04:16 AM on 03/23/2010

The GOP GOt Pwned. Now let's see the GOP tell Americans they want to reinstate pre-existing conditions and they want to let insurance companies drop people who get sick.

Please, please run on this!

[katieandtom]

10:50 AM on 03/23/2010

those are two excellent changes.

[quindy]

06:03 PM on 03/23/2010

Fanned. Let them run on this!