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Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP
President Barack Obama, right, shakes hands with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid during his visit Saturday to Capitol Hill to meet with House Democrats.
Saturday, March 20, 2010 | 6:53 p.m.
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Harry Reid
Dina Titus
Shelley Berkley
WASHINGTON — Heading toward Sunday’s historic decision on the health care bill, House Democrats said today they will hold a traditional up-or-down vote after rank-and-file lawmakers complained the "deemed passed" procedure may not appear transparent.
Democrats gathered for a rare Saturday meeting of their caucus to hear a final rally from President Barack Obama, who singled out at least two lawmakers facing hard-fought re-elections this fall for their support. Anti-health care protesters gathered outside.
House Democrats also heard from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who received a standing ovation after assuring representatives he had the commitment of a “significant majority” of senators to pass the reconciliation bill the House would send his chamber.
“We’re in the last minute of play,” Reid said, comparing the upcoming votes to the college basketball playoffs now absorbing the nation’s attention.
“The shot clock is turned off. The other side knows what the outcome will be. So they’re trying to foul us and foul us and foul us again just to keep the clock from reading zero,” Reid said, according to prepared remarks confirmed by those in the room.
“They’re not just delaying the inevitable. They’re delaying the imperative,” he said.
As Democrats worked on the final package and continued rounding up the needed 216 votes in the face of unified Republican opposition, anti-reform activists converged outside the Capitol in protest.
The House is scheduled to meet at 1 p.m. Sunday to open the final debate. The House is scheduled to vote on both the legislation the Senate passed Christmas Eve and the reconciliation bill unveiled this week that makes several substantial changes to appease House members.
Sunday’s floor debate is likely to continue through the afternoon before the votes are taken. If passed, the reconciliation bill would then go to the Senate next week for final passage.
Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley said she was pleased with the decision to abandon the deemed passed procedure she and other lawmakers, including Democratic Rep. Dina Titus, had said was not their preference.
“Too many Democrats didn’t want to look like they were voting by sleight of hand,” Berkley said Saturday.
Republicans have been attacking Democrats for considering the procedure, even though both parties have used it in the past on major pieces of legislation.
Berkley said she was far from the only lawmaker making the case to leadership. “Let’s do it open and on the record,” she said.
Both Berkley and Titus announced Friday they would maintain their support for the bill. Both had supported the earlier House version in November but had reservations about the Senate bill and withheld their support until the final days.
The House was in the rare Saturday session handling unrelated legislation, but most of the action was off the floor as Democrats huddled in the final 24 hours before the Sunday vote.
In his speech to the caucus, Obama appealed to the reasons lawmakers chose a life in politics.
He reminded them that as Medicare and civil rights legislation was being passed, lawmakers of an earlier era surely faced similar political worries and questions.
But, he said, quoting President Abraham Lincoln, they were not bound to win, they were bound to be true.
“Every single one of you at some point before you arrived in Congress and after you arrived in Congress have met constituents with heart-breaking stories,” Obama said. “And you’ve looked them in the eye and you’ve said, ‘We’re going to do something about it. That’s why I want to go to Congress.’”
“And now, we’re on the threshold of doing something about it,” he said. “We’re a day away. After a year of debate, after every argument has been made by just about everybody, we’re 24 hours away.”
“Don’t do it for me,” Obama said. “Don’t do it for Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid. Do it for all those people out there who are struggling.”
Obama singled out freshmen Democrats Rep. Betsy Markey of Colorado and Rep. John Boccieri of Ohio for their commitment to vote “yes” despite the difficult re-election climate they face this fall.
Democrats have been nervous about the vote as polls show the public is split on the issue of health care reform.
Throughout the day Saturday and all last week, Republican campaign staff sent out e-mail alerts as news broke of another Democrat supporting the bill, often commenting that this would be the vote that ended that representative’s career.
Yet Democratic strategists believe the party will be able to win over voters as the bill’s provisions become better known.
For example, within six months of passage, the legislation would enact insurance reforms that are popular with voters, such as prohibiting companies from denying children coverage for pre-existing conditions or imposing lifetime caps on coverage.
Small businesses would also immediately begin receiving a 35 percent tax credit for the costs of providing health insurance to their workers.
Berkley said Obama “hit a chord with many people” in the room.
Obama also thanked Reid for his work on the signature domestic policy issue.
Reid released a letter pledging a majority of Democratic senators committed to passing the reconciliation bill from the House, an attempt to ease concerns from House Democrats. They have worried that changes they want to make would die in the Senate next week.
Senate Republicans have vowed to make a powerful stand against the bill, hoping to strike down key provisions that could kill the bill.
Reid has remained confident the reconciliation bill would survive the Senate, saying he believes his chamber will pass the bill by the end of next week. Reid’s letter, however, did not contain signatures, leaving skepticism among some House Democrats who would have preferred to see senators put their names behind their commitment.
Also on Saturday, the 5,000-member American Hospital Association became the latest industry organization to back the bill.
Berkley Feels No Love for the Senate
White House Correspondent Jake Tapper
March 04, 2010 10:20 AM
In today's New York Times, Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., a Yes vote last November, expressed a hesitation to vote Yes this time.
The reason? She's unconvinced that the Senate will pass the "fixes" to the Senate bill that the House is being asked to vote for (along with fixes), and she's not crazy about the Senate bill without them.
"I am not inclined to support the Senate version," Berkley said. "I would like something more concrete than a promise. The Senate cannot promise its way out of a brown paper bag."
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/...
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/04/health...
I'm no wonk, but they wouldn't vote on it unless Pelosi had the votes(?).
Being a teamster of local631, las vegas I hope this bill will pass on sunday as it will greatly improve the quality of my childrens lives.
The fact that I will now be able to keep my 4 children (17-18-20-21)on my insurance policy until they are 26 years old is just awsome to say the least.
I Can not wait to let all of my fellow workers know that they too can keep all of their adult children on the local631 insurance policys.
This health care reform is great because all of the union members that have children can now put them back on the teamster policy and it will not cost you or your kids a dime.
I am sure glad that the teamsters help tell me to vote for, they are great.
I am sure glad all of those other voters that do not want health care reform will have to pay extra tax money to pay for my kids heath care.
Go Teamsters and Go Obama!
"Being a teamster of local631" which means one day in the future the government is going to tax the hell of out your cadillac insurance policy.
by 4healthcare....i am glad that people like you do not have the brains to figure out who to vote for without the guidance of a union....wait til you loose your job...and they don't back you...and wait til your taxes and dues go up....we need more brainless voters like you!!!
wait til november 2010...and november 2012 when the idiots are voted out.....
vote reid, berkley, and titus out in 2010..
vote obama out in 2012....
Just like Social Security and Medicare which were opposed by many conservatives at the time, once Health Care reform passes will also be widely popular with the general public.
Man, the NO's sure are fond of the "shoved/jammed down the throat" and "getting bent over" metaphors. Wonder what else they're so frustrated about?
the temsters will pay for all of my kids medical bills and obama will take the no voters mon y and pay the temsters back.
you will see the teemsters no how to make deals
with Obama.
I never cease to be amazed at the partisan kool-aid drinkers(mainly of the democratic persuasion) Why not engage in some non partisan research (i.e. READ) and examine how the bill is going to impact you and the rest of the country. Although the nuances and details seem to change hourly, the majority of Americans are still against it. Attention all lockstep liberal zombies..........Obama,Reid and Pelosi are calling you to the gathering center to drink up.Don't be late for the kool-aid party
I have said it before and I will say it again government involvement in anything is not good. Our government bankrupted our financial system and it started with the liberals in Congress not preventing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from giving loans to people without jobs or credit history. Our government spends your Social Security before they get it and that is one of the reasons that many younger people will not have Social Security until they are much older than 65. Government's idea for Social Security is if you are dead you can't collect any. Governments idea of socialized medicine will be ran with the same as Social Security...keep them waiting everyone dies sooner or later no use wasting too much money. Government is not about doing a job it is about Public Relations. Government control, Cap and Trade, and Global Warming and President Obama's One World Government. The thing that Government does best is spending money they don't have and writing tax rules and regulations and you would never know it by looking at their 1130 tax forms and publications. http://www.irs.gov/app/picklist/list/for...
Obama-Titus-Berkley-Reid.....they are going to shove this down America's throat.
Give it up, srock, you lost.
A majority vote is now "shoving it down America's throat?" Riiiiight.....
The fascist republicans are sore losers. Take today, for example, as the childish teabaggers spit on members of Congress and used racist and homophobic epithets while throwing a fit that they couldn't muster the votes to defeat health care reform.
Their pathetic tantrums are emblematic of the people who are against health care reform.
If they ever do pass this and it does go into effect, I can't wait to see all the lazy freeloaders crying about their new IRS fines and monthly audits because they were too lazy to go out and buy their insurance.
That's the upside for me. Most people think passing this law means no accountablility and that everyone will magically have health insurance. You will have to make sure you are covered. Look at how car insurance is regulated....the DMV does random monthly checks to make sure each registered vehicle is insured. When they ping someone who's insurance has lapsed (missed payment or non-renewal) it becomes a massive fine, suspension of registration and drivers license, and a beaurocratic nightmare.
Imagine the DMV on steroids - that's the IRS. When they decide your insurance is invalid, you missed a payment, or it's not sufficient, say bye-bye to your earned income credits and any refunds you had coming, and hello to big fines and wage garnishments.
My guess is that all these people crying for their health bill will be the first to have IRS fines levied against them.
It is even worse than that.
We all will have to check on a box and fill information that they have health insurance to avoid the tax.
If you lie about it then you can go to jail.
Democrats are the party of BIG-BIG brother, BIG-BIG deficits, BIG-BIG taxs and BIG-BIG government.
It looks like it comes down to abortion.
I expect the Dems to forgot about their princples and make a deal with pro-life forces.
What's really funny is that loser Pelosi is trying to get enough votes so that some Dems in conservative states can vote no to save their asses come reelection! She doesn't want any one Democraat to be the deciding vote.
This bill is so bad even Democrats are holding their nose to vote for it.
Its just the way they are trying to pass this bill I do not like,behind close doors.
We still do not Know whats in the bill,they make changes like they change there underwear.
We have to many problems that are plaguing the US,
gov.,unions,immigration,drugs,wars,homeless,health care and the the list goes on.Other countrys think we have our S??? together but we don,t.I think we are printing to much money,its going to be like 1930s all over again.I guess time will repeats itselfs.LOL
I can't wait for the death panels! Yippie! all dittoheads should follow Rush and Sean to Costa Rica (oops, they have National healthcare there too, Switzerland?, oh they got it there, Japan? , oh they got it there, Taiwan?, there too? oh no, well, try Haiti?, they don't have a lot of laws there, why you don't even have to put rebar in your concrete. Libertarian paradise found!
Look at the picture, the two most powerful men in Washington.
Great that one of them is from Nevada.
Harry Reid is good for Nevada.
I can't wait for lower premiums, lower health cost and the fact that this massive increase in government programs will not add to deficits.
What happens if that does not happen?
I guess we will learn again that Democrats are full of BS.
I can't wait for the "socialist government takeover". Wait... There's no government takeover? It's all private and nonprofit plans in the exchange?
Oh, well. I guess we've all learned again that Republicans are full of hot air.