Obama: Health Care Bill "A Victory For Common Sense"

Last night, after the House of Representatives passed health care reform, President Obama spoke, "For most Americans, this debate has never been about abstractions, the fight between right and left, Republican and Democrat -- it’s always been about something far more personal. It’s about every American who knows the shock of opening an envelope to see that their premiums just shot up again when times are already tough enough. It’s about every parent who knows the desperation of trying to cover a child with a chronic illness only to be told “no” again and again and again. It’s about every small business owner forced to choose between insuring employees and staying open for business. They are why we committed ourselves to this cause... Tonight’s vote is not a victory for any one party -- it's a victory for them. It's a victory for the American people. And it's a victory for common sense."

Here's video of the President's remarks (full text after the jump):

Good evening, everybody. Tonight, after nearly 100 years of talk and frustration, after decades of trying, and a year of sustained effort and debate, the United States Congress finally declared that America’s workers and America's families and America's small businesses deserve the security of knowing that here, in this country, neither illness nor accident should endanger the dreams they’ve worked a lifetime to achieve.
Tonight, at a time when the pundits said it was no longer possible, we rose above the weight of our politics. We pushed back on the undue influence of special interests. We didn't give in to mistrust or to cynicism or to fear. Instead, we proved that we are still a people capable of doing big things and tackling our biggest challenges. We proved that this government -- a government of the people and by the people -- still works for the people.

I want to thank every member of Congress who stood up tonight with courage and conviction to make health care reform a reality. And I know this wasn’t an easy vote for a lot of people. But it was the right vote. I want to thank Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her extraordinary leadership, and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Majority Whip Jim Clyburn for their commitment to getting the job done. I want to thank my outstanding Vice President, Joe Biden, and my wonderful Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, for their fantastic work on this issue. I want to thank the many staffers in Congress, and my own incredible staff in the White House, who have worked tirelessly over the past year with Americans of all walks of life to forge a reform package finally worthy of the people we were sent here to serve.

Today’s vote answers the dreams of so many who have fought for this reform. To every unsung American who took the time to sit down and write a letter or type out an e-mail hoping your voice would be heard -- it has been heard tonight. To the untold numbers who knocked on doors and made phone calls, who organized and mobilized out of a firm conviction that change in this country comes not from the top down, but from the bottom up -- let me reaffirm that conviction: This moment is possible because of you.
Most importantly, today’s vote answers the prayers of every American who has hoped deeply for something to be done about a health care system that works for insurance companies, but not for ordinary people. For most Americans, this debate has never been about abstractions, the fight between right and left, Republican and Democrat -- it’s always been about something far more personal. It’s about every American who knows the shock of opening an envelope to see that their premiums just shot up again when times are already tough enough. It’s about every parent who knows the desperation of trying to cover a child with a chronic illness only to be told “no” again and again and again. It’s about every small business owner forced to choose between insuring employees and staying open for business. They are why we committed ourselves to this cause.

Tonight’s vote is not a victory for any one party -- it's a victory for them. It's a victory for the American people. And it's a victory for common sense.

Now, it probably goes without saying that tonight’s vote will give rise to a frenzy of instant analysis. There will be tallies of Washington winners and losers, predictions about what it means for Democrats and Republicans, for my poll numbers, for my administration. But long after the debate fades away and the prognostication fades away and the dust settles, what will remain standing is not the government-run system some feared, or the status quo that serves the interests of the insurance industry, but a health care system that incorporates ideas from both parties -- a system that works better for the American people.

If you have health insurance, this reform just gave you more control by reining in the worst excesses and abuses of the insurance industry with some of the toughest consumer protections this country has ever known -- so that you are actually getting what you pay for.

If you don’t have insurance, this reform gives you a chance to be a part of a big purchasing pool that will give you choice and competition and cheaper prices for insurance. And it includes the largest health care tax cut for working families and small businesses in history -- so that if you lose your job and you change jobs, start that new business, you’ll finally be able to purchase quality, affordable care and the security and peace of mind that comes with it.

This reform is the right thing to do for our seniors. It makes Medicare stronger and more solvent, extending its life by almost a decade. And it’s the right thing to do for our future. It will reduce our deficit by more than $100 billion over the next decade, and more than $1 trillion in the decade after that.

So this isn’t radical reform. But it is major reform. This legislation will not fix everything that ails our health care system. But it moves us decisively in the right direction. This is what change looks like.

Now as momentous as this day is, it's not the end of this journey. On Tuesday, the Senate will take up revisions to this legislation that the House has embraced, and these are revisions that have strengthened this law and removed provisions that had no place in it. Some have predicted another siege of parliamentary maneuvering in order to delay adoption of these improvements. I hope that’s not the case. It’s time to bring this debate to a close and begin the hard work of implementing this reform properly on behalf of the American people. This year, and in years to come, we have a solemn responsibility to do it right.

Nor does this day represent the end of the work that faces our country. The work of revitalizing our economy goes on. The work of promoting private sector job creation goes on. The work of putting American families’ dreams back within reach goes on. And we march on, with renewed confidence, energized by this victory on their behalf.
In the end, what this day represents is another stone firmly laid in the foundation of the American Dream. Tonight, we answered the call of history as so many generations of Americans have before us. When faced with crisis, we did not shrink from our challenge -- we overcame it. We did not avoid our responsibility -- we embraced it. We did not fear our future -- we shaped it.

Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on March 22, 2010 9:43 AM

Comments [rss]

pnikic

kreetoo, you're absolutely right. leave Amanda alone for she is the product of her upbringing, she is not responsible for her outlook.

we need people like politburo, he questions everything rational from an opposite perspective. I can't understand people like him, but I can't help but feel like there's importance in having someone like that around.

jles, you seem to agree, but it's what you say in your 2nd paragraph that I think is a problem. It seems that its democrats against republicans, and they've got us picking sides and fighting. In the mean time, we're getting screwed left and right. if you beleive in the principles of the dem party, why bail out? if they're not following those principles, bail them out.

it's not about the party, it's about the beliefs and principles.

Spirit of 76

When I look at the teabagger protests and the hateful rhetoric being spewed by Republican politicians, I can't help but flash back to the South during the push for civil rights in the 60s. It's like George Wallace was alive and well again. It took a while, but most people finally came around on that. Even Wallace came around. We're in for a similar long, hard haul in the next decade or two.

NannyState

Only in Teabagger Amerika does a bill that only guarantees UNFETTERED access to PRIVATE health insurance equal Socialism. And how does the rest of the world afford universal healthcare? Easy: they don't spent $650 billion a year on defense.

constablemeow

i am so proud of our president and the house today!! but i'm baffled by people in opposition to this bill, especially since most of them seem to be the ones who would benefit from it most. during my 10-hour c-span marathon yesterday, i heard a person call in who did not have any health insurance for any member of their family. but this guy preferred not to have health care than to buy an affordable version with help from the government. misguided pride is such a sad reason to possibly develop a terminal illness. it reminded me of jeanette walls' memoir 'the glass castle'...

still, a great victory yesterday - i have a feeling that once every american gets used to having affordable health care, they'll be loath to let the republican party take it away.

hotstepper

after constant media coverage of all the regressive ugly tea-baggin' protesters, blowhard obstructionist Repubs, waffling fumbling Dems, and backroom sweetheart deals that have yet to see the light...is it wrong to say i just don't give a damn about this bill anymore?

Fadlo K. Shell

Fine, this bill is a "start." Now, time to identify and close all loopholes before the mandates begin in 2014.

Also, I believe progressives/the left need to seriously agitate for single payer ("Medicare for All") within this time frame. That way, there could potentially be a wave of public support for it on the eve of mandates--perhaps a tsunami no member of Congress can ignore.

Pachinko

A victory for socialists! Yea! Down with democracy! Down with the Constitution! Let America open their borders and let every join the party!

dr zippy

How is this "down with democracy" and the constitution? Bills were put forth, debated, changed and voted on just like they have been for years. If you don't like how your elected representative voted you still have the option to organize and vote for their opponent this fall.

Amanda Harletsch

Can you really make an effort and expand how is health care going against the unalienable rights of man: Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness!?

You seem to understand that "liberty" is the right to send to hell everybody but you, and buy some guns to keep everybody at bay, that is not a civil society my friend, that is the state of nature that republicans like to maintain through lies, fear, a repeating empty mantras for zombies to fallow.

Amanda Harletsch

how small is your knowledge of the world?!

Is Scandinavia bitching for all the progress they have?!

You need to travel and Read books while you are at it!

Kreetoo

This is a Pyrrhic victory and it's sad because I feel like they did it for no other reason than to get a "win". We're already 12 trillion in debt and this will only make it worse. To SD's question: I agree, something needs to be done about the uninsured but I don't think this bill properly addresses it. All it does is create more government bureaucracy. I'm disappointed that other methods weren't tried first such as opening up competition across state lines between insurance companies and comprehensive, meaningful tort-reform to bring down the cost of doctors' malpractice insurance. With all the corruption and buying-of-votes that went on to get this passed, I'm pretty disgusted that they got away with passing such a sweeping bill that most voters didn't even want.

jles

Kreetoo.....100% correct on all points. This bill is going to be a fiscal disaster, and anyone that actually believes those CBO numbers, or believes that premiums won't rise dramatically as a result of this, is completely delusional. This is exactly what we need when we're $12 Trillion in debt....MORE SPENDING! Kiss the dollar goodbye. We should have been focused on CUTTING COSTS..., tort reform to lower costs associated with overcompensating for lawsuits is one way, and opening up competition across state lines is another (as you said).

I'm a democrat, and I voted for Obama....but today I'm unregistering as a Democrat, and hoping in the future that mandates such as universal healthcare will be passed with more of the countries consideration and approval in mind. BUY GOLD!!!!!!!

Politburo

Shorter Kreetoo: Why didn't they go with the GOP plan?

Short Politburo: CBO analysis determined that the Democratic plan saved billions more than the GOP plan, and covered tens of millions more people.

Politburo

To preempt, yes one can be skeptical about CBO numbers.

But if you're skeptical on one number, you should be skeptical on them all.

So if the Dem plan won't actually save money, there's no reason to believe the GOP plan would either.

S.D.

Well, in all respect, it's a start.

**IMO**, voters wanted something to be done; A good bill is better than no bill.

I've personally known people who lost everything just to pay for treatable cancer and I've known people who paid premiums for years only to have their new condition declared a "pre-existing" condition.

Hell, when our child was born, our insurance rejected the claim automatically. When I asked the hospital and the operator at the insurance company, they both indicated this was SOP.

That's just BS and examples of things that need to change.

As for "opening up competition", even if that could work, why didn't the GOP do something when they held the house and the Senate? They had their chance to take action, but they didn't.

NOTE To everyone: Trying to keep it civil, ok?

Kreetoo

SD & Politburo: I'm not going to champion the GOP on this one. They failed in more ways than one which is the reason for the current Dem majorities. I still believe in fiscally conservative policies and free, open markets, though. And SD, I agree, the current system is whacked and needs a serious overhaul. Insta-denying childbirth claims?! Insurance Co's need a good wake-up call. You said "a good bill is better than no bill at all," but I don't see this bill as "good". I think it was rushed together and does not incorporate fiscally sound policies I believe in.

Americans do, overwhelmingly, want an overhaul of the health care/insurance system in this country. No argument there, in fact I'm one of them. However, the latest Rasmussen poll shows only 41% of likely voters favor this health care bill. 54% oppose.

S.D.

OK, But I think with all that was lined up against any progress, they had to get some bill out.

The GOP and the Insurance industry are really swinging against this in any form.

Politburo

If we're going to get into polling, that is a completely different topic.

But since you bring up fiscal issues twice in your post, I have to ask.. do you not understand that this bill is more fiscally conservative than the status quo?

Kreetoo

I disagree. I don't think this bill is fiscally responsible at all. First, it's government-run so you're guaranteed a lot of waste and fraud and they'll never come close to their projected numbers. Second, you have companies like Caterpillar who've apparently crunched the numbers more than both of us. They've gone on record as saying this bill will cost them $100 million in increased health-care costs in the first year alone. Is this HCR bill really worth more unemployment?

Politburo

Where to begin..

First off, I'll ask again, please explain how the bill is not more fiscally responsible than keeping the status quo.

Second, what is government-run? The bulk of medical care would continue to be provided by private groups.

If you look into the details of Caterpillar's claim, it would not actually cost them $100MM, and it would be a largely one-time event due to tax changes. Furthermore, while that sounds like a large amount of money, it is 0.34% of Caterpillar's 2009 revenues. To put it in perspective, it's equivalent to $200 for someone who makes $60,000 a year.

Kreetoo

Ok, first it sounds like you think that I think we should do nothing about health care (i.e. leave the status quo). That's not the case. I just think this particular bill is not the right way to do it. Instead of encouraging competition we are going to tax and regulate. Instead of capping ludicrous punitive awards in malpractice suits we're going to cave to the Trial Lawyers. And, I'll say it again, the cost of this program will balloon way past the projections and everyone knows it. To me, that is not fiscally responsible.

Number two. You say true, insurance will still be handled by private companies. But they will now be under Government Oversight. What I, and a lot of other people know is that this bill is a gateway to government takeover. Even Vice President Biden is on record confirming this. In a March 18, 2010, interview with Jake Tapper, Biden said, "You know we're going to control the insurance companies." Government oversight leads to Government control.

As to Caterpillar, you rightly noted the percentage of their revenue, not profits. As a publicly-traded company they are responsible to their shareholders and board of directors. A $100M loss has to be accounted for whether any of us like it or not. And the obvious way to balance it is to cut the workforce.

Politburo

If you're going to start with the assumption that cost estimates are worthless, then there really can't be any discussion on the fiscal side of things since that is all predicated on cost estimates. So if that's the game, then I think whatever you propose (which appears to only be tort reform), will cost $3 trillion dollars. Because I said so.

Returning to reality, lawsuits have not been shown to be a significant driver of health care costs. That said, I would have supported some form of tort reform just to shut people like you up.

Insurance is already under significant government oversight at the state level. The Biden quote says absolutely nothing about a government takeover. But it is obvious that some politicians have made this claim. That is irrelevant since we are discussing the legislation that has actually passed the Congress, not some future hypothetical legislation.

As I stated, the $100MM isn't a real figure to begin with.. and since it's an estimate it isn't worth shit to you anyway, right? But if you want to talk about profits, CAT made $8 billion over the last 3 years. They spent $37 million on bonuses in one year and the CEO makes $17 million.

dr zippy

Given that the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said the bill will reduce the deficit where are you getting your numbers that the deficit will worsen?

Kreetoo

Wow, no Amanda, nice regurgitated talking points. This isn't about fear and ignorance, it's about knowing the facts and making good decisions that help everyone without sinking the ship in the process. Also, I didn't say "small victory" I said "Pyrrhic victory", here...

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Pyrrhic+victory

Calm down and go to a rally or something.

@dr_zippy, true that's what the CBO says because that's how the bill was written. I don't blame them, but tell me the last government program that came in on-budget. You KNOW this program will have cost overruns. Some things in the bill that contribute to the deficit reduction (like Congress cutting Medicare reimbursements to doctors) will probably not happen, or get stalled at the very least. Just because the bill was written so that the CBO could legitimately say it will reduce the deficit doesn't mean that future politics won't prevent that from happening. In 1966, Medicare cost $3 billion. The House Ways and Means Committe projected that by 1990 the cost would be around $12 billion. Actual 1990 cost: $107 billion. So forgive me if I'm skeptical about government numbers. Shouldn't you be, too?

Amanda Harletsch

where do you get your facts from? Faux News?

Facts given by the GOP are just not.

Amanda Harletsch

oh look, a cynic!

Only to get a win?

Nah, that's the mentality of republicans and libertarians, social progress have motives different than decency and civil engagement for all of you. Corporate tyranny is perfectly OK, but equality, THE RIGHT OF LIFE AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS is replaced by the right to bear arms and hate each other.

small victory?

So why do complain, if is that insignificant!

Fear and ignorance are the tools of the right!

Kevin Bracken

While I totally applaud the bill and the tremendous courage it took to pass, allow me to remind people that the vast majority of the "immediate effects" are already law in New York State.

Some are even stronger here - for example, dependent children are now covered up to age 29, where the federal bill is only to age 26.

You might not believe me if I told you who signed that into law: Governor Paterson.

However, I do care about the future of this country, so props to the other 49 for getting what us Empire Staters already had coming!

S.D.

There should be a "like" button on comments...

ides_of_march

Even if the economy were healthy right now, this bill would damage it. As it is now, it could possibly topple it completely. I don't mean a recession, I mean utter breakdown. You people are so wrapped up in the hopeychangey thing, you have no idea what's coming. You've gladly given away your individual liberty for a totalitarian state because you think there's a freebie to be had. Enjoy your serfdom (and your tax audits).

John_Matrix

hey zio, you got a little foam on your lips.

John_Matrix

this was 0bama's waterloo.

except obama was wellington.

Armchair_warrior

lack of common sense who the hell is going to pay for America's toys like the military, ss,medicare, and now the heath care bill.

Oh don't forget the 3 wars america is waging. 3rd war being war on drugs for those of you paying attention.

I can't wait for the shit to hit the fan.

this is stealing from the future workers. the ones who never work, they don't give a damn. but the young workers will be the ones paying this bill for a long time coming.

can't spend what you make sounds good to me as long as you feel good about yourself.

Politburo

"The ones who don't work don't give a damn." That is 100% correct. But it doesn't change the reality that there are people who do work and cannot afford health insurance.

There will always be deadbeats. Limiting our society's potential because deadbeats exist is not going to result in any progress.

Amanda Harletsch

Fearful BS! you got your faux news!

It is good too witness how the majority of Americans are not following the demented and totally false arguments of the right!

"... a few conservative policy intellectuals, after making a show of thinking hard about the issues, claimed to be disturbed by reform’s fiscal implications (but were strangely unmoved by the clean bill of fiscal health from the Congressional Budget Office) or to want stronger action on costs (even though this reform does more to tackle health care costs than any previous legislation). For the most part, however, opponents of reform didn’t even pretend to engage with the reality either of the existing health care system or of the moderate, centrist plan — very close in outline to the reform Mitt Romney introduced in Massachusetts — that Democrats were proposing.

Instead, the emotional core of opposition to reform was blatant fear-mongering, unconstrained either by the facts or by any sense of decency.

It wasn’t just the death panel smear. It was racial hate-mongering, like a piece in Investor’s Business Daily declaring that health reform is “affirmative action on steroids, deciding everything from who becomes a doctor to who gets treatment on the basis of skin color.” It was wild claims about abortion funding. It was the insistence that there is something tyrannical about giving young working Americans the assurance that health care will be available when they need it, an assurance that older Americans have enjoyed ever since Lyndon Johnson — whom Mr. Gingrich considers a failed president — pushed Medicare through over the howls of conservatives.

And let’s be clear: the campaign of fear hasn’t been carried out by a radical fringe, unconnected to the Republican establishment. On the contrary, that establishment has been involved and approving all the way. Politicians like Sarah Palin — who was, let us remember, the G.O.P.’s vice-presidential candidate — eagerly spread the death panel lie, and supposedly reasonable, moderate politicians like Senator Chuck Grassley refused to say that it was untrue. On the eve of the big vote, Republican members of Congress warned that “freedom dies a little bit today” and accused Democrats of “totalitarian tactics,” which I believe means the process known as “voting.”"

Amanda Harletsch

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/22/opinion/22krugman.html?scp=1&sq=fear%20strikes%20out&st=cse

ides_of_march

Let me see, government care will include something called "end of life counseling" as well as mandates to cut costs and there will be federal bureaucrats involved in the decision making. And the presidents chief advisor believes medical care should be doled out to people based on their youth and productivity. Death panel is an accurate description. I'm sorry if you refuse to see the obvious potential through your hopey changey prism.

The genius of this country's founding is that it was the only nation where the power of central government was strictly and explicitly limited. Tyranny being the most centralized of powers, they made sure the power was dispersed among the states to prevent abuse. Sadly, decades of federal handouts have turned half the country into entitlement junkies willing to trash their birthright as free people for a free lunch.

Amanda Harletsch

Not one accurate argument here.

Keep of your hermetic GOP views that only favor corporations by demonizing the government and promoting social Darwinism, very 1960's! of you!

S.D.

Ok, playing nice: What do you suggest is done to handle the uninsured?

IMO, It's a problem that has been ignored for too long.

ides_of_march

The money that will be spent just to establish all the federal bureaucracies to administer health care would have more than enough to give a 100 million uninsured the $$ to pay for their care. The "uninsured" argument is a red herring. This is about power.

S.D.

IOM: Demonstrating that he really has no solution, yet again.

imperialnetwork

$100 million for the uninsured? Surely, you jest. With about $40 million uninsured, that comes to about $2.50 per year-- just a shade short of what is required to pay insurance premiums.