Wednesday
Dec232009
Democrats Make History, Pass Senate Health Bill On Christmas Eve
In a 60-39 vote, Senate Democrats finally passed their version of the healthcare reform bill on the morning of Christmas Eve. With Vicki Kennedy, the wife of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), who made healthcare reform his life's cause, looking on from the gallery, Democrats easily exceeded the required simple majority of votes needed to pass the bill.
"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," said President Barack Obama, who chose to delay his family's trip to Hawaii until after the vote took place.
Originally, today's vote was expected to occur at close to 10 p.m. However, a series of negotiations between Democrats and Republicans allowed the scheduled vote to be moved up to 7 a.m.
“We stand on the doorstep of history,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Wednesday evening. Reid, no doubt tired from having debated the bill for 25 consecutive days, actually voted "no," on Thursday morning, but was quick to correct himself.
The vote "brings us one step closer to making Ted Kennedy's dream a reality," said Reid just moments after the final tally was read.
Although the bill’s passage will surely give Democrats a warm feeling just in time for Christmas, more work awaits them when they return to Capitol Hill in January.
Specifically, two issues must get resolved: First, members of both the House and Senate will have to figure out how to reconcile the differences between their two bills. Second, lawmakers must decide on whether or not to conduct the process in a full conference, or let various key leaders work out the differences behind closed doors.
Reid, however, refused to get into any of that on Wednesday, saying, “I’m not going to talk about conference...[I’m] only focused on passing the bill in the morning.”
“I’m going to sit back and watch my rabbits eat my cactus,” he said when pressed again minutes later.
"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," said President Barack Obama, who chose to delay his family's trip to Hawaii until after the vote took place.
Originally, today's vote was expected to occur at close to 10 p.m. However, a series of negotiations between Democrats and Republicans allowed the scheduled vote to be moved up to 7 a.m.
“We stand on the doorstep of history,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Wednesday evening. Reid, no doubt tired from having debated the bill for 25 consecutive days, actually voted "no," on Thursday morning, but was quick to correct himself.
The vote "brings us one step closer to making Ted Kennedy's dream a reality," said Reid just moments after the final tally was read.
Although the bill’s passage will surely give Democrats a warm feeling just in time for Christmas, more work awaits them when they return to Capitol Hill in January.
Specifically, two issues must get resolved: First, members of both the House and Senate will have to figure out how to reconcile the differences between their two bills. Second, lawmakers must decide on whether or not to conduct the process in a full conference, or let various key leaders work out the differences behind closed doors.
Reid, however, refused to get into any of that on Wednesday, saying, “I’m not going to talk about conference...[I’m] only focused on passing the bill in the morning.”
“I’m going to sit back and watch my rabbits eat my cactus,” he said when pressed again minutes later.
tagged 
geoff holtzman in Congress, Frontpage 1
geoff holtzman in Congress, Frontpage 1
Reader Comments