House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Making It Happen!

 Whenever a leader in the House of Representatives would be interviewed on a television news show, and a question would be asked about the number of votes they had for a final count to 216, the number needed by the House, to pass the final Senate health care reform bill, they would never commit to the number of votes they needed, or how many votes they had of the 216. Meanwhile in the background, Speaker Nancy Pelosi was working hard, with her leadership team, Repsentative Hoyer and Cyburn and others,  to get her members to realize what this would mean to the country, if they passed the bill. She had no small feat to convince these representatives, some of whom were elected from swing districts, and who were hearing that this bill, if passed, could cost them their jobs if they voted in favor of it.

The Republicans were doing everything they could, along with the insurance companies, to distort, discredit and misrepresent as many aspects of the bill as they could. From having death panels force you to do something against your will if you became very ill, to cutting Medicare drastically for seniors, both of which were untrue. The only issue in the case of being very ill and needing to consult with a doctor about your wishes, should you be too ill to make them known, was that you would be reimbursed for the charge. As for cuts in Medicare, the waste and fraud were what would be cut, none of the benefits. So many untruths were spread that the public was split on whether it was a good bill or not. Once the bill was passed the polls have swung in the opposite direction. As people are learning that the bill contains many good things for them and their families.

But getting to the finish line and delivering on President Obama’s promise of health care reform fell on the shoulders of Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She worked the House and brought those on board who were wavering, the President made some 92 telephone calls to the members who still needed persuading. Representative Dennis Kercinich met with the President and decided to change his mind and vote yes on the bill. Representative Bart Stupuk received a promise of an Executive Order from the President regarding language relating to federal funding for abortions in the bill. He then decided along with six other House members to vote yes, giving Speaker Pelosi more than the 216 needed for the bill to pass.

In the end the Democrats came together and voted 219 to 212 to pass the bill. President Obama signed the bill into law on Tuesday, and the bill was sent to the Senate for Reconciliation. The Republicans in the Senate offered as many amendments as they could, to change the language in the bill, which would mean that the bill would have to go back to the House for another vote on the changes. There are two or three small changes which were made to the bill, it will be returned to the floor of the House for another vote. The bill should be signed by the President soon after that and will be the law of the land. All thanks to Speaker Pelosi and her faithful group working hard to deliver health care to millions more in this country. With President Obama delivering what seven presidents tried to do and forty years of effort failed to provide. The country will finally have almost complete universal health care, with a check on the rising costs of insurance premiums, free preventative care, no cap on lifetime benefits and other measures which will be helpful overall, such as closing the doughnut hole for seniors. It’s been a long time coming. Thank you President Barack Obama and Speaker Nancy Pelosi for your hard work and tenacity, in providing those in need, ways and means for the health care they deserve. Well done.