Universal Health Care for America

[Guest UMBC]

Why does anyone talk about how the government is going to takeover the student loan program to pay for this bill? Vote NO!

[Guest CBSNewsOnline]

Should comprehensive health care reform pass, it will transform the way millions of Americans get health care. Tracy Smith reports.

 

[Guest Road King]

Why does anyone talk about how the government is going to takeover the student loan program to pay for this bill? Vote NO!

 

Its finally time to get rid of the loan sharks banks and lending thieves, that are like the insurance companies who are raping America's college kids with high interest loans for their education.. Well done Democrats.

[Luke_Wilbur]

Health-care reconciliation has passed the House floor. For better or worse Universal Health Care for America will become law.

[Guest Danimal]

Now it Begins; The Battle for this Countrys Soul.

 

As a friend of mine once said "You do not have the power, it has you".

 

Took me a long time to understand what that really meant.

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The Battle for this Country's Soul?"

 

Oh please: if you were any more dramatic you'd be on "All My Children."

[Guest LAW]

Here is the President's statement last evening.

 

***********************************************************

 

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.

[Guest Cheryl]

Someone shouted 'Baby killer!" during Michigan Congressman Bart Stupak's time at the podium during Sunday night's health care debate. Officials have not publicly identified the heckler.

[Guest Rhonda]

Who screamed Baby Killer?

[Guest American Citizen]

Bart Stupak was definitely the game changer.

[Guest Federalist]

The Democrats have made one of the riskiest gambles in American political history.

[Luke_Wilbur]

This will be tried in Court. Statute trumps an Executive Order. Republicans will have to commit to create an Act that further defines Abortion Language that gives American Citizens the religious and financial freedom to separate from the plan into a competing pool that subsides equally with the current act.

[Guest Bluto]

Bart Stupak was definitely the game changer.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5o-SuRXwK5o

[Guest x]

202-226-6791 202-279-0111 beth.breeding@mail.house.gov

[Guest Literati]

Neugebauer states that he regrets his "actions were mistakenly interpreted as a direct reference to Congressman Stupak himself."

[Guest Brian Roberts]

The federal government takeover of the health care industry and your loss of medical freedom only lacks a Presidential signature to become a federal law. We the people know that this cannot stand if America is to remain a free country. Keep your head up, it is time to invoke the 10th and kill this bill and the others soon to follow once and for all.

 

From here on, resolve will be the key. Not just your resolve, but the resolve of the rest of the citizens in your state. So it’s our responsibility to educate neighbors and make sure the right state representatives are in place.

 

In order for us to reset this country and return to spending time with our businesses, families and hobbies; we must again in no uncertain terms confirm the revolutionary message that the people are the source of power. The federal government must fear the people, and the state governments are the legal method in which to achieve this goal. Jefferson clarified the goal:

 

“When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”

[Guest Human]

Danimal; When it comes down to just two branches of government and not three branches of government, then it becomes a huge problem.

 

Now if you do not understand that there is the Executive, Legislative,and Judicial then that is a problem.

 

When the Legislative Branch of Government concedes ALL the power to the Executive then we no longer have a separation of powers type of government.

 

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Oh please: if you were any more dramatic you'd be on "All My Children."

[Guest Rex]

I just heard that we will be short 44,000 doctors under this new law. Waiting for a doctor will take longer.

[Guest Human]

You are just a percentage to the Democrats Rex, You are PURE MEAT.

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I just heard that we will be short 44,000 doctors under this new law. Waiting for a doctor will take longer.

[Guest LAW]

Our President made it official: things are going to change quite a bit between Americans and their health insurance companies. The President signed health reform into law, with a package of fixes not far behind, and in the process created a future for the country in which Americans and small businesses are in control of their own health care, not the insurance industry.

 

* Learn what reform means for you.

 

Having expressed all due admiration for Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Leader Harry Reid, and those Members of Congress who showed the courage to stand up to an avalanche of misinformation and insurance industry attacks, the President explained what the signing was really about:

 

Today, I’m signing this reform bill into law on behalf of my mother, who argued with insurance companies even as she battled cancer in her final days.

 

I’m signing it for Ryan Smith, who’s here today. He runs a small business with five employees. He’s trying to do the right thing, paying half the cost of coverage for his workers. This bill will help him afford that coverage.

 

I’m signing it for 11-year-old Marcelas Owens, who’s also here. (Applause.) Marcelas lost his mom to an illness. And she didn’t have insurance and couldn’t afford the care that she needed. So in her memory he has told her story across America so that no other children have to go through what his family has experienced. (Applause.)

 

I’m signing it for Natoma Canfield. Natoma had to give up her health coverage after her rates were jacked up by more than 40 percent. She was terrified that an illness would mean she’d lose the house that her parents built, so she gave up her insurance. Now she’s lying in a hospital bed, as we speak, faced with just such an illness, praying that she can somehow afford to get well without insurance. Natoma’s family is here today because Natoma can’t be. And her sister Connie is here. Connie, stand up. (Applause.)

 

I’m signing this bill for all the leaders who took up this cause through the generations -- from Teddy Roosevelt to Franklin Roosevelt, from Harry Truman, to Lyndon Johnson, from Bill and Hillary Clinton, to one of the deans who’s been fighting this so long, John Dingell. (Applause.) To Senator Ted Kennedy. (Applause.) And it’s fitting that Ted’s widow, Vicki, is here -- it’s fitting that Teddy’s widow, Vicki, is here; and his niece Caroline; his son Patrick, whose vote helped make this reform a reality. (Applause.)

 

I remember seeing Ted walk through that door in a summit in this room a year ago -- one of his last public appearances. And it was hard for him to make it. But he was confident that we would do the right thing.

 

Our presence here today is remarkable and improbable. With all the punditry, all of the lobbying, all of the game-playing that passes for governing in Washington, it’s been easy at times to doubt our ability to do such a big thing, such a complicated thing; to wonder if there are limits to what we, as a people, can still achieve. It’s easy to succumb to the sense of cynicism about what’s possible in this country.

 

But today, we are affirming that essential truth -– a truth every generation is called to rediscover for itself –- that we are not a nation that scales back its aspirations. (Applause.) We are not a nation that falls prey to doubt or mistrust. We don't fall prey to fear. We are not a nation that does what’s easy. That’s not who we are. That’s not how we got here.

 

We are a nation that faces its challenges and accepts its responsibilities. We are a nation that does what is hard. What is necessary. What is right. Here, in this country, we shape our own destiny. That is what we do. That is who we are. That is what makes us the United States of America.

 

And we have now just enshrined, as soon as I sign this bill, the core principle that everybody should have some basic security when it comes to their health care. (Applause.) And it is an extraordinary achievement that has happened because of all of you and all the advocates all across the country.

 

So, thank you. Thank you. God bless you, and may God bless the United States. (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you.

 

All right, I would now like to call up to stage some of the members of Congress who helped make this day possible, and some of the Americans who will benefit from these reforms. And we’re going to sign this bill.

[Guest LAW]

President Barack Obama reaches for a pen as he signs the health insurance reform bill in the East Room of the White House, March 23, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)

 

[Guest LAW]

The President spoke soon afterwards at the Department of Interior, where he reiterated many of the same points, but also took a more light-hearted tone towards critics of reform:

 

I said this once or twice, but it bears repeating: If you like your current insurance, you will keep your current insurance. No government takeover; nobody is changing what you’ve got if you’re happy with it. If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor. In fact, more people will keep their doctors because your coverage will be more secure and more stable than it was before I signed this legislation.

 

And now that this legislation is passed, you don’t have to take my word for it. You’ll be able to see it in your own lives. I heard one of the Republican leaders say this was going to be Armageddon. Well, two months from now, six months from now, you can check it out. We’ll look around –- (laughter) -- and we’ll see. (Applause.) You don’t have to take my word for it. (Applause.)

[Guest The White House]

Remarks by the President and Vice President at Signing of the Health Insurance Reform Bill

East Room

 

11:29 A.M. EDT

 

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. (Applause.)

 

AUDIENCE: Fired up! Ready to go! Fired up! Ready to go!

 

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you.

 

Mr. President, I think we got a happy room here. (Laughter.) It seems ridiculous to say thank you all for being here. (Laughter.) Ladies and gentlemen, to state the obvious, this is a historic day. (Applause.)

 

In our business you use that phrase a lot, but I can't think of a day in the 37 years that I've been a United States senator and the short time I've been Vice President that it is more appropriately stated. This is a historic day.

 

And history -- history is not merely what is printed in textbooks. It doesn’t begin or end with the stroke of a pen. History is made. History is made when men and women decide that there is a greater risk in accepting a situation that we cannot bear than in steeling our spine and embracing the promise of change. That's when history is made. (Applause.)

 

History is made when you all assembled here today, members of Congress, take charge to change the lives of tens of millions of Americans. Through the efforts of those of us lucky enough to serve here in this town, that's exactly what you’ve done. You’ve made history.

 

History is made when a leader steps up, stays true to his values, and charts a fundamentally different course for the country. History is made when a leader’s passion -- passion -- is matched with principle to set a new course. Well, ladies and gentlemen, Mr. President, you are that leader. (Applause.)

 

Mr. President, your fierce advocacy, the clarity of purpose that you showed, your perseverance -- these are in fact -- it is not hyperbole to say -- these are the reasons why we're assembled in this room together, today. But for those attributes we would not be here. Many, many men and women are going to feel the pride that I feel in watching you shortly, watching you sign this bill, knowing that their work -- their work has helped make this day possible. But, Mr. President, you’re the guy that made it happen. (Applause.)

 

And so, Mr. President, all of us, press and elected officials, assembled in this town over the years, we’ve seen some incredible things happen. But you know, Mr. President, you’ve done what generations of not just ordinary, but great men and women, have attempted to do. Republicans as well as Democrats, they’ve tried before. Everybody knows the story, starting with Teddy Roosevelt. They’ve tried. They were real bold leaders.

But, Mr. President, they fell short. You have turned, Mr. President, the right of every American to have access to decent health care into reality for the first time in American history. (Applause.)

 

Mr. President, I’ve gotten to know you well enough. You want me to stop because I’m embarrassing you. (Laughter.) But I’m not going to stop for another minute, Mr. President, because you delivered on a promise -- a promise you made to all Americans when we moved into this building.

 

Mr. President, you are -- to repeat myself -- literally about to make history. Our children and our grandchildren, they’re going to grow up knowing that a man named Barack Obama put the final girder in the framework for a social network in this country to provide the single most important element of what people need -- and that is access to good health -- (applause) -- and that every American from this day forward will be treated with simple fairness and basic justice.

 

Look, the classic poet, Virgil, once said that “The greatest wealth is health.” The greatest wealth is health. Well, today, America becomes a whole lot wealthier because tens of millions of Americans will be a whole lot healthier from this moment on.

 

Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States of America, Barack Obama. (Applause.)

 

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, everybody. Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you, everybody. Thank you. Thank you everybody. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you, everybody. Please, have a seat.

 

Thank you, Joe. (Laughter.)

 

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Good to be with you, Mr. President. (Laughter.)

 

THE PRESIDENT: Today, after almost a century of trying; today, after over a year of debate; today, after all the votes have been tallied –- health insurance reform becomes law in the United States of America. (Applause.) Today.

 

It is fitting that Congress passed this historic legislation this week. For as we mark the turning of spring, we also mark a new season in America. In a few moments, when I sign this bill, all of the overheated rhetoric over reform will finally confront the reality of reform. (Applause.)

 

And while the Senate still has a last round of improvements to make on this historic legislation -- and these are improvements I’m confident they will make swiftly -- (applause) -- the bill I’m signing will set in motion reforms that generations of Americans have fought for, and marched for, and hungered to see.

 

It will take four years to implement fully many of these reforms, because we need to implement them responsibly. We need to get this right. But a host of desperately needed reforms will take effect right away. (Applause.)

 

This year, we’ll start offering tax credits to about 4 million small businessmen and women to help them cover the cost of insurance for their employees. (Applause.) That happens this year.

 

This year, tens of thousands of uninsured Americans with preexisting conditions, the parents of children who have a preexisting condition, will finally be able to purchase the coverage they need. That happens this year. (Applause.)

 

This year, insurance companies will no longer be able to drop people’s coverage when they get sick. (Applause.) They won’t be able to place lifetime limits or restrictive annual limits on the amount of care they can receive. (Applause.)

 

This year, all new insurance plans will be required to offer free preventive care. And this year, young adults will be able to stay on their parents’ policies until they’re 26 years old. That happens this year. (Applause.)

 

And this year, seniors who fall in the coverage gap known as the doughnut hole will start getting some help. They’ll receive $250 to help pay for prescriptions, and that will, over time, fill in the doughnut hole. And I want seniors to know, despite what some have said, these reforms will not cut your guaranteed benefits. (Applause.) In fact, under this law, Americans on Medicare will receive free preventive care without co-payments or deductibles. That begins this year. (Applause.)

 

Once this reform is implemented, health insurance exchanges will be created, a competitive marketplace where uninsured people and small businesses will finally be able to purchase affordable, quality insurance. They will be able to be part of a big pool and get the same good deal that members of Congress get. That’s what’s going to happen under this reform. (Applause.) And when this exchange is up and running, millions of people will get tax breaks to help them afford coverage, which represents the largest middle-class tax cut for health care in history. That's what this reform is about. (Applause.)

 

This legislation will also lower costs for families and for businesses and for the federal government, reducing our deficit by over $1 trillion in the next two decades. It is paid for. It is fiscally responsible. And it will help lift a decades-long drag on our economy. That's part of what all of you together worked on and made happen. (Applause.)

 

That our generation is able to succeed in passing this reform is a testament to the persistence –- and the character -– of the American people, who championed this cause; who mobilized; who organized; who believed that people who love this country can change it.

 

It’s also a testament to the historic leadership -– and uncommon courage –- of the men and women of the United States Congress, who’ve taken their lumps during this difficult debate. (Laughter.)

 

AUDIENCE MEMBER: Yes, we did. (Laughter.)

 

THE PRESIDENT: You know, there are few tougher jobs in politics or government than leading one of our legislative chambers. In each chamber, there are men and women who come from different places and face different pressures, who reach different conclusions about the same things and feel deeply concerned about different things.

 

By necessity, leaders have to speak to those different concerns. It isn’t always tidy; it is almost never easy. But perhaps the greatest –- and most difficult –- challenge is to cobble together out of those differences the sense of common interest and common purpose that’s required to advance the dreams of all people -- especially in a country as large and diverse as ours.

 

And we are blessed by leaders in each chamber who not only do their jobs very well but who never lost sight of that larger mission. They didn’t play for the short term; they didn’t play to the polls or to politics: One of the best speakers the House of Representatives has ever had, Speaker Nancy Pelosi. (Applause.)

 

AUDIENCE: Nancy! Nancy! Nancy! Nancy!

 

THE PRESIDENT: One of the best majority leaders the Senate has ever had, Mr. Harry Reid. (Applause.)

 

To all of the terrific committee chairs, all the members of Congress who did what was difficult, but did what was right, and passed health care reform -- not just this generation of Americans will thank you, but the next generation of Americans will thank you.

 

And of course, this victory was also made possible by the painstaking work of members of this administration, including our outstanding Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius -- (applause) -- and one of the unsung heroes of this effort, an extraordinary woman who led the reform effort from the White House, Nancy-Ann DeParle. Where’s Nancy? (Applause.)

 

Today, I’m signing this reform bill into law on behalf of my mother, who argued with insurance companies even as she battled cancer in her final days.

 

I’m signing it for Ryan Smith, who’s here today. He runs a small business with five employees. He’s trying to do the right thing, paying half the cost of coverage for his workers. This bill will help him afford that coverage.

 

I’m signing it for 11-year-old Marcelas Owens, who’s also here. (Applause.) Marcelas lost his mom to an illness. And she didn’t have insurance and couldn’t afford the care that she needed. So in her memory he has told her story across America so that no other children have to go through what his family has experienced. (Applause.)

 

I’m signing it for Natoma Canfield. Natoma had to give up her health coverage after her rates were jacked up by more than 40 percent. She was terrified that an illness would mean she’d lose the house that her parents built, so she gave up her insurance. Now she’s lying in a hospital bed, as we speak, faced with just such an illness, praying that she can somehow afford to get well without insurance. Natoma’s family is here today because Natoma can’t be. And her sister Connie is here. Connie, stand up. (Applause.)

 

I’m signing this bill for all the leaders who took up this cause through the generations -- from Teddy Roosevelt to Franklin Roosevelt, from Harry Truman, to Lyndon Johnson, from Bill and Hillary Clinton, to one of the deans who’s been fighting this so long, John Dingell. (Applause.) To Senator Ted Kennedy. (Applause.) And it’s fitting that Ted’s widow, Vicki, is here -- it’s fitting that Teddy’s widow, Vicki, is here; and his niece Caroline; his son Patrick, whose vote helped make this reform a reality. (Applause.)

 

I remember seeing Ted walk through that door in a summit in this room a year ago -- one of his last public appearances. And it was hard for him to make it. But he was confident that we would do the right thing.

 

Our presence here today is remarkable and improbable. With all the punditry, all of the lobbying, all of the game-playing that passes for governing in Washington, it’s been easy at times to doubt our ability to do such a big thing, such a complicated thing; to wonder if there are limits to what we, as a people, can still achieve. It’s easy to succumb to the sense of cynicism about what’s possible in this country.

 

But today, we are affirming that essential truth -– a truth every generation is called to rediscover for itself –- that we are not a nation that scales back its aspirations. (Applause.) We are not a nation that falls prey to doubt or mistrust. We don't fall prey to fear. We are not a nation that does what’s easy. That’s not who we are. That’s not how we got here.

 

We are a nation that faces its challenges and accepts its responsibilities. We are a nation that does what is hard. What is necessary. What is right. Here, in this country, we shape our own destiny. That is what we do. That is who we are. That is what makes us the United States of America.

 

And we have now just enshrined, as soon as I sign this bill, the core principle that everybody should have some basic security when it comes to their health care. (Applause.) And it is an extraordinary achievement that has happened because of all of you and all the advocates all across the country.

 

So, thank you. Thank you. God bless you, and may God bless the United States. (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you.

 

All right, I would now like to call up to stage some of the members of Congress who helped make this day possible, and some of the Americans who will benefit from these reforms. And we’re going to sign this bill.

 

This is going to take a little while. I’ve got to use every pen, so it’s going to take a really long time. (Laughter.) I didn’t practice. (Laughter.)

 

(The bill is signed.)

 

We are done. (Applause.)

 

END

11:56 A.M. EDT

[Guest LAW]

Briefing by White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, 3/24/10

Posted on March 24, 2010 at 03:22 PM EDT

Q Robert, I just wanted to follow up on the question about Israel and keeping that event closed with the Prime Minister. You also have an event today where you’re signing -- the President is signing an executive order on abortion that is a pretty big national issue. Why would that be closed press, no pictures?

 

MR. GIBBS: We’ll put out a picture from Pete.

 

Q But what about a picture from the actual national media, not from --

 

MR. GIBBS: Oh, the picture from Pete will be for the actual event.

 

Q Right, but what about allowing us in, for openness and transparency?

 

MR. GIBBS: We’ll have a nice picture from Pete that will demonstrate that type of transparency.

 

Q Not the same, Robert. Never has been.

 

MR. GIBBS: I know you all disagree with that. I think Pete takes wonderful photos.

 

Q Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, don’t twist this --

 

Q -- not an attack on Pete.

 

MR. GIBBS: Well, I don’t know why you’d want to attack Pete, Chuck, but I’m going to stand up here and defend Pete’s --

 

Q It’s not transparent and it’s a vital issue.

 

MR. GIBBS: And you will have a lovely picture from Pete. Again, I don’t --

 

Q You really think that’s all it’s worth, is a photograph, on an issue this important?

 

MR. GIBBS: No, I think you’ll be able to see the President sign the executive order.

 

Q Not hear anything anybody has to say?

 

MR. GIBBS: You’ll have a nice picture.

 

Q Can I ask on another subject? On another subject I wanted to ask about -- the President has been saying the last few days that one of the biggest benefits of the new health care law is that within six months children will no longer have preexisting conditions, and now various health experts are saying, well, when you read it more closely that’s not true. So was the public misled on that?

 

MR. GIBBS: No, the law is clear, Ed, that insurance companies cannot deny coverage to a child based on a preexisting condition. Under the act, the plan includes -- plans that include coverage for children cannot deny coverage based on a preexisting condition. To ensure that there is no ambiguity on this, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, is preparing to issue regulations next month making sure that the term “preexisting” applies to both a child’s access to a plan and his or her benefits once he or she is in a plan.

 

Q But if health insurance experts are already saying that they don't believe it’s clear enough, then -- and they might not follow with new regulations --

 

MR. GIBBS: Our lawyers are clear and the regulations -- we believe the law is clear. The regulations will clear up any ambiguity from those experts.

 

Q Can I ask one other question about the executive order the President is signing today? Does the President think that this executive order is necessary? Does he think that there was ambiguity in the law? Or does he think that there wasn’t any ambiguity but this was just done because people like Bart Stupak wanted it done?

 

MR. GIBBS: Well, I would say the President believed that the law -- the President has always believed that health care reform should be about that, not about other issues. The President did not, in health care reform, believe we did change the status quo and believes that this reiterates that it’s not changed.

 

Q So he doesn’t think it’s necessary, it’s just reiterating what is already in the law?

 

MR. GIBBS: I mean, it’s an executive order so this isn't -- I mean, it’s not a frivolous thing, Jake.

 

Q No, of course not. But does this executive order change anything that the law already didn't do?

 

MR. GIBBS: It ensures that health care, the law the President signed yesterday, maintains the status quo of the federal law prohibiting the federal use -- the use of federal dollars for abortion.

 

Q So it is needed, that the law was not clear enough?

 

MR. GIBBS: The President reiterated that in the executive order.

 

Q So all he’s doing is repeating what’s in the law?

 

Q So it’s just -- I mean, you can’t have it both ways. Either the executive order is needed to clarify something that’s not --

 

MR. GIBBS: No, I -- again, I would refer you to the executive order and the statements that we made about this over the weekend.

 

Q I read the executive order, and it says that’s a reiteration of what already exists.

 

MR. GIBBS: Well, there you go.

 

Q So it’s not necessary?

 

Q Not legally necessary?

 

MR. GIBBS: We reiterated --

 

Q Might have been necessary for other reasons, but it’s not legally necessary.

 

MR. GIBBS: No, we reiterated the status quo, and we’re comfortable reiterating that status quo.

 

Q -- comfortable for a legal purpose?

 

MR. GIBBS: We’re comfortable reiterating that status quo.

 

Q Doesn’t it diminish the whole purpose of a presidential -- of an executive order if all he’s doing is reiterating what’s already in the law? Why would he do that?

 

MR. GIBBS: No. No. We don’t see that as diminishing --

 

Q Stupak and company, there have been death threats against some of these, and just some -- some children of these people have been used in advertisements. I mean, it really has been extraordinary, some of the attacks some of these people have been coming under. Does the White House -- is the President aware of that and has he had a response to it?

 

MR. GIBBS: I don’t know the degree to which the President has seen some of that coverage, Chip. But, look, I don’t think the President would need to see the coverage to know that, as he has said countless times, regardless of the passion of your views -- he has very passionate beliefs and views, and believes in a country as big and as free as America that people should have a right to those passionate views. But we ought to be -- we ought to exercise those views not in a way that threatens anybody’s safety or security, not in any way that foments violence. We ought to be able to, in a country as proud and as rich in tradition as the United States of America, to have a debate in a way that is civil and in a way that demonstrates both the passion of our beliefs, but in the values that we hold dearly as a country.

 

Q Any of these amendments that Republicans are offering on the Senate floor this week, any of them here that the White House finds that’s a good idea, and you know what, maybe that should be added in?

 

MR. GIBBS: Well, Chuck, we want the Senate to finish the corrections legislation so that the President can quickly sign it.

 

Q Sure, but there are a whole bunch of new amendments. Anything strike the President --

 

MR. GIBBS: I would say this. I think that when you go through the different swing of what these amendments are directed at, I think it’s pretty clear that there’s a lot of game-playing going on.

 

Q So you don’t take these amendments seriously?

 

MR. GIBBS: I think these are intended to create a political distraction. I don’t think they’re intended, quite frankly, relating to the budget deficit, relating to health care, and I think if people find things that they want to correct in the legislation, ultimately we can do that through the regular legislative process.

 

Q Could you clarify exactly why a regulation is needed for the preexisting condition issue for children?

 

MR. GIBBS: All I said was that regulations have to happen regarding a lot of aspects of the legislation in order to ensure that any ambiguity -- if there is any ambiguity, that regulations will clearly denote that somebody that offers a plan that covers children cannot deny anybody coverage based on a preexisting condition.

 

Q Does the White House believe there is ambiguity right now?

 

MR. GIBBS: No. No. But we will seek to ensure that there -- that nobody feels that there is any ambiguity, based on the regulations that the Secretary of Health and Human Services will put forward.

 

Q Is this a particular regulation on this one issue, or a regulation on the whole package that --

 

MR. GIBBS: Look, I think there will be regulations, obviously, surrounding any number of issues in this. This is -- the answer that I gave on that is particular to preexisting conditions for children.

 

Q In the meantime, before the regulation is issued, is the President going to continue talking about that as an immediate benefit?

 

MR. GIBBS: Oh, absolutely. It is an immediate benefit.

 

Q Well, so, to segue from that, Robert, when will this rule kick in for the coverage of --

 

MR. GIBBS: The rules that -- the immediate benefits that I described a couple of days ago -- and I’ll find the exact number of days; there are differences for different things -- keeping your coverage -- a 26-year-old keeping -- staying on their parents’ plan, a small business having --

 

Q How about children with preexisting coverage?

 

MR. GIBBS: Right, well, what I’m saying is, the several immediate benefits that I outlined over the course of the past couple of days phase in at different points in the year 2010.

 

Q Can an insurance company right now refuse to provide coverage for a child with preexisting condition?

 

MR. GIBBS: Again, my understanding is that that -- this will phase in over a certain amount of time. When that phases in, they will not be able to.

 

Q When does that begin?

 

MR. GIBBS: That’s what I said I would check on.

 

Q Thanks, Robert. The deficit savings outlined in the health care bill obviously depend on a series of future actions such as the Cadillac tax going into effect or doctor payments remaining unchanged, for example. And even the CBO has said that Congress rarely follows through on those sorts of fiscal restraint promises. So my question is, does the President plan to veto any bills that would undermine or reduce those cost savings?

 

MR. GIBBS: Well, I’m trying to -- a broader point, it’s interesting the degree to which people either lean on or lean away from CBO based on whether they believe CBO has proved or not proved their point. Setting that aside, the President is confident in what he signed will come to fruition and that we’ll take actions to ensure that that happens. I think many of the team believe that cost saving that CBO can’t look into will actually exceed what has been outlined, as is often the case with legislation that they look at.

 

So the President is confident that we will be on a path toward meeting the more than $1 trillion in deficit savings that the Congressional Budget Office says will happen as a result of the President’s signature over the course of the next two decades.

 

Q So it sounds like he’s ready to stand up for it in case -- you know, if Congress does come to him either now or in the future with a bill that would reduce any of those cost savings, it sounds like he’s prepared to --

 

MR. GIBBS: Look, the President throughout these negotiations was clear even when others either inside or outside of government did not want to be part of cost reductions as part of health care reform. So the President is very focused on ensuring that what he’s outlined comes to fruition.

 

Q How many of the Democrats -- of the 219 Democrats who voted for “Obamacare” have invited the President to campaign for them in their districts this fall?

 

MR. GIBBS: I don't have a political schedule in front of me, Lester.

 

Q Since not one of the Republicans in the House voted for “Obamacare,” and 32 Democrats voted against --

 

MR. GIBBS: Do you mean -- I'm sorry, I'm confused. Do you mean by that the law that the President signed yesterday?

 

Q “Obamacare,” yes.

 

MR. GIBBS: Okay, I just was -- I didn't know if that was the Internet vernacular or the name of the bill, Lester. I was a little confused.

 

Q That's all right. Since not one of the Republicans in the House voted for this and 32 Democrats voted against it --

 

Q Thirty-four.

 

Q -- 34, and it won by only --

 

MR. GIBBS: Thank you. (Laughter.)

 

Q -- seven votes, how can you deny that this is a pyrrhic victory?

 

Q Trick question. (Laughter.)

 

MR. GIBBS: I don't -- I was going to say, Lester, I'm a simple man, but I could not really -- (laughter) --

 

Q You know what pyrrhic victory is, don't you?

 

MR. GIBBS: I do. I have -- I'm going to have -- I'm not doing this on purpose -- I'm going to have Pete print me a very nice picture that shows the President’s signature on a law yesterday that will benefit the lives of millions of people in this country for many, many years to come. I will let anybody decide what they’d like to call that victory. The President believes it was a substantial victory for the safety and security of the American people in knowing that their station in life is not now determined by their access to health care.

 

 

Q Thanks. In 2007, during the campaign, the President said that he does not support the Hyde Amendment and the federal government should not intrude onto a poor woman’s decision whether to carry to term or terminate her pregnancy. So my question today is, as he signs this executive order, which will further enshrine the Hyde Amendment, how does he feel about that?

 

MR. GIBBS: David, I would have to see what -- I don’t know the comment that you’re referring to.

 

Q He was opposed to the Hyde Amendment.

 

MR. GIBBS: Yes, I’d have to --

 

Q It was in a questionnaire, a pro-choice questionnaire.

 

Q It was in a questionnaire --

 

MR. GIBBS: And I’ll have somebody -- I haven’t -- you can just assume I haven’t looked at a questionnaire in quite some time.

 

Q But you stipulate that he opposed the Hyde Amendment, correct?

 

MR. GIBBS: I would stipulate that the President believes in a woman’s right to choose.

 

Glen.

 

Q Robert, you’ve said with a great deal of confidence that you believe that the health reform act will be able to withstand these legal challenges -- Cuccinelli, et cetera. What is -- specifically, can you sort of give us an idea of what’s the basis of your confidence? Have you gotten anything from Holder or the Counsel’s Office?

 

MR. GIBBS: Well, I think you’ve seen the statement that Justice put out yesterday. Obviously this -- the argument of constitutionality was one that was brought up during the debate, but I think the Counsel’s Office here, the Department of Justice, and, quite frankly, legal experts throughout the country believe that the right -- that the law does not -- the law is not unconstitutional based on what these attorneys general are suing for. The notion that -- we believe the President and the federal government does have the ability through the interstate commerce clause to ensure health care.

 

I mean, I -- this was an article today quoting a law professor from Stanford. It says: “It would be surprising if the Supreme Court says Congress can’t regulate people who are participating in the $1 trillion health care market,” said David Freeman Engstrom, a Stanford University Law School professor. “The lawsuit probably doesn’t have legs both as a matter of precedent and as a matter of common sense.”

 

Q Robert, as I’m sure you’re aware, there have been sort of counterarguments and talks about sort of disaggregating various parts, including the individual mandate. Can you provide us, in the interests of transparency, with some of the memos that have been provided to the administration in terms of justifying the legal foundation for your --

 

MR. GIBBS: I’d have to go back and see whether there’s been anything formal that’s been prepared on that.

 

Q Can I follow on this, please, for one second?

 

MR. GIBBS: One more and then I’ll --

 

Q Governor McDonnell in Virginia is signing legislation today to void -- in a sense void his state from having to participate in the health care reforms, et cetera. In a broader sense, though, this is the first piece of legislation perhaps since the civil rights movement that so many states have lined up against. Is there some way of making an analogy on there?

 

MR. GIBBS: I don’t know which attorneys -- I don’t know which attorneys general in the 1960s were running for higher office, so I don’t know if I could draw the direct analogy that I’d like to draw.

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest Michelle Begnoche]

In response to misinformation surrounding the president’s Executive Order stating that no taxpayer dollars will be used to pay for abortion under health care reform legislation, U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) issued the following statement:

 

"This Executive Order has the full force and effect of law and makes very clear that current law of no public funding for abortion applies to the new health care reform legislation. I have said from the start that my goal was to see health care pass while maintaining the principle of the sanctity of life. The president’s Executive Order upholds this principle that federal funds will not be used to subsidize abortion coverage.

 

Throughout history, Executive Orders have been an important means of implementing public policy. The most famous Executive Order was the Emancipation Proclamation signed by President Lincoln in 1863. More recently, in 2007 President George W. Bush signed Executive Order 13435 restricting embryonic stem cell research. This Executive Order followed the principle of the sanctity of life, and was applauded and welcomed by the pro-life community. That these same people would now claim President Obama’s Executive Order maintaining that same principle is not worth the paper it is written on is disingenuous. Why is an Executive Order signed by President Bush applauded, yet President Obama’s is condemned?

 

President Obama’s Executive Order states: “The Act [the new health care reform legislation] maintains current Hyde amendment restrictions governing abortion policy and extends those restrictions to the newly-created health insurance exchanges.”

 

During the health care debate I engaged in a colloquy with Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman to make clear and place on the record that Congress’ intends the Hyde provisions, combined with the Executive Order, will ensure no public funding of abortion.

 

This is an excellent Executive Order and a strong compliment to the health care reform legislation that was signed into law by President Obama Tuesday afternoon. I and other pro-life Democrats are pleased that we were able to uphold this important principle and vote for a health care bill that is pro-life at every stage of life.”

 

President Obama is expected to sign the Executive Order later this week.

 

A list of critical Executive Orders throughout history follows:

 

· In 2007 President Bush signed Executive Order 13435 restricting embryonic stem cell research.

 

· In 1863 President Lincoln issued Executive Order 95, more commonly known as The Emancipation Proclamation, which freed slaves in states rebelling against the United States.

 

· With a series of executive orders in 1962 and 1963 President Kennedy imposed trade and travel restrictions with Cuba. President Carter let some restrictions lapse but they were reinstated by President Reagan. It wasn’t until 1992 that Congress codified the embargo against Cuba, but the restrictions had already been in place most of the prior 30 years by Executive Order.

 

· In 1948 President Truman issued Executive Order 9981 to desegregate the Armed Forces.

[Guest Dixie Daisy]

South Carolina House approved an amendment to the state budget that would ban state insurance policies from covering abortions except to save the life of the mother.

 

The amendment reads:

 

No funds appropriated for employer contributions to the State Health Insurance Plan may be expended to reimburse the expenses of an abortion except in cases where the life of the mother is at risk and the termination of the pregnancy is incidental to the lifesaving intervention, and the State Health Plan may not offer coverage for abortion services or services incidental to abortion except as permitted by this paragraph. The physician shall act in accordance with the standard of care to preserve both the life of the mother and the life of the pre-born child.

 

 

http://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess118_2009-2010/hj10/20100317.htm