9:05 PM - And, I'm back. But not for long. It's been a long and exhausting evening. Rep. Pelosi just finished speaking (and frankly, I'm glad I missed it), and now the Majority Leader has the floor. I will be posting my thoughts and analysis on this decision tomorrow evening. Have a good night everyone. Pray for the unborn who have even less protection in America.
8:53 PM - President Obama speaks live from the East Room. I'm logging off for a while to get ready for my Senate simulation in my AP Gov class tomorrow. I'll be back shortly.
8:40 PM - Now that the health care issues are out of the way, the House is voting on recognizing the 65th Anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima. So far, 351 are for this motion.
8:30 PM - Judging from the applause from C-Span, HR-4872 has passed. This is the legislative changes to the health care bill. This bill needs to go back to the Senate, and the Senate majority leader has indicated that he has the votes to pass the reconciliation bill. The health care bill passed earlier this evening will go to the President for signage, and he will without a doubt.
8:25 PM - What does the passage of the Senate bill mean? Sheryl Gay Stolberg is here to tell you:
The Senate health care bill will be sent to President Obama for his signature, and while House Democrats are about to vote on revisions to it, the bill will become law — one way or another.8:20 PM - The third vote is now being taken. This is the Reconciliation Bill, HR-4872, the legislative fixes that would be partnered with the actual health care legislation. The House needs 216 votes to pass it.
The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, has promised House Democrats that the Senate would quickly take up the reconciliation bill with the changes in it, and that he had secured the votes to pass it.
But while the Senate is bracing for a fierce floor fight over the reconciliation measure, the landscape was permanently altered by passage of the original Senate bill.
Should the reconciliation bill, which cannot be filibustered, collapse for any reason, the core components of the Democrats’ health care overhaul would move forward.
Indeed, Senate Republicans were quickly faced with a need to recalibrate their message from one aimed at stopping the legislation to one focused on winning back a sufficient number of seats in Congress to repeal it.
8:18 PM - The motion to recommit the Reconciliation Bill was not adopted. And now the third and final vote will be taken shortly. A recorded vote has been requested, and has been granted.
8:11 PM - Stupak voted yes on the health care bill.
8:03 PM - The procedural vote on the motion to recommit the Reconciliation Bill with instructions has begun.
7:57 PM - I honestly wonder how Stupak ended up voting. I know that at the beginning he voted no because of abortion funding, then he changed his vote to a yes when the President signed his order, but after the Republicans spoke about the Executive Order's legal nullity, I wonder how he ended up voting. Was he one of those 34 Democrats who voted no or did he commit himself to the Part of Death?
7:55 PM - Republicans are vehemently speaking against the Reconciliation Bill, speaking about abortion and the pro-life cause.
7:49 PM - HR-4872 has been brought to the table.
7:45 PM - HR-3590 has passed, and once this vote ends the House will move on to the Reconciliation Bill, HR-4872. The final numbers for the votes for HR-3590 was as follows: 219 YEAs and 212 NAYs. 34 brave and courageous Democrats voted against it.
7:32 PM - The first vote is HR-3590, the bill that the Senate passed last December. The time for vote is 15 minutes.
7:30 PM - All time for debate is expired.
7:16 PM - And now, Speaker of the House and highly unfaithful Catholic, Rep. Pelosi from California gives a speech about opportunity. You may send your strongly worded opposition (i.e. hate mail) by using the contact form on the Speaker's website.
7:13 PM - I applaud the Minority Leader!
7:03 PM - Rep. Boehner from Ohio, the Minority Leader, says that the House should be looking with pride on this legislation and on the House's work. However, this is not so. Rep. Boehner says that this is so because the House has failed to listen to America, and has failed to reflect the will of the constituents. “Have you read the bill? .. Have you read the reconciliation bill? Have you read the manager’s amendment?” Rep. Boehner asks. “HELL NO YOU HAVEN'T!” Additionally, Rep. Boehner requests to take a roll call vote.
6:58 PM - Rep. Camp from Michigan brings up emails from Democrats urging him to vote NO, because it is not the right bill for America.
6:53 PM - There was just an interesting bit of dialogue regarding the legality of President Obama's Executive Order.
6:51 PM - The Party of Death just applauded.
6:45 PM - Here comes the Republican whip. Rep. Cantor from Virginia, the Minority Whip of the House, argues that the majority of Americans don't care for this bill. "Health care is a very personal issue, and this overhaul will impact [everyone] in this country. It will even affect future generations who have not even been born." He gives his message to the American people: "We hear you, we hear you loud and clear, because we believe this government must stop spending money that it doesn't have, and this trillion dollar overhaul will do the opposite." Rep. Cantor believes that in America the government should not force those who oppose abortion pay for it, but the health care bill will force them to do just that.
6:33 PM - Rep. Moore Capito from West Virginia sees this bill as a blanket, too short in some areas and too long in others, woven to cover the winners and to leave out the losers.
6:29 PM - Rep. McMorris Rodgers from Washington urges those undecided to vote NO! "A government that's big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take it all away," she said, quoting President Ford.
6:23 PM - "Why does Washington refuse to listen?" Rep. McCarthy from California quotes his constituents. "Survey after survey demonstrates the great unpopularity with today's bill." Additionally he quotes the Speaker of the House who said we have to pass this bill so people can find out what's in it.
6:19 PM - Rep. Pence from Indiana quotes St. Paul, who says "we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses" (Hebrews 12:1). He says that we can reform health care by giving people more choices, not more government.
6:15 PM - The National Right-to-Life Committee says "The executive order promised by President Obama was issued for political effect. It changes nothing. It does not correct any of the serious pro-abortion provisions in the bill. The president cannot amend a bill by issuing an order, and the federal courts will enforce what the law says."
6:08 PM - Rep. Ryan from Wisconsin asks if "we should subscribe to an ideology where a government creates rights, is solely responsible for delivering these artificial rights, and then systematically rations these rights?" See North Korea.
6:08 PM - Rep. Lummis from Wyoming again exposes the Democrat's deals cut behind closed doors. "America deserves better than this. America is better than this," she concludes.
6:07 PM - Is it too late to apply for a college in Canada?
6:00 PM - One hour until the vote. The staff of Ed Royce is so friendly. :-)
5:58 PM - I find it funny that Democrats are urging the Republicans to pass this bill because so many people are getting tax credits! I thought Democrats wanted more taxes.
5:56 PM - Rep. Hensarling from Texas argues that people will have to wait months to see a doctor if this bill passes. Amen!
5:46 PM - Rep. Kline from Minnesota says that perhaps it's time for Washington to stop talking and start listening. He's listening to the 13-1 calls opposed to this bill. He's listening to the thousands of citizens who want the Representatives to kill the bill. The American people are shouting "STOP!" and want to start over. "The die has not yet been cast. It's not too late," he says.
5:44 PM - Rep. Biggert from Illinois says that true leadership was cast aside in crafting this bill.
5:39 PM - Rep. Woolsey from California looks strikingly similar to my freshmen English teacher. Additionally, she argues that being a woman is a pre-existing condition.
5:35 PM - This just in! Rep. Courtney from Connecticut argues that this bill will give people the same health care that members of Congress have. I highly doubt that. Highly.
5:33 PM - Rep. Kline from Minnesota says that his job as a Representative is to legislate openly with integrity and fairness. Instead, this bill is filled with backroom deals.
5:29 PM - Rep. Schultz from Florida says that our current system is broken. Well, frak. If the current system is broken, how much MORE broken will the new system be? The government cannot take control of our health care. See how well they're handling the DMV, and ask yourself if they should take control of our health care.
5:24 PM - Dear Rep. Blumenauer from Oregon: bow ties are so retro.
5:23 PM - Rep. Heller from Nevada presents a survey from thousands of Nevada who oppose the health care bill. He argues that the bill will raise Nevada taxes, kill Nevada jobs, and remove Nevadan seniors from Medicare.
5:18 PM - The House applauds Republicans for bad-assery.
5:18 PM - The House boos Democrats for not heeding the gavel.
5:15 PM - Rep. Davis from Kentucky argues that Democrats are hurrying America toward socialism.
5:13 PM - The Chair reminds the House that any statements should be directed through the chair and not toward any individual member.
5:10 PM - The clerk is reviewing words spoken during health care debate by Rep. Bill Pascrelln from New Jersey, which were challenged as violating House decorum.
5:08 PM - Cat fight!
5:04 PM - Rep. Becerra from California argues that today is another day in America, meaning that over a thousand will die today. What about the 4,000 who will die in America alone due to abortion?
5:02 PM - Rep. Tiberi from Ohio argues this bill does nothing to reform our health care system. It adds people to a broken system.
4:59 PM - Rep. Nunes from California says the passage of this bill will haunt Americans for generations and argues that it gives the government absolute control over health care in America.
4:56 PM - Rep. Linder from Georgia says 85% of America is insured and 95% of that is happy with their insurance. He argues that we shouldn't turn to a trillion dollar program to take the health care away from those who are happy. "This has never been about health care. This is about government."
4:53 PM - Rep. Brady from Texas says, "Folks, this isn't the future. Bigger government doesn't mean better health care."
4:41 PM - Rep. Barton from Texas says this bill will not last, that it reignites the abortion debate. "Let's start from scratch and do a bill that everybody can support." And he added, he believes that if it’s still in force in 2014 when employer provisions take effect, millions could lose their insurance.
4:39 PM - Go Rep. Edwards from Texas!
4:37 PM - Democrats keep being reminded to heed the gavel.
4:35 PM - Rep. Rogers from Michigan asks that if this bill is so great, why then all of the deception? If you like your health care you can keep it. Not true, if you read the bill. "There is dirty deal, after dirty deal, after dirty deal in the bill this House will vote on." Amen!
4:34 PM - Unanimous consent is being thrown around vociferously.
4:31 PM - Rep. Terry from Nebraska calls the bill bad medicine, no pun intended.
4:30 PM - Rep. Capps from California calls this bill a matter of life and death. I absolutely agree. The unborn will all die.
4:28 PM - Rep. Pitts from Pennsylvania says that the bill violates the conscience of the American people, and the principle that we should not spend more than we have. He says that the Executive Order does not trump a statute. He calls Obama the most pro-abortion president in our history. "This is a career defining vote," he concludes.
4:26 PM - Rep. DeGette from Colorado talks about her friend who lost his insurance when he got prostate cancer and later died too young. She talks about this reform as if it is a foundation. I say it's a foundation for disaster.
4:25 PM - Rep. Sullivan from Oklahoma says that 500 billion in higher taxes is not health care reform.
4:24 PM - Rep. Engel from New York says that every body wins with this bill, but especially the American people. What about the unborn?
4:22 PM - Rep. Sensenbrenner from Wisconsin argues that a Presidential Executive Order cannot change the law, saying that even Obama criticized Bush for overusing the Executive Order. "The Executive Order that is being talked about now is a piece of paper. It will have no force or no effect."
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