Echoing a phrase uttered earlier this week by President Barack Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi applauded her colleagues in the U.S. House for voting in favor of a measure “to strengthen health insurance reform.”
Nancy Pelosi
The House vote, 220-207, came late March 25 on the revised Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act. This was the second time the congressional chamber voted on a health reform bill in the last week and the fourth time overall under the Obama Administration.
Last week, the House approved a reform bill by the U.S. Senate and a package of amendments. That bill was then forwarded to the Senate, which made a pair of minor changes regarding student loans, requiring yet another vote by the House.
President Obama is expected to sign the final piece of health reform legislation into law, again, next week.
“Tonight, the House of Representatives voted to strengthen health insurance reform, invest in our nation’s students, and secure a better future for all Americans,” Pelosi said.
Like Obama, she linked the changes approved by Congress to health insurance and not “health care,” in response to criticism by many in the industry that proposed fixes in Washington, D.C., ignored medical cost containment and other measures to reduce how much it costs Americans to access care.
Following the House vote, Pelosi (D-Calif.), said in passing the health reform bill, “we have truly completed what the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) called ‘the great unfinished business of our society.”
In addition to providing what Democrats see as more affordable, quality health care to Americans, the fixes in the reform bill also make a large investment in college aid. Borrowing money for college is now affordable, they say, by shifting funding away from banks, and Pell Grants were increased in size for workforce training at community colleges.
“This vote represents a triumph for the health and economic stability of America’s families, the security of America’s seniors, and the future of America’s students,” Pelosi said. “The Congress of the United States finished the job of health insurance reform today; in doing so, we made history and progress for the American people.”
House passes revised bill ‘to strengthen health insurance reform’ via IFAwebnews .
No related posts.
