Senate Democrats passed a landmark health care bill in a climactic Christmas Eve vote that could define President Barack Obama’s legacy and usher in near-universal medical coverage for the first time in the country’s history.

The 60-39 vote on a cold winter morning capped months of arduous negotiations and 24 days of floor debate. It also followed a succession of failures by past congresses to get to this point. Vice President Joe Biden presided as 58 Democrats and two independents voted “yes.” Republicans unanimously voted “no.”

The tally far exceeded the simple majority required for passage.

The Senate’s bill must still be merged with legislation passed by the House before Obama could sign a final bill in the new year. There are significant differences between the two measures but Democrats say they’ve come too far now to fail.

Both bills would extend health insurance to more than 30 million more Americans.

Vicki Kennedy, the widow of the late Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, who made health reform his life’s work, watched the vote from the gallery. So did Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., the longest-serving House member and a champion of universal health care his entire career.

“This morning isn’t the end of the process, it’s merely the beginning. We’ll continue to build on this success to improve our health system even more,” Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said before the vote. “But that process cannot begin unless we start today … there may not be a next time.”

At a news conference a few moments later, Reid said the vote “brings us one step closer to making Ted Kennedy’s dream a reality.”

The Nevadan said that “every step of this long process has been an enormous undertaking.”

Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., chairman of the Finance Committee, said he “very happy to see people getting health care they could not get.”

It was the Senate’s first Christmas Eve vote since 1895, when the matter at hand was a military affairs bill concerning employment of former Confederate officers, according to the Senate Historical Office.

The House passed its own measure in November. The White House and Congress have now come further toward the goal of a comprehensive overhaul of the nation’s health care system than any of their predecessors.

The legislation would ban the insurance industry from denying benefits or charging higher premiums on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions. The Congressional Budget Office predicts the bill will reduce deficits by $130 billion over the next 10 years, an estimate that assumes lawmakers carry through on hundreds of billions of dollars in planned cuts to insurance companies and doctors, hospitals and others who treat Medicare patients.

For the first time, the government would require nearly every American to carry insurance, and subsidies would be provided to help low-income people to do so. Employers would be induced to cover their employees through a combination of tax credits and penalties. The legislation costs nearly $1 trillion over 10 years and is paid for by a combination of taxes, fees and cuts to Medicare.

Republicans were withering in their criticism of what they deemed a budget-busting government takeover. If the measure were worthwhile, contended Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., “they wouldn’t be rushing it through Congress on Christmas Eve.”

House Minority Leader John Boehner assailed the bill moments after passage.

“Not even Ebenezer Scrooge himself could devise a scheme as cruel and greedy as Democrats’ government takeover of health care,” the Ohio Republican said in a statement.

“Senator Reid’s health care bill increases premiums for families and small businesses, raises taxes during a recession, cuts seniors’ Medicare benefits, adds to our skyrocketing debt, and puts bureaucrats in charge of decisions that should be made by patients and doctors,” he said. “The bill also authorizes taxpayer-funded abortions, violating long-standing federal policy. It’s no coincidence that the more the American people learn about this monstrosity, the more they oppose it.

The occasion was moving for many who’d followed Kennedy, who died in August.

“He’s having a merry Christmas in Heaven,” Sen. Paul Kirk, D-Mass., appointed to fill Kennedy’s seat, told reporters after the tally.

Kirk said he was “humbled to be here with the honor of casting essentially his vote.”

Said Dingell: “This is for me, this is for my dad, this is for the country.”

Reid nailed the last votes down in a rush of dealmaking in the last week that is now coming under attack because of special provisions obtained by a number of senators. In Nebraska, home to conservative Democrat Ben Nelson, the Democrats’ crucial 60th vote, the federal government will pay 100 percent of the cost of a planned Medicaid expansion in perpetuity, the only state getting that deal.

Negotiations between the House and Senate to reconcile differences between the two bills are expected to begin as soon as next week. The House bill has stricter limits on abortion than the Senate, and unlike the House, the Senate measure omits a government-run insurance option, which liberals favored to apply pressure on private insurers but Democratic moderates opposed as an unwarranted federal intrusion. Obama has signaled he will sign a bill even if it lacks that provision.

Dear Friend,

After months of debate this year, and decades of gridlock before, our country is closer than ever to passing the single most important piece of domestic legislation since Social Security. This is no small feat. There’s a reason that presidents from Truman to Nixon to Clinton have called for, but been unable to achieve, health reform: it’s incredibly difficult.

The current legislation in Congress includes many of the protections found in the bipartisan Patient’s Bill of Rights that has been repeatedly defeated by special interests. President Obama addresses that, as well as the broader substance and fierce urgency of health reform, in his latest weekly address. Watch it here:

There are some great elements of this bill that will take some time to set up, such as the new insurance marketplace — the Exchange — that allows people without insurance and small businesses to compare plans and buy insurance at competitive prices. But there are a lot of other benefits for families that will kick in during the first year if we get this passed:

In the first year, we will make it illegal for insurance companies to drop coverage for Americans.
In the first year, more of your money will start going where it belongs: towards your care instead of excessive insurance company profits or TV ads. We will start forcing insurance companies to report the proportion of premium dollars that are not spent on medical care — including profits. If a company isn’t spending enough of its premium dollars providing benefits for families, it will have to issue rebate checks to its customers to make up the difference.
In the first year, all insurance plans will have to begin covering preventive services, helping to shift our health care from just sickness to wellness. If you purchase insurance on your own, you will receive preventive care from your doctor without paying a co-pay.
In the first year, seniors will see major relief in paying for prescription drugs. The gap in coverage with Medicare, the so-called “donut hole,” will start to close for good.
This bill will reduce premiums for your family, shifting the balance of power from your insurance company back to you.

Health reform extends coverage to 30,000,000 Americans without adding a dime to the Federal deficit. In fact, it represents the largest reduction to the deficit in well over a decade.

The final bill hasn’t taken shape yet. There are several more steps in the process, and the President is committed to making it the best bill possible to provide security for those who have insurance and affordable, quality coverage for those who don’t.

It is important to look past the bickering and cable chatter and remember that we are on the verge of providing real benefits to Americans who can’t wait any longer.

Thanks, and have a great weekend.

Sincerely,

Nancy-Ann DeParle

Director, White House Office of Health Reform

P.S. Don’t miss the video of the President’s weekly address. Watch it here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2009/12/18/weekly-address-patients-bill-rights-and-health-reform

A small Pennsylvania town is at the center of a hate crimes case. It began with the beating death of a Mexican immigrant last year. Now, two teenagers convicted in the attack are facing additional, federal charge. And three police officers have been indicted for allegedly orchestrating a cover-up, as CBS News chief national correspondent Byron Pitts reports.

As 25-year-old Luis Ramirez lay fighting for his life about 18 months ago, racial tensions in blue-collar Shenandoah, Pa. – population 5,000 – came to light. For many, an emerging Mexican immigrant population was not welcome.

After Ramirez died, former high school athletes Brandon Piekarski and Derrick Donchak were convicted of simple assault, but acquitted of more serious charges.

The victim’s fiancée – and mother of his two children – Crystal Dillman says the crime exposed an open secret.

“They don’t embrace other cultures. And if you are Hispanic in any way they consider you a Mexican. It doesn’t matter if you’re from Mexico or not, you can be from Puerto Rico and they will call you a dirty Mexican.”

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/12/16/eveningnews/main5988073.shtml?tag=cbsnewsTwoColUpperPromoArea

art –

This evening, at 11:15 p.m., the House of Representatives voted to pass their health insurance reform bill. Despite countless attempts over nearly a century, no chamber of Congress has ever before passed comprehensive health reform. This is history.

But you and millions of your fellow Organizing for America supporters didn’t just witness history tonight — you helped make it. Each “yes” vote was a brave stand, backed up by countless hours of knocking on doors, outreach in town halls and town squares, millions of signatures, and hundreds of thousands of calls. You stood up. You spoke up. And you were heard.

So this is a night to celebrate — but not to rest. Those who voted for reform deserve our thanks, and the next phase of this fight has already begun.

The final Senate bill hasn’t even been released yet, but the insurance companies are already pressing hard for a filibuster to bury it. OFA has built a massive neighborhood-by-neighborhood operation to bring people’s voices to Congress, and tonight we saw the results. But the coming days will put our efforts to the ultimate test. Winning will require each of us to give everything we can, starting right now.

Please donate $5 or whatever you can afford so we can finish this fight.

Tonight’s vote brought every American closer to the secure, affordable care we need. But it was also a watershed moment in how change is made.

Even after last year’s election, many insider lobbyists and partisan operatives really thought that the old formula of scare tactics, D.C. back-scratching and special-interest money would still be enough to block any idea they didn’t like. Now, they’re desperate. Because, tonight, you made it crystal clear: the old rules are changing — and the people will not be ignored.

In the final phases of last year’s election, I often reminded folks, “Don’t think for a minute that power concedes without a fight,” and it’s especially true today. But that’s okay — we’re not afraid of a fight. And as you continue to prove, when all of us work together, we have what it takes to win.

Please donate to OFA’s campaign to win this fight and ensure that real health reform reaches my desk by the end of this year:

https://donate.barackobama.com/History

Let’s keep making history,

President Barack Obama

Qualifications

The president must be at least 35 years old, a natural-born citizen, and have lived in the United States at least 14 years.

How Elected

Americans vote for president every four years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. That popular vote chooses delegates to the Electoral College, which actually elects the president in December.

Term

Four years. The president cannot serve more than two terms.

Income

Yearly salary: $400,000.

Succession

If a president dies, resigns, is disabled, or is removed from office, the Vice president assumes the office. This has occurred nine times.

Job Description

The Constitution assigns the president two roles: chief executive of the federal government and Commander in Chief of the armed forces. As Commander in Chief, the president has the authority to send troops into combat, and is the only one who can decide whether to use nuclear weapons.

As chief executive, he enforces laws, treaties, and court rulings; develops federal policies; prepares the national budget; and appoints federal officials. He also approves or vetoes acts of Congress and grants pardons.

The government will have to bring more conspirators . You can’t have a conspiracy with only one person .

I’m still wondering what Zazi says he was going to do with the hair products .