Health Care: Then again, maybe a vote tonight

post from DemConWatch on 07 November 2009 02:05:51 PM. © DemConWatch

Things are moving quickly (for a change) in Congress today, and the House may actually vote on the health care bill tonight:

After receiving a pep talk from President Obama, House Democrats cleared a key procedural hurdle Saturday in the debate over expanding the nation's health care system, setting the stage for a daylong debate and an evening vote that could push the legislation across a historic threshold.

The House voted 242 to 192 to approve the rules of the health care debate, a vote that officially permits the chamber to proceed to the substantive merits of the legislation. If all goes smoothly on the House floor, Democrats may be hours away from delivering on Obama's chief domestic policy goal, by approving a 1,990-page bill that would require individuals to buy health coverage and would create an individual insurance market to provide affordable policies for people who do not receive health benefits through their employers.

What, unfortunately, helped break the logjam?

Abortion flared up as a last-minute obstacle to passage, as anti-abortion members pressed for – and won – a vote on an amendment barring insurance companies that participate in the exchange from covering abortions.