Health Care

House Passes Reconciliation Bill

Finally ready to head to Obama.

Health-care reform is finally here. The House approved the health-care reconciliation bill Thursday night with a vote of 220-207. Instead of the bill heading straight to President Obama's desk, Republicans noted parliamentary problems that required the House to vote again on technical issues. Earlier Thursday. the Senate passed the bill 56-43, and it makes amendments to the historic bill which became law on Tuesday. The bill will crack down on insurance industry abuses and is expected to reduce federal deficits by nearly $143 billion over a decade. On the road in Iowa today, President Obama challenged Republicans who have pledged to repeal his reform, saying "Go for it…. If they want to have that fight, we can have it. Because I don't believe the American people are going to put the insurance industry back in the driver's seat."