Obama Gives Kudos to the House

President Barack Obama acknowledged Saturday’s milestone health-care breakthrough in a brief speech on Sunday, thanking House members for their “courageous vote” and warning the Senate that a lot of work will follow the decision to revolutionize the country’s health-care system. “Now it falls on the United States Senate to take the baton and take this effort to the finish line for the American people,” said the president. Only one Republican voted for the $1 trillion bill, and the remaining members who opposed sat quietly when the final vote came in, as the Democrats who voted in favor of the bill cheered and slapped high-fives. “This is our moment to revolutionize health care in this country,” said Rep. George Miller (D-CA), who played a lead role in shaping the bill. Meanwhile, still-determined Republicans vowed to fight the bill’s future legislative process: “This government takeover has got a long way to go before it gets to the president’s desk, and I’ll continue to fight it tooth and nail at every turn,” said Representative Kevin Brady (R-TX). “Health care is too important to get it wrong.”