Bumped.

The House of Representatives is debating HR 2962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act today. In a nice touch, Representative John Dingell (MI-15) is presiding over the chamber. He was one of the architects of the original Medicare bill. President Barack Obama went to the Capitol this morning to urge House Democrats to pass the bill. The final vote is expected this evening, and most observers believe 218 votes will be found.

I'm not watching the House proceedings, but from what I read on Twitter and the blogs, House Republicans are heckling Democrats and making their usual outlandish claims about the bill. Representative Steve King (IA-05) organized another rally at the Capitol today to "kill the bill." Side note: King and other wingnuts blew off a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Thursday to attend the "House call" wingnut rally against health care reform. Their absence doomed some Republican amendments to the PATRIOT Act reauthorization bill.

This thread is for any comments about the health care reform debate. I am upset that Representative Anthony Weiner (NY-09) was asked to withdraw his single-payer amendment from consideration, but Bart Stupak (MI-01) will be able to further restrict women's access to abortion services. That amendment would be a very bad deal for women. Now it's not just progressives, but half the population who will "take one for the team" so House leaders can pass a bill. I'm with Angry Mouse: this is not okay.

Meanwhile, a new poll from Virginia suggests opposing the public health insurance option was disastrous for Creigh Deeds.

According to Jane Hamsher, the AFL-CIO may cut off contributions to Democrats who vote against health care reform. A lot of Blue Dogs rely on organized labor to fund their campaigns.

What's on your mind?

Update [2009-11-7 16:27:3 by desmoinesdem]: The future of the State Children's Health Insurance Program is uncertain. As fairleft2 notes in this diary, the House bill moves children either to Medicaid or into private plans. It's not clear whether this provision could pass the Senate.

Update [2009-11-7 17:13:32 by Charles Lemos]:

Via the New York Times:

The House approved the rule governing debate of the big health care legislation by a vote of 242 to 192, suggesting but not guaranteeing that Democrats would have the votes to pass the bill itself later on Saturday.

Fifteen Democrats joined all 177 Republicans in opposition. One Democrat did not vote.

As a result the Democrats seemed to have a comfortable margin, with 24 more yes votes than they need for final passage of the bill.

The speaker pro tempore, Representative John D. Dingell, Democrat of Michigan, announced the tally.

The Democrats currently control 258 of 435 seats in the House, and with 218 votes needed to approve the bill, they can afford to lose 40 of their own caucus members and still win passage.

A final vote is expected on Saturday evening, but the process could take longer.

Update [2009-11-7 20:14:26 by Charles Lemos]: Via Politico:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi took to the House floor about 6:30 p.m. to say, “Today we will pass the Affordable Health Care for America Act.. . .We will make history. We will also make progress for America's working families."

In response to a question about whether the bill would pass when she brought it up, Pelosi told reporters Saturday night, "That is our expectation."

Thirty-two Democrats have publicly declared their opposition to the bill, giving party leaders the narrowest possible margin to push the bill across the finish line. But numerous sources said Democrats believe they do have the votes after a day of intense lobbying of wavering Democrats.

The vote is expected to take place around midnight eastern standard time.

Update [2009-11-7 22:31:5 by desmoinesdem]: Stupak amendment passed 240-194, gaining 64 Democratic votes. That's almost a quarter of the House Democratic caucus. Disappointing. Supposedly Obama told progressives this morning he will try to have the provision removed in conference. I would not bet money on that happening.

Update [2009-11-7 23:0:3 by desmoinesdem]: Click here for all roll call votes, including the Stupak amendment. An embarrassing number of Democrats who aren't even in the Blue Dog caucus voted for it. (I was proud to see that my own Blue Dog Representative Leonard Boswell (IA-03) voted against the Stupak amendment, though.) As Natasha Chart tweeted tonight, the Stupak amendment is exactly the kind of thing a Democratic majority was supposed to stop from coming to the floor. The DCCC won't get a dime from me this cycle.