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President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and senior staff, react in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, as the House passes the health care reform bill, March 21, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
President Barack Obama signed into law the historic health care reform bill today. The bill passed the House Sunday evening after the Senate passed it on Christmas Eve.
“Today, I’m signing this reform bill into law on behalf of my mother, who argued with insurance companies even as she battled cancer in her final days,” Obama said before signing the bill.
Obama also acknowledged the long history of failed attempts at health care reform for much of the 20th century.
“I’m signing this bill for all the leaders who took up this cause through the generations, from Teddy Roosevelt to Franklin Roosevelt, from Harry Truman to Lyndon Johnson, from Bill and Hillary Clinton to one of the deans who’s been fighting this long, John Dingell, to Senator Ted Kennedy,” Obama said.
The New York Times reported on the signing, calling the bill the most important social legislation in decades:
Mr. Obama affixed his curlicue signature, almost letter by letter, to the measure, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, surrounded by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid and a raft of other lawmakers who spent the past year on a legislative roller-coaster ride trying to pass it. Aides said he would pass out the 20 pens he used as mementoes.
While many provisions will not take effect until 2014, including the individual mandate that requires Americans to buy health insurance or pay a fine, some will come into effect immediately or within months. For example, the provision that allows children to stay on their parents’ insurance until age 26 will come into effect in six months.
The Senate will still vote on a reconciliation “fix” that will remove some portions of the legislation and expand others. This reconciliation bill will remove the so-called Cornhusker Kickback and close the Medicare Part D coverage gap, or “donut hole,” by 2011 and gives seniors a $250 tax rebate this year to help bridge the gap.
Politico has a list of provisions in the reconciliation bill, which the Senate is expected to take up later this week.
U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., was on hand for the bill signing.
“This is an historic day – one that will have a very positive impact on New Mexico families,” Bingaman said following the bill-signing event. “… In enacting this legislation, we have taken a giant step forward in fixing our broken health-care system.”
U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., also praised the signing of the bill.
“Today is a new day for health care in our country. New Mexicans have waited generations for health insurance reform,” he said. “With this new law, we establish a strong foundation to build upon moving forward. While there are still many challenges before us, today we make great progress in our effort to ensure that every American has access to quality, affordable health care.”
