After months of congressional debates and speeches, President Barack Obama signs the health care bill into legislation Tuesday.
Before the signing president Obama said the following:
“We are not a nation that scales back its aspirations. We are not a nation that falls prey to doubt or mistrust. We don’t fall prey to fear. We are not a nation that does what’s easy. It’s not who we are. It’s not how we got here. We are a nation that faces its challenges and accepts its responsibilities.”
The bill, passed with a 219-212 vote by the House on Sunday night. Under the legislation, Americans will be required to have health coverage and 16 million people will have Medicaid. The coverage will subsidize private coverage for those with a low-and-middle income. Young adults can be covered until the age of 26, as long as they still claim dependence on parents.
For the next 10 years, the coverage will cost $938 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The office also estimated that the bill might reduce America’s deficit by $138 billion.
As a past tradition, Obama used 20 pens to sign the bill into law to give lawmakers as mementoes.
Even though Obama signed the legislation, republicans are preparing to repeal the bill. In the Senate on Tuesday, lawmakers will engage in reconciliation for the bill, where changes will be made.
Source: Nytimes.com