THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama has convinced Democrats in the US Congress to pass his historic health care reform bill, handing the president a victory that will give nearly every American the right to health coverage and could define his time in office.
“We proved we are still a people capable of doing big things and tackling big challenges,” said Mr Obama. Reprising his campaign mantra he added: “This is what change looks like, tonight we answered the call of history.”
His victory came by a narrow margin of 219 to 212, with all Republicans and 34 Democrats opposing. But it secured the most sweeping domestic reform since the 1960s that a few weeks ago seemed dead and buried when the Democrats lost a crucial Senate by-election in Massachusetts.
Though the president will sign last night’s bill into law, the process will not end until later in the week, when Democrats in the Senate are expected to complete a complex set of manoeuvres that will create a compromise bill.
The president therefore avoided a victory lap in comments made from the East Room of the White House shortly before midnight in Washington, though privately White House advisers said this was “a wonderful, wonderful night” and some could not contain their smiles as the president made his short, televised address.
As hundreds of angry protesters outside the Capitol chanted “Kill the Bill”, Democrats were able to muster they votes they needed after the president reached a last minute compromise with anti-abortion congressmen.
He agreed to issue an executive order as soon as the bill was passed that would prevent any circumvention of the existing ban on federal funding of elective abortions, which a small group of Catholic Democrats said was threatened by the language of the bill.
“This bill is complicated, but it’s also very simple: illness and infirmity are universal, and we are stronger against them together than we are alone,” said Steny Hoyer, the Democratic House Majority Leader before the vote. >>> Alex Spillius in Washington | Monday, March 22, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: The passage last night of Barack Obama’s health care reform bill through the House of Representatives is yet another blow to freedom in America inflicted by the Obama administration. The legislation, which comes at a staggering cost of $940 billion, will hugely add to the already towering national debt, now at over $12 trillion. It is yet another millstone round the necks of the American people, already faced with the highest levels of unemployment in a generation.
It is also a great leap forward by the United States towards a European-style vision of universal health care, which will only lead to soaring costs, higher taxes, and a surge in red tape for small businesses. This reckless legislation dramatically expands the power of the state over the lives of individuals, and could not be further from the vision of America’s founding fathers. It has also been rushed through Congress without proper scrutiny, in the face of overwhelming public opposition, and with not an ounce of bipartisan support.
Above all the health care bill is a thinly disguised vanity project for a president who is committed to transforming the United States from the world’s most successful large-scale free enterprise economy, to a highly interventionist society with a massive role for centralized government. The United States has thrived as a nation for over 230 years precisely because of its love for freedom and its belief in free markets. Read on and comment >>> Nile Gardiner | Monday, March 22, 2010
TIMES ONLINE: Barack Obama is wrong to suggest he knows what change looks like but right to urge the public to get ready
There was no champagne for the President, at least not in public. Instead there was a short walk to the microphone at ten to midnight and a low-key speech to weary reporters. Embedded in it were six words that he had waited a long time and twisted a lot of arms to say: "This is what change looks like".
It is hard to overstate the effect the reforms passed last night will have on the American way of life, because the unknowable changes may be even more profound than those that are already known.
Thirty-two million people will be forced or helped to buy health insurance for the first time. Ninety-five per cent of Americans will thus have coverage, up from roughly 85 per cent. The dream of universal coverage will not become a reality overnight, but it will come closer than ever in US history, and closer to levels taken for granted in other advanced economies. >>> Giles Whittell, Washington | Monday, March 22, 2010
NZZ ONLINE: Grosses Thema in der amerikanischen Presse ist der knappe Erfolg von Obamas Gesundheitsreform im Kongress. Die Spaltung, die sich in der Frage zwischen den politischen Kräften abzeichnete, prägt auch die Meinungen in der Medienlandschaft.
Die Kommentare der amerikanischen Presse zur Verabschiedung von Obamas Gesundheitsreform im Kongress sind so kontrovers wie die Haltung der beiden wichtigsten Parteien. Die konservativen Zeitungen stützen die Meinung der Republikaner, wonach die Reform den Vereinigten Staaten eine Schuldenlast von unerhörtem Ausmass auflade. Die linksliberalen Blätter streichen den sozialen Fortschritt heraus, der Ungerechtigkeiten ausgleiche und Benachteiligten den Zugang zur medizinischen Versorgung garantiere. Graben zwischen den Parteien >>> Isabelle Imhof | Montag, 22. März 2010
WELT ONLINE: US-Gesundheitsreform ¬– Obama siegt – zu einem hohen Preis: Es war ein langes Tauziehen zwischen den Demokraten und Republikanern um die Gesundheitsreform. Nun hat der US-Präsident sein wohl wichtigstes innenpolitisches Vorhaben im Abgeordnetenhaus durchgebracht. Die Reform soll fast allen US-Bürgern eine Krankenversicherung garantieren. >>> Von Gabriele Chwallek | Montag, 22. März 2010
MAIL ONLINE: Vote is compared to civil rights legislation of 50s and 60s / Reform leaves nation polarised as backlash begins / Democrats set to pay price in November mid-term elections / Final tally is 219 to 212
Barack Obama hailed the passing of his historic healthcare overhaul last night, declaring: 'This is what change looks like.'
The jubilant president was preparing to sign his £600billion plan into law after the House of Representatives passed the bill in a cliffhanger vote - a victory that U.S. presidents have been trying to achieve for nearly 100 years.
Many are already comparing the vote to just a rung below the enactment of civil rights legislation in the 1950s and 1960s.
But with the nation polarised by the healthcare debate, many are wondering if Mr Obama has made a historic mistake.
The cost to his party and himself could be crippling, analysts have warned. America is heading into mid-term congressional elections in November - and many are now worried that the Democrats are set to pay a high price for healthcare.
The damage to Mr Obama and his party is already considerable.
The president staked his domestic agenda on healthcare last summer. His stand generated the grass-roots 'Tea Party' movement, sparked angry town hall meetings across the nation, and saw his poll numbers plunge to below 50 per cent in some places.
The political stakes are enormous. But Mr Obama spoke only of victory last night. 'This is what change looks like': Victory for Obama as historic healthcare reform bill is passed (but at what price?) >>> David Gardner | Monday, March 22, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: US health care reform bill: the facts: The US House of Representatives has approved a sweeping $940 billion health care reform bill. >>> | Monday, March 22, 2010
LE FIGARO: Après des mois d'âpres négociations, le président américain a remporté une bataille qu'aucun démocrate n'avait gagné en 100 ans de vie politique : donner à toute la nation une vraie couverture maladie.
«Nous avons prouvé que ce gouvernement, un gouvernement élu par la nation pour servir la nation, continue d'agir pour la nation. Nous avons prouvé que nous restions un peuple capable de grandes choses». Par ces mots, Barack Obama a salué sobrement dimanche le passage du projet de réforme du système de santé américain auquel il travaillait depuis plus d'un an. Une réforme dont il a revu certains objectifs à la baisse mais qui restera probablement le symbole de sa législature et fait aboutir un combat mené par les démocrates depuis un siècle.
Dimanche soir, à l'issue de dix heures de débats, la Chambre des représentants a approuvé par 219 voix contre 212 le texte adopté le 24 décembre par le Sénat, envoyant ainsi à une courte majorité le texte à la Maison-Blanche pour promulgation par le président Obama.
Dimanche après-midi pourtant, l'issue du vote était toujours incertaine. Pendant les débats, les républicains ont réitéré leur opposition à un plan jugé trop coûteux. Mike Pence, numéro trois de l'opposition, a ironisé : «Il n'y a qu'à Washington qu'on peut dire qu'on dépense 1.000 milliards tout en faisant économiser de l'argent aux contribuables». Mais les chefs démocrates ont fini par obtenir le ralliement du démocrate anti-avortement Bart Stupak et de ses partisans. Un précieux soutien rendu possible grâce au compromis passé avec Barack Obama qui s'est engagé à signer un décret pour réaffirmer l'interdiction des financements fédéraux pour l'avortement.
Certains démocrates ont néanmoins refusé de s'engager pour une réforme que les sondages disent impopulaire. Selon un récent sondage du Wall Street Journal, 36% des Américains jugent la réforme positive, contre 48% qui l'estiment négative et 15% sans opinion. Au total, 34 démocrates ont finalement voté contre le projet de loi tout comme la totalité des 178 républicains. 32 millions d'assurés supplémentaires >>> Par Pauline Fréour | Lundi 22 Mars 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama signs health care bill amid warnings of Pyrrhic victory: President Barack Obama will sign into law the historic reform of the American health care system that has eluded his predecessors for a century on Tuesday. >>> Toby Harnden in Washington | Monday, March 22, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: Catastrophic victory. Electoral suicide. An act of political courage that will rescue his presidency. The verdicts on Barack Obama's successful push to pass health care reform by the narrowest of margins are sharply divided.
In the short term, few would dispute that Mr Obama registered a significant political achievement. He showed that Democrats, holding power in the White House and both houses of Congress, could muscle a major bill through. Finally, he did something.
He put his personal prestige on the line by persisting with the measure despite the stunning blow of losing a Senate seat in Massachusetts in January largely because of popular discontent with it. Reforming America's health care system had eluded presidents back to Theodore Roosevelt, who left office 101 years ago.
But one man's courage is another's folly and the victory came at a huge cost for Mr Obama. He campaigned on a lofty vow to usher in a new era of bipartisanship in Washington. That died late on Sunday when health care passed without a single Republican vote – and with 34 Democrats voting against.
Never before had landmark legislation – the bill reshapes one-sixth of the American economy – been passed without even a smidgen of bipartisan consensus.
The process took 14 months and at times showed politics at its ugliest, with closed-door horse-trading (despite Mr Obama's trumpeting of a new transparency) and grubby deals like the notorious "Louisiana Purchase" and "Cornhusker Kickback".
Almost every other political priority was pushed aside and the "laser focus" on jobs that the White House kept promising never materialised. >>> Toby Harnden in Washington | Monday, March 22, 2010
