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Senate passes historic health care legislation
Unusual Christmas Eve vote symbolic in ongoing debate
Senate Dems praise health bill's passage
Dec. 24: At a news conference a few moments after passing a landmark health care bill, Senate Democrats called the passage a "victory for the American people."
msnbc tv
Obama: Let's finally reform health care in 2010
Dec. 24: Speaking shortly after Senate Democrats passed an historic health care bill, President Obama called health care reform the most important piece of social legislation since Social Security passed in the 1930s.
WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats passed a landmark health care bill in a climactic Christmas Eve vote that could define President Barack Obama's legacy and usher in near-universal medical coverage for the first time in the country's history.
The 60-39 vote on a cold winter morning capped months of arduous negotiations and 24 days of floor debate. It also followed a succession of failures by past congresses to get to this point. Vice President Joe Biden presided as 58 Democrats and two independents voted "yes." Republicans unanimously voted "no."
The tally far exceeded the simple majority required for passage.
Story continues below ↓
Unusual Christmas Eve vote symbolic in ongoing debate
Senate Dems praise health bill's passage
Dec. 24: At a news conference a few moments after passing a landmark health care bill, Senate Democrats called the passage a "victory for the American people."
msnbc tv
Obama: Let's finally reform health care in 2010
Dec. 24: Speaking shortly after Senate Democrats passed an historic health care bill, President Obama called health care reform the most important piece of social legislation since Social Security passed in the 1930s.
WASHINGTON - Senate Democrats passed a landmark health care bill in a climactic Christmas Eve vote that could define President Barack Obama's legacy and usher in near-universal medical coverage for the first time in the country's history.
The 60-39 vote on a cold winter morning capped months of arduous negotiations and 24 days of floor debate. It also followed a succession of failures by past congresses to get to this point. Vice President Joe Biden presided as 58 Democrats and two independents voted "yes." Republicans unanimously voted "no."
The tally far exceeded the simple majority required for passage.
Story continues below ↓