Obama Urges Lawmakers To Pass Health Reform

(RTTNews) - President Barack Obama said Saturday that the time has come for Congress to pass a bill to reform the health insurance system in America.

Speaking in the Rose Garden following a meeting with House Democrats at the Capitol, the president said the House bill, which is expected to come up for a vote Saturday night, is "the change that the American people urgently need."

"Now is the time to finish the job," he said. "The bill that the House has produced will provide stability and security for Americans who have insurance; quality, affordable options for those who don't; and lower costs for American families and American businesses."

He added, "As I've insisted from the beginning, it is a bill that is fully paid for and will actually reduce our long-term federal deficit."

Obama said the worthiness of the bill was emphasized by the array of groups that have lined up in support of it, from consumer advocates to medical groups.

"The American Medical Association and the American Nurses Association support it on behalf of doctors and nurses and medical professionals who know firsthand what's broken in our current system, and who see what happens when their patients can't get the care they need because of insurance industry bureaucracies," he said.

He added, "The National Farmers Union supports this bill because it will control costs for farmers and ranchers, and address the unique challenges rural Americans face when it comes to receiving quality care."

The AARP also supports the measure, Obama said, because the measure strengthens the security of the Medicare system. Obama acknowledged that the bill would not be perfect and would not please every constituency.

"That's an impossible task," he said. "But what is possible, what's in our grasp right now is the chance to prevent a future where every day 14,000 Americans continue to lose their health insurance, and every year 18,000 Americans die because they don't have it."

He added, "What we can do right now is choose a better future and pass a bill that brings us to the very cusp of building what so many generations of Americans have sought to build: a better health care system for this country."

Referring to his meeting with House Democrats, Obama said he sought to remind the lawmakers about the historic nature of their work on health reform.

"Most public servants pass through their entire careers without a chance to make as important a difference in the lives of their constituents and the life of this country," he said. "This is their moment, this is our moment, to live up to the trust that the American people have placed in us. ...This is our moment to deliver."

He added, "I urge members of Congress to rise to this moment. Answer the call of history, and vote yes for health insurance reform for America."

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