Health Care Reform Passes (How The Local Reps Voted)

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Mar 22, 2010 2:15PM

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

President Obama addresses the nation after the House passes the health care reform bill.

Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., D-Ill., uses his PDA to photograph demonstrators outside on the U.S. Capitol as the House prepares to vote on health care reform in Washington.

President Barack Obama talks to a Member of Congress on the phone in the Oval Office, March 21, 2010. Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs Phil Schiliro works in the background.

President Barack Obama talks on the phone with a Member of Congress in the Chief of Staff \'s office at the White House, March 21, 2010. From left, aides Phil Schiliro, Sean Sweeney, Rahm Emanuel, Jim Messina, and DanTurton.

President Barack Obama talks to a Member of Congress while en route to George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., to deliver remarks on health insurance reform, March 19, 2010.

A Capitol Hill police officer stands between protesters for and against the health care reform bill as the House prepares to vote on the bill in the U.S. Capitol in Washington

By now, we all know that the U.S. House voted to pass the Senate's version of the health care reform bill by a 219-212 vote. House Dems saw a small splintering as 219 voted yes and 34 voted no; the GOP voted a straight 178-0 against the bill. After voting down a GOP motion to recommit the bill, the House then passed a reconciliation bill that will make changes to the approved legislation by a 220-211 vote; that bill now heads to the Senate. As for the main health care reform bill, here's how area reps voted on the bill:

• Democrat - Yes: Bean, Davis, Gutierrez, Jackson, Quigley, Rush, Schakowsky
• Democrat - No: Lipinski
• GOP - No: Biggert, Kirk, Roskam

In a statement, Rep. Lipinski, the only rep who broke party lines, said, "The Senate bill does make a number of improvements to our health care system...Unfortunately, the bill also contains a number of serious flaws, and many of the good aspects could have been done without passing this massive bill." Lipinski was also one of several Democrat reps that expressed concern over the bill's language regarding abortion.

After the vote, President Obama made some remarks, saying, "Tonight’s vote is not a victory for any one party -- it's a victory for them. It's a victory for the American people. And it's a victory for common sense."