Updated: Mon Mar. 22 2010 9:51:03 PM
News Staff
While U.S. President Barack Obama prepares to sign a historic health-care reform bill into law, irate Republicans are vowing to fight on to make sure the reforms it proposes are never put into practice.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted on the controversial legislation late Sunday, with 219 Democrats voting in its favour against 212 members who opposed it, including some moderate Democrats. Not one Republican voted in favour of the bill.
On Monday morning, Republican Senator John McCain said he was repulsed by "all this euphoria going on" in the wake of the vote. And he said the health-care debate will continue.
Republicans have already started a campaign to repeal the bill. They are expected to accuse Democrats of ramming the bill through Congress, and of spearheading changes that lack public support and will lead to tax increases, among other things.
To be successful, however, they would need a Republican in the White House and Republicans controlling two-thirds of Senate seats.
The pending legislation will extend coverage to 32 million U.S. citizens who currently lack coverage. It will also bar insurance companies from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates it will save taxpayers US$138 billion over the next decade.
Following the historic vote on Sunday, Obama told television viewers that "this is what change looks like."
"We proved that this government -- a government of the people and by the people -- still works for the people," he said during televised remarks.
Obama is expected to sign the bill into law on Tuesday.
In a contentious climate, Obama must now sell the bill to the American public, as a companion, so-called "fix-it" bill made its way through the U.S. Senate. Debate could begin on that bill as early as Tuesday.
The U.S. president plans to attend a public event in Iowa on Thursday as he moves to sell the benefits of the health-care overhaul.
Officials in at least nine states are already threatening to sue the federal government by arguing that the health-care reforms are not constitutional because they infringe on state sovereignty.
Under the U.S. Constitution, however, federal laws trump state laws. Still, the lawsuit could help keep anger surrounding the health-care overhaul stewing until mid-term elections in November.
Mark Plotkin, a Washington-based political analyst, said Republicans are united against the bill because they feel it will lead to cascading "intrusions" by the federal government.
They also hope it could help them win votes in elections that are months away.
"We'll see in November whether the Republicans will get some benefit from making this a partisan issue," Plotkin told CTV News Channel.
As McCain put it on ABC's Good Morning America on Monday, "outside the Beltway, the American people are very angry."
"They don't like it, and we're going to repeal this," he said.
News Staff
While U.S. President Barack Obama prepares to sign a historic health-care reform bill into law, irate Republicans are vowing to fight on to make sure the reforms it proposes are never put into practice.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted on the controversial legislation late Sunday, with 219 Democrats voting in its favour against 212 members who opposed it, including some moderate Democrats. Not one Republican voted in favour of the bill.
On Monday morning, Republican Senator John McCain said he was repulsed by "all this euphoria going on" in the wake of the vote. And he said the health-care debate will continue.
Republicans have already started a campaign to repeal the bill. They are expected to accuse Democrats of ramming the bill through Congress, and of spearheading changes that lack public support and will lead to tax increases, among other things.
To be successful, however, they would need a Republican in the White House and Republicans controlling two-thirds of Senate seats.
The pending legislation will extend coverage to 32 million U.S. citizens who currently lack coverage. It will also bar insurance companies from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates it will save taxpayers US$138 billion over the next decade.
Following the historic vote on Sunday, Obama told television viewers that "this is what change looks like."
"We proved that this government -- a government of the people and by the people -- still works for the people," he said during televised remarks.
Obama is expected to sign the bill into law on Tuesday.
In a contentious climate, Obama must now sell the bill to the American public, as a companion, so-called "fix-it" bill made its way through the U.S. Senate. Debate could begin on that bill as early as Tuesday.
The U.S. president plans to attend a public event in Iowa on Thursday as he moves to sell the benefits of the health-care overhaul.
Officials in at least nine states are already threatening to sue the federal government by arguing that the health-care reforms are not constitutional because they infringe on state sovereignty.
Under the U.S. Constitution, however, federal laws trump state laws. Still, the lawsuit could help keep anger surrounding the health-care overhaul stewing until mid-term elections in November.
Mark Plotkin, a Washington-based political analyst, said Republicans are united against the bill because they feel it will lead to cascading "intrusions" by the federal government.
They also hope it could help them win votes in elections that are months away.
"We'll see in November whether the Republicans will get some benefit from making this a partisan issue," Plotkin told CTV News Channel.
As McCain put it on ABC's Good Morning America on Monday, "outside the Beltway, the American people are very angry."
"They don't like it, and we're going to repeal this," he said.
