Historic, "Bi-Partisan" Heath care reform passed 220 to 215 late last night (1 Republican, Rep. Joseph Cao (R-Louisiana), voted in favor of it). Moments ago, the House of Representatives passed the Affordable Health Care for America Act by a vote of 220-215, with one Republican — Rep. Joseph Cao (R-LA) — voting for the measure. Once the bill reached the needed threshold of 218 votes, the chamber erupted in applause. Members excitedly counted down the last few seconds of the vote. read more... NY Times: Sweeping Health Care Plan Passes House WASHINGTON — Handing President Obama a hard-fought victory, the House narrowly approved a sweeping overhaul of the nation’s health care system on Saturday night, advancing legislation that Democrats said could stand as their defining social policy achievement. After a daylong clash with Republicans over what has been a Democratic goal for decades, lawmakers voted 220 to 215 to approve a plan that would cost $1.1 trillion over 10 years. Democrats said the legislation would provide overdue relief to Americans struggling to buy or hold on to health insurance. “This is our moment to revolutionize health care in this country,” said Representative George Miller, Democrat of California and one of the chief architects of the bill. Democrats were forced to make major concessions on insurance coverage for abortions to attract the final votes to secure passage, a wrenching compromise for the numerous abortion-rights advocates in their ranks. read more...The final vote tally. Best floor speech against the Rethugs "substitute" bill: During debate of the health care bill, Rep. George Miller (D-CA) noted that after 12 years of controlling the House and 8 years in control of the White House at the same time, Republicans "left behind 37 million Americans without health insurance." He continued, "And now they come forward with a plan for the future, and over the next decade, they're going to leave behind 50 million Americans! Wanna buy it? Wanna try it? Wanna sell it?