Health Care Agreement Reached with Rep Stupak

HopeTracker| The House of Representatives is poised to pass historic health care legislation after the White House reached an agreement with Rep. Bart Stupak and his allies, agreeing to issue an Executive Order that reaffirms the fact that the Hyde Amendment governs all federal funding of new health care legislation.

The executive order says:

The executive order will provide “additional safeguards to ensure that the status quo is upheld and enforced,” White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer said in a statement. The president’s order is to ensure that current law that restricts federal funding from going toward abortion, known as the Hyde amendment, is maintained. It will extend those restrictions to the new health insurance exchanges, a marketplace in which people would be able shop for and compare insurance plans.

“It is necessary to establish an adequate enforcement mechanism to ensure that federal funds are not used for abortion services,” the executive order states.

In his press conference, Rep Stupak says he believes that Democrats had the 216 needed votes to pass the legislation, without his votes. Besides promoting equanimity among Democrats, the agreement allows Nancy Pelosi to let some Democrats facing tough re-election contests vote against the bill. via ABC News