me and "state of the union" begins right now. >> normally on sundays we take a reflective look at the past week and set the agenda for the coming days, but today is no normal sunday. we are one hour away from a showdown in the house of representatives, a series of votes that will determine the future of health care reform, impact the economy, influence this november's elections and set the stage for the rest of president obama's agenda. today is no normal sunday. today is game day. i'm candy crowley and this is "state of the union." this morning, health reform from all angles. two house leaders, john larson and mike pence, on today's vote. two senior senators, dianne feinstein and orrin hatch on the week ahead and analysis from donna brazil and bill bennett. we have heard the words "end game" so many times in this health care debate i wouldn't dare try it now. this would in fact be the end if

republicans prevailed in today's vote. for democrats the magic number is 216. that's how many are needed to pass the bill in the house. 216 votes among the 253 democratic members. it has been a struggle all week to get there. we begin with seven days in two minutes. >> i think we will have the votes. >> if she had 216 votes, this bill would be long gone. >> hello, ohio. >> when we bring the bill to the floor, we will have the votes. >> we need to get to 216 and we're still tweaking stuff. >> your own congressman, who is tireless on behalf of working people, dennis kucinich. >> it is an important trip that the important will take. and i think he looks forward to it. >> i mean it's clear, they don't have the votes because the american people can't stand this bill. >> i've decided to cast a vote in favor of the legislation. >> that he must postpone his

planned visits for a later date. >> as of today, i'm still voting no. yes, i'm still protecting the sanctity of life. >> hello, george mason! >> yes, i will be voting yes for the bill. >> right now we're just getting votes to pass a bill. >> and in just a few days, a century-long struggle will culminate in a historic vote. >> we're about 24 hours from r armageddon. >> tomorrow will be a sad day for me as i cast a no vote against something i believe we need. >> i will be a proud supporter of health care reform. >> clearly we believe we have the vote. >> we feel like we've been pregnant for 17 months. let's get on with it already. >> we have been kentucky baiting health care for decades. it has now been debated for a year. it is in your hands.

>> here to look ahead to today's vote and the high stakes politics surrounding it, house democratic caucus chairman john larson of connecticut and the house republican conference chairman, mike pence of indiana. gentlemen, thank you both for joining me. >> thank you, candy. >> state of play. where are you. 216, do you have them locked in? >> this is a historic day and we are happy warriors. we are so proud of the democratic caucus that we will be a part of history, joining franklin delano's roosevelt's passage of social security, lyndon johnson's passage of medicare and now barack obama's passage of health care reform. >> so you've got the 216. >> we've got the votes and the reason for that, candy, i think it started earlier this week with natoma canfield becoming the poster child or lady for health care reform. and that struck such a chord

within our caucus. dennis moore standing up to give a speech and the caucus was blackberried by a woman who works for him in kansas. she said thank you for voting for this. i know i'm losing my job at the end of this job and, unfortunately, i've just been diagnosed with cancer. without this bill, i'm lost. dennis ended by saying and she's 24. you could have heard a pin drop. this is about who's side you're on. and clearly this historic moment in the people's chamber, we're on the side of the american people and those that have been denied access to health care and those who have pre-existing conditions who have been denied and those who have had their policies rescinded. >> congressman pence, i think that puts you on the side not of the people if we take his calculation. what is left for republicans to do? congressman larson says they have the 216. so it's all over but the shouting? you guys vote no and move on? >> well, i don't know if they have the votes. the house republicans will use every means at our disposal.

>> what is that? >> well, stay tuned, candy. it's going to be an interesting day. >> can you disrupt the vote? what's available? >> we're going to use every means at our disposal to oppose this government takeover of health care because, quite frankly, you know, as thousands gathered at rallies all across this country and here in the nation's capital yesterday, the american people are sick and tired of runaway federal spending by both parties, of borrowing and bailouts and takeovers, and i believe this is going to be a historic weekend. >> it is. >> but i think it's going to be different than the way john thinks it's going to be. i think this is going to be a historic weekend, because this weekend is going to be the beginning of the end of business as usual in washington, d.c. i think the american people see an administration and see a congress that are in a head-long rush to confront the very real challenges that we have in health care with more government instead of more freedom. the republicans have been offering solutions from the

beginning, let people purchase health insurance across state lines, pass malpractice reform, cover pre-existing conditions. all of that can be done without a massive trillion dollar expansion of the federal government and burdening future generations with more deficits and more debt. >> but the reality of this day is that you don't have the votes to stop it. you may have the means to delay it. >> right. you know, the republicans -- it shouldn't be a news flash to anybody. republicans don't have the votes to stop anything in the house of representatives. we're in a decisive minority. >> so you're talking politically. >> but what's remarkable about this one-year debate has proven my point that a minority in congress plus the american people equals a majority. the reason they weren't able to do this last year, remember all the deadlines. we had deadlines in the summer, we had deadlines in the fall, we had deadlines at the end of the year. the american people don't want this government takeover of health care. and i do believe -- i don't know if they have the votes today, but i guarantee you the american people know they have the votes in november. >> the american people who are already on medicare, all of our

veterans who already receive tri-care understand the importance and the value of having insurance coverage. for 47 million americans who have none, 31 million will now be able to have access to insurance. lowering costs, lowering costs for small businesses. lowering the national debt. first $138 billion and then $1.2 trillion. we can't afford not to do this. and taking care of those people -- >> i want to talk about the debt. hang on one second because i've got to take a quick break. we'll come back because i don't want to talk about the costs because there are some figures out there floating. we will be back right after this. lac laurel sales event. featuring the acclaimed cts sports sedan. a car & driver 10best for the third year in a row. ♪ with a direct injection v6 engine. see your cadillac dealer soon, because while there is no expiration date on achievement,

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we are back with democratic congressman john larson of connecticut and republican congressman mike pence of indiana. we were talking about the cost of this. the cbo has said over ten years this health care bill will

reduce the deficit by $143 billion. however, that doesn't include what might come and what's been promised with more than a wink and a nod to doctors, which is to up their medicare payments, their reimbursements which would cost $208 billion, which then means it actually would be -- would add to the deficit. is that -- is my math correct there? >> well, if that were to be true. but here's the thing, there's no question about the fact that we need to take care of the docs and emphasize primary care. but also what never gets discussed, candy, is some that reuters came out earlier this year. $700 billion annually in inefficiencies in the system, lack of intra operability in hospitals, lack of a continuum of care and fraud and abuse. $700 billion. that's $7 trillion over a ten-year period.

i think we'll more than wring out the costs. i i think that's why the president brought people down to the white house, to try to wring out those costs. we spend 20% of gross domestic product. the closest country to us is switzerland. i can't believe that we can't get that money out of there. >> yeah, yeah, we do such a great job here in washington wringing out the costs. >> that's in the private sector. >> $1.6 trillion deficit this year. only in washington, d.c., could you say with a straight face that you're going to spend a trillion dollars and save taxpayers money. look, you point out the doc fix. this is a total fraud democrats are leaving out $200 billion in spending, that the speaker of the house committed again this week to spend, which makes this even using the cbo's numbers, it makes this a bill that adds to the deficit in the short term and in the long term. but even beyond that, candy, the american people know you expand the federal government's role in health care without giving the american people more health care

choices by purchasing across state lines, without passing any medical malpractice reform at all. roughly a third of health care costs in this country i hear are actually defensive medicine driven by junk lawsuits. the american people know this is going to cost more and add more to the deficit, add more to the debt, cost higher taxes even than the rosiest scenarios that are presented. >> it is not always accurate, as you know. >> that's all that we can vote on. >> sure, absolutely. but it still is one of those things we might not find out except from ten years from now. >> there are numerous reforms that are going to take effect, including the inability to rescind your insurance policy. pre-existing conditions. for women across this country, candy, i mean their birth is a pre-existing condition. domestic violence is a pre-existing condition. a c-section is a pre-existing condition. >> john, john, my wife had a pre-existing condition.

i lost my job about 15 years ago. my wife had a pre-existing condition. she was pregnant with our daughter, audrey. we went to the state guaranty fund, a fund that would be replenished if we passed medical malpractice reform, we could use the savings to strengthen those funds to cover like my wife was covered. you don't need a government takeover of health care. you don't need to mandate that every american purchase health insurance whether they want are or not it and you don't want to put us on a path towards socialization of medicine. >> where is the takeover of government? >> i'll break it down, john. if you mandate every american purchase health insurance, you mandate every business provide it, you end up with government-run insurance and provide public founding abortion, mandate insurance. >> there is no funding for abortion in this bill. it follows hyde. that's not -- that's the case. >> you know that's not true. the catholic church, the catholic bishops, the right to

life says. >> 16,000 nuns can't be wrong. thank god for the assistance of notre dame. >> let me call time here because we are out of time. for more of this our audience can tune into the house debate starting this afternoon. and i suspect that pass or not pass, this debate continues. >> there is strong disagreements but mike pence is an honorable man and i look forward to this debate, as are our colleagues. i hope that we do ratchet down the conversation, though, because when two of our colleagues are spat on and hurled racial slurs, it's time to ratchet down things. >> well, i'll tell you, i was in selma with john lewis, if what's reported to have happened was reported, is contemptible. i denounce it in the strongest terms. but i assure you this debate will not end today. >> or probably on this show. thank you very much. i appreciate it. >> there's a lot of work to go. >> if health care reform wins passage in the house today, the measure heads back to the senate. up next, a quick tutorial on

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then be ready for the president to sign into law. second, house democrats will pass a fix-it bill, a companion measure of sorts to correct the things they don't like about the senate measure. that bill has to go to the senate. if the senate goes the easy route, they will pass the fixes without change and send it off to the president. but if the senate changes anything, if it adds or subtracts from the house measure, it must go back to the house for another vote before it goes to the president. senate republicans have some options which could delay or change the bill, including parliamentary challenges to any part of it as unrelated to the budget. what did schoolhouse rock teach us about this? we will do best to get answers on what comes next when senators orrin hatch and dianne feinstein right after the break. ily cars " the insurance institute for highway safety calls it a 2010 top safety pick. with automatic crash response from onstar

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as we explained, even if the health care reform bill wins passage in the house later today, it still has another legislative hurdle to clear back to the senate for those changes or fixes, if you will, that house democrats want. joining us, democratic senator dianne feinstein of california and republican senator orrin hatch of utah. so the other day i noticed, senator hatch, you said it would

be nuts for anyone to believe that this is the house's last word on this. you think the senate will change the fix-it bill that's coming over to you. >> if the rules are followed, they'd have to because there's a social security component and you can't do that on reconciliation. there's also an appropriations component as well. so if the parliament aryan upholds that, it's going to have to be sent back to the house so anybody that thinks this is going to be a one-time deal today in the house i think is grossly mistaken. >> senator feinstein, do you think it's possible for the senate to take that bill and just go okay, fine with us. >> yes, i do, and i think that's exactly what we'll do. and i really disagree with my friend and colleague. i believe there are at least 51 votes there. i think the bill has been carefully vetted with the

parliamentarian. i believe he will stand for each part of it. and the bill that the house passes today, goes to the president, he signs it. then the reconciliation bill comes over to us. we'll probably begin debate on tuesday. it will be posted, take some time, begin debate on tuesday. now, i'm sure what senator hatch's party will do is submit a whole host of amendments. we'll have a major vote-a-thon and this will go on for several days. and i believe at the end more than 51 democrats will hold firm and will pass the reconciliation bill and we will have health care reform. i can say for my state the reconciliation bill is very important because we have now eight million people without any insurance in california. the number has gone up a million people a year for the last two years, so this bill is

necessary. >> senator hatch, i want to ask you about the vote-a-thon but i first want to play something senator reid said recently. >> we're in the last minute of play. the shot clock is turned off. the other side knows what the outcome will be. so they're trying to foul us and foul us and foul us and foul us again, just to keep the clock from reading zero. they're not just delaying the inevitable, they're delaying the imperative. >> are you going on after the shot clock? i mean senator feinstein calls it a vote-a-thon. is this the republican approach to this now is just to delay the inevitable? >> well, not really. i think it's to try and get amendments passed that really are valid amendments. i think if you have a social security component in it, it has to go back to the house. and the parliamentarian has to

rule. all i can say is this. as i walk around this country, and i've been all over the country, people come up to me from everywhere, democrats, republicans, saying we can't afford this. we can't do this. we do not even have a solid final scoring on this. as a matter of fact, the actuary of cms said he cannot get the final shoring. they also don't include the doc fix which is $371 billion and that doesn't even take care of medicaid. of the 31 million people you're going to cover, 16 million are pushed into medicaid. let me just tell you, we're coming to a europeanization of america. the american people sense it, they feel it, they know we can't afford this and frankly the doc fix that they have on medicaid. here's the letter from my governor saying -- for two years they say they'll hold the states free but then you go off the cliff because they cannot afford

to pay for it in the federal government. and medicaid, they're paying -- the doctors are getting 66% of what the private sector pays doctors. and they're up in arms. they're not going to take patients now. you can imagine how bad this is going to be if this bill goes through. >> senator feinstein, do you worry about either unintended consequences or changes in the economy that could in the end, if this is made into law, really ruin some aspects of health care? >> of course. this isn't the perfect bill. we all know that. we all know there are going to have to be fixes down the road, just as every major program has had. medicare has had, social security will likely have because of the explosion of costs. having said that, you have to look at the basics. and the basics are that we pay far more than european nations do for health care, and they have a much better performance.

we are about 15%, france is 10% and in overall performance by the world health organization, france is ranked number one. i think we're ranked 17. we spend a lot of money but we don't necessarily spend it in the right way or the right places. now, let me just finish. this bill is really important because if we don't pass it now, you can forget health care reform forever after, i believe. so this is the opportunity. we're right at the goal line. i believe it's going to pass the house. it will be signed by the president. we should pass the reconciliation bill. and i would really appeal to my good friend, senator hatch. let this reconciliation bill get passed. then you can see if it's wrong, you'll certainly say so. if it works, hopefully you'll say so as well. >> and we'll get your answer right after this because i've got to take a break and we'll find out if you listened to her appeal right after this.

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we are back with two stop senators, democrat dianne feinstein and republican orrin hatch. when last we met she was asking if you would just let this reconciliation bill go through and see what happens. >> suggesting. suggesting. >> let me tell you, republicans are dedicated against this bill. we consider it an awful bill. do you realize they're going to subsidize families of four that make over $80,000 a year. i mean we're getting to where 50% of the people in this country are going to depend on subsidies. of course i know diane can't agree with that or doesn't believe in that. all i can say is, is everywhere i go people say how do we pay for this. you know, in all honesty, they have jacked up the costs of medicare, they're going to take better than $500 billion now out of medicare. they're going to increase taxes by over $500 billion. they're going to sock it to individuals who can't afford to buy insurance.

they're going to have to pay 2.5% of their gross income. businesses will have to pay up to $3,000 per employee if they don't provide health insurance. you reach a point where you say who's going to pay for all this? it's going to come down to us taxpayers. like i say, it's the euro europeanization of america. >> of course there were things that worried you about the bill. what worries you the most? is there anything that you think, yeah, that is a worry of mine. >> the bill is a combination of a number of different things. designed to cover more people. the bill has very big strong points. for example, right away there's a $5 billion fund for people with pre-existing conditions who can't get health insurance. >> we're both for that. >> that's a very positive thing. >> sure. >> so the bill, when really accumulated, the congressional budget office says will save over ten years $138 billion.

now, orrin will say, well, it's not this, it's not that, it's not the other thing, but that's the fact that we go on when we assess a bill. >> but isn't it also true, senator -- >> so over ten years, this bill, i'm confident, will not cost more. now, as i said, are there certain parts that may have to have tweaked that don't work exactly right? he has given a litany of complaints about the bill. the thrust of the bill is to provide more people with coverage. one of the good things the bill does is it reduces the non-premium costs for those 85% of people that have medical health insurance. it reduces it from 20% to 15%. so that more money from insurance companies will actually go for medical care. and i think that's important. >> politically, isn't it going to be hard to argue, should this bill pass, and we think it will, just given the numbers, to say,

listen, people are now going to not be thrown off their insurance because they got sick there, will be no more caps. >> exactly. >> there will be help for people down the road to help subsidize it. how can you argue against that? isn't that a politically powerful package? >> i'm not arguing against that. i think republicans certainly -- we could agree on a large percentage of things together, but there was really no effort to get us involved. all i can say is this, is that everywhere i go, and i've said it over and over, people say how are you going to pay for this. how do you pay for it. now, the cms, the actuary for the administration, says the cost curve will not be bent, premiums are going to go up. i have to say that i believe that cbo -- of course they have to decide these budgetary matters based upon the papers given them by the house of representatives and by the senate. and those papers are stacked in favor of trying to live within our means. but they don't. the fact is, is that they double

count in this bill. they have all kinds of other gimmicks in this bill to try to get this bill done. everybody knows that this extrapolated over ten years is going to be 2.5 trillion more on top of what we're already spending. you cannot tell me that this country can afford to do that and that we can't find a way by working together to really come up with a health care system that will work and work within financial means. >> let me give you the last short word and that is are you comfortable with the costs of this bill. >> yes. >> and comfortable the country can afford it? >> yes, i believe we can. and i believe that will be sorted out over time. i think there's one thing that isn't in the bill that the president was good enough to take my bill, which would give the secretary of health and human services some control over the rate of premiums to ensure that they are reasonable for people who have private sector insurance, unfortunately the parliamentarian said that could

not be added to the reconciliation bill. i have introduced it as a separate bill. i believe this is a huge problem out there. you have anthem in california and 800,000 policies just jacking up premiums up to 39%. and then saying there may be another increase in the middle of the year. and so people are being pushed off of their health insurance because of the cost of premiums, and this is one thing we need to strengthen in my view and hopefully will as a separate piece of legislation. >> senator dianne feinstein, senator orrin hatch, i can't think you both for coming. more of this on the senate floor next week, we promise. >> thank you. up next in our american dispatch, why despite the claims of some politicians it's hard to say exactly how most americans feel about the health care reform bill and then donna brazile and bill bennett on the potential fallout for both democratic and republican lawmakers up for re-election this fall.

garlique's clinically tested ingredient maintains healthy cholesterol naturally. eat right. exercise. garlique. our american dispatch looks at a central question, what do voters think. house republican leader john boehner answers for republicans. >> the american people are saying stop and they're screaming at the top of their lungs. >> but are they? two polls released this week leave lots of room for debate. a pew poll released thursday asks do you favor or oppose the current bill? only 38% said they favor it. so is minority leader boehnor

right? another poll asked is it better to pass the obama plan or keep the current system. the respondents were split right down the middle. is it in the way the question is asked? are people more likely to support it when it's called the obama plan or is it that some people think that some change is better than no change. you be the judge. we'll sort the complicated politics of all this with donna brazile and bill bennett after a short break. [ indistinct talking on p.a. ]

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♪ joining me here in washington, two of my favorite people, cnn political contributor and democratic strategist, donna brazile, and cnn political contributor and host of "morning in america" bill bennett who's also author of "a century turns." okay, the politics of all this. john larson, head of the democratic caucus, says they have got the 216, done deal. goes over to the senate. dianne feinstein all confident they're going to pass it, it's going to be law. how does this play out politically? i want to play you something -- two things actually the president said yesterday. first there was this.

>> i am actually confident, i talked to some of you individually, that it will end up being the smart thing to do politically. because i believe the good policy is good politics. >> okay. now, about two minutes later he had this to say. >> now, i can't guarantee that this is good politics. every one of you know your districts better than i do. >> so, let's see, i'm thinking we're not really sure how the politics are going to play out. what do you think? >> well, as a former teacher of logic, he didn't contradict himself because he said i believe this will be good politics because it's good policy but i can't guarantee it. we've heard that about. i think it's bad politics because i think it's bad policy. not just from a partisan point of view. you would not have so many nervous democrats if this looked like it was really good politics. i don't think it is. and, again, i think when we see

how this plays out, one play will be in november with the mid-term elections. another play will see what happens with budget issues. since misrepresentations are all over the place in this proposal, and you look at a state like massachusetts, which is a state closest to what this federal program is, i think they're going to regret it. be careful what you wish for, bishop butler said, because you may get it. >> what the white house is counting on, what democrats are counting on is that after this is signed into law, peep el go, oh, i won't be thrown off my insurance. and their argument has been we don't know what's in this bill. is that going to work? >> it's true that only 15% of voters understand what's inside the bill because we've been talking about the pie crust and not what's in the filling. and i think as soon as they understand that children with pre-existing conditions will not be kicked off their policies, small businesses will have access to an exchange that will help lower their costs and provide better coverage for their employees, i think as soon

as they learn the details of this proposal, they will become very comfortable with it. we all know that the price that the american people will pay if congress fails to act is that their premiums will continue to rise. $10,000 over the next 15 years. this is good policy, it's good politics, it's good for the american people, it's good for the economy. there's no reason for democrats to run away from this bill. >> so you don't think democrats will lose seats this november because of the health care bill? >> democrats will lose seats, republicans will lose seats simply because there are open seats that will no longer go into the democratic column. >> but not because of health care. >> well, health care, some democrats might lose because the voters are tired of that democrat and maybe tired of republicans too. i don't think we should judge this bill based on who will win and who will lose. if we're doing what's right for the american people, we're doing what's right for taxpayers, this is a good approach to try and solve a very long-standing problem in this country. >> and that's how the president sold it, right?

don't do this on politics, do this because it's the right thing to do. >> the president said do the courageous thing. i think some members of congress have heard do what my conscience tells me, people like bart stupak, but hold the tape. not to be mean, but democrats will lose seats on this. they'll lose a lot of seats. this is what the nervousness is b now, if this turns out to surprise me and surprise a lot of people and be good policy, save the tape for that. in massachusetts you only had 4% of uninsured. what happens when he nationalize this issue. you have states like texas and california with 25 and 30% uninsured. this could bust the budget and really hurt the country. >> well, you know, what's disingenuous about the arguments they give is they're worried about the deficit. well, if we do nothing, health care will consume about 20 to 25% of our gdp.

if we do nothing, individuals like myself and others who have individual policies will see their premiums continue to rise. if the republicans would like to somehow or another defend 39% increase in health care costs, children getting kicked off their policies simply because they have asthma, let them defend that. democrats will defend the substance of this and let the politics play out in november. >> obamacare and doing nothing are not the only options. there are lots of other plans and lots of other ideas, fully fleshed out is paul ryan's plan that he wrote with tom coburn. this plan never saw the light of day, never allowed a score buying cbo. we may revisit it in the future when we see what this one wreaks. >> is health care the election issue or is it really the economy. >> it's the economy. the economy is jobs, it's people feel insecure about their own livelihood. it's the american dream that's at stake. look, paul ryan had a plan that covered three million americans, reduced the deficit by $30 billion. this is a plan that will cover

32 million additional americans and reduce the deficit over $138 billion in the next ten years and of course $1.2 trillion over the next 20 years. this is good policy. republicans who are concerned about the deficit like democrats and independents should get behind this bill. >> bottom line, ryan won't pass so it will be this. but is this the election year issue or is it jobs. >> it's a big part of it and jobs is a big part if the and there's a larger thing too which is washington and distrust of government and who do they think they are and don't they know, can't they read that a majority of us said we were opposed to this, we really don't like this. and when the costs started coming in, and by the way when they count the doctor fix, which is going to put it in a deficit, it's going cost to the government, more cost to the taxpayer, it's going to cost the democrats. >> what have you done for me lately? you've doing nothing on jobs, health care or nothing to help the economy. the american people like to vote

for something not just against something. >> well, they'll have the chance and you will have your way and the democrats will rule on this and probably get it and then they will own the store. >> we don't -- we're going to still love you, though. >> the lovefest will continue. >> they'll still be your favorites. >> still my favorites, i promise. ahead, our continuing coverage of the house debate on coverage of the house debate on health care reform and with the best political team on television. lots of discounts on car insurance. can i get in on that? are you a safe driver? yes. discount! do you own a home? yes. discount! are you going to buy online? yes! discount! isn't getting discounts great? yes! there's no discount for agreeing with me. yeah, i got carried away. happens to me all the time. helping you save money -- now, that's progressive. call or click today. i want to fix up old houses. ♪ [ woman ] when i grow up, i want to take him on his first flight.

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gloria gorger and a man who needs no introduction. >> just wolf. >> so we're not that far from getting something or not getting something. >> it's going to be a few hours of intense debate and there's going to be some drama. the democrats keep saying they have the 216 votes they need to get this passed. the republicans saying not so fast, we'll see. you know what, the proof will be when the roll call actually happens. >> i think what we're finding is there were various democrats on morning tv, including on state of the union." we had congressman larson saying we've got the 216 and others were going we don't really have it yet but we will have it. i think one thing we can bet on is there will not be a vote until they have the 216. >> nancy pelosi and steny hoyer, the leaders of the democrats, they can control the house of representatives. when they're 100% sure they have those 216 votes in hand, that's when the roll call will begin. >> and parole the precautionary note that we ought to tell all of our viewers is while this may be a historic vote one way or

the other, it's not the final vote. >> right. >> this is not health care today that we're getting. >> it will be the final vote on the senate version. the senate version, if it passes, will then be signed into law by the president of the united states. and that will be the law of the land. now, it depends on how long it takes the senate to go ahead and pass the fixes, the reconciliation bill, as it's called. but if the house approves the senate version today, the president later today or tomorrow morning signs that into law, with or without a lot of fanfare, that is health care reform. it will be the law as approved by the senate and the house and signed by the president. >> we are going to watch it all unfold with members of the best political team on television. we are about ten minutes away from the house opening up for business. we will be with you all afternoon long and into the evening so stick with us. with 4g from sprint, i can download files up to 10x faster than 3g...

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huge day here in washington on capitol hill. the house of representatives getting ready to vote on health care reform. it's been 13, 14 months in the making and today a critical vote. the senate has already passed health care reform, the house will today consider that senate version as well as a separate so-called reconciliation bill that will make some significant changes in what the senate passed. but once the house passes the senate version, it will go to the president. the senate version for his signature. that will be the law of the land. let's bring in dana bash. dana, the voting will start after 2:00 p.m. eastern, is that right? >> reporter: that's right. maybe even closer to 3:00 now, depending on how it goes when the house comes in in the morning. we understand that when the house comes in at the top of the hour, they will go through what is traditionally the opener of the house and that is one-minute speeches. we expect that to happen for about an hour and then there

will be an open of, again this is procedural, but an important procedural motion. an open of debate on what is called the rule, and that vote will essentially set the terms of the debate. there was a whole bunch of controversy we've been reporting all week that perhaps that vote on the so-called rule would actually be a vote on the senate bill. that is not happening now, so what we are going to see is a vote on the so-called rule. we'll have two hours of debate on the senate bill. we will have a vote on the senate health care bill that will be the most important vote. that is what we are going to be looking for, to see if the house democrats have that critical 216. assuming they get that, they will move on to that package of fixes you were talking about with candy just a short while ago. that is also very, very important. assuming that passes, they will move on. but there is something that we really are going to be looking for here and that is what the republicans are are going to do. they have all kinds of tricks up their sleeve. they're not letting us know exactly what they are, but they

have a lot of ways that they can delay this. first of all, they have one option that we know they are going to have a vote on and it's called a motion to recommit. that is something that is always given to the minority party and they can use that for whatever subject they want. and i've got to tell you, democrats were worried that they would use that for something as explosive as abortion. we don't know what they're going to do. that is going to be part of the drama we'll be watching for on the house floor. >> we know there will be a lot of drama before this day is done and there's no doubt, dana, that unless nancy pelosi, speaker of the house, is 100% sure she has 216 votes to pass the senate bill, she's not going to ask for that roll call, shatter? >> reporter: it would be hard to imagine she would do that, absolutely. there were times in recent history when republicans were in charge. tom delay was notorious, for example, when he was the republican whip for agreeing to take something to the floor, not quite have the votes and just twist arms while they're there. it doesn't seem as though democrats will go down that road. they are saying that they are feeling very confident.

most democratic leaders are saying -- are being very cautious not to say, yes, we have the 216 but they are saying they are very confident. having said that, there are some compromise talks in the works to try to pull over some other democrats who are anti-abortion democrats and just given the fact that they're having those discussions makes you think maybe they're not -- they just want to be really, really sure that they have plenty of votes here. >> this session on the house floor could go until 6:00 p.m., 7:00 p.m. or much later depending on whether they have the votes, depending on the republican parliamentary maneuvers so this is open-ended. let's go to the white house. dan lothian, our white house correspondent, is standing by. how confident, dan, is the president and his top advisers. >> reporter: right now they're not acting like this is a done deal just yet. a white house aide saying that the president will be making phone calls and receiving phone calls from those members of congress as he tries to push health care reform across the finish line. the sense of urgency we've seen the last couple of d