Pelosi: ‘We Will Pass Health Insurance Reform’

Pelosi: ‘We Will Pass Health Insurance Reform’

By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN

The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, predicted on Friday that Democrats would succeed in winning passage of major health care legislation this year, and she described the bill as a core component of her party’s effort to improve the economy.

“Central to our fight to create jobs and strengthen our economy is our fight to reform health insurance for the American people,” Ms. Pelosi said in a speech at the winter meeting of the Democratic National Committee. “This is about the economic security of America’s families.”

And Ms. Pelosi said that Democrats had already laid the groundwork for a sweeping overhaul of the health care system by including billions of dollars in last year’s economic stimulus measure for “health information technology investments, electronic medical records and the rest, so that when we go down the path of health care, we’re off to a running start.”

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“In a letter to President Obama, Senator Ted Kennedy wrote about the need for health care reform,” Ms. Pelosi said. “He said what we face is, above all, a moral issue. At stake are not just the principles, the details of the policy, but the fundamental principles of social justice and the character of our country. With Senator Kennedy as our inspiration, with the leadership of President Barack Obama and with your help, we will pass health insurance reform this year.”

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