There was a celebratory mood in the White House as US President Barack Obama prepared to sign landmark health care legislation into law.
"After all the votes have been tallied, health insurance reform becomes law in the United States of America." Obama acknowledged that it was a hard fought battle. "that our generation is able to succeed in passing this reform, is the testament to the persistence and the character of the American people, who championed this cause, who mobilized, who organized, who believed that people who love this country can change it."
The signing of the law will help shape President Obama's legacy and could impact Democrats' chances of holding power in the US Congress. The overhaul will extend health coverage to 32 million Americans, and pose new taxes on the wealthy and bar insurance companies from refusing to cover people with pre-existing medical conditions. Later this week, the Senate will take up a package of changes that the House of Representatives proposed to improve the bill.
Deborah Lutterbeck, Reuters
