Last Thursday’s first-of-its-kind summit capped off a debate that has lasted nearly a year. Every idea has now been put on the table. Every argument has been made. Both parties agree that the status quo is unacceptable and gets more dire each day. Today, I want to state as clearly and forcefully as I know how: Now is the time to make a decision about the future of health care in America.

The final proposal I’ve put forward draws on the best ideas from all sides, including several put forward by Republicans at last week’s summit. It will put Americans in charge of their own health care, ensuring that neither government nor insurance company bureaucrats can ration, deny, or put out of financial reach the care our families need and deserve.

I strongly believe that Congress now owes the American people a final vote on health care reform. Reform has already passed the House with bipartisan support and the Senate with a super-majority of sixty votes. Now it deserves the same kind of up-or-down vote that has been routinely used and has passed such landmark measures as welfare reform and both Bush tax cuts.

Earlier today, I asked leaders in both houses of Congress to finish their work and schedule a vote in the next few weeks. From now until then, I will do everything in my power to make the case for reform. And now, I’m asking you, the members of the Organizing for America community, to raise your voice and do the same.

The final march for reform has begun, and your participation is crucial. Please commit to join with me to take reform across the finish line.

Essentially, my proposal would change three things about the current health care system:

First, it would protect all Americans from the worst practices of insurance companies. Never again will the mother with breast cancer have her coverage revoked, see her premiums arbitrarily raised, or be forced to live in fear that a pre-existing condition will bar her from future coverage.

Second, my proposal would give individuals and small businesses the same choice of private health insurance that members of Congress get for themselves. And my proposal says that if you still can’t afford the insurance in this new marketplace, we will offer you tax credits based on your income — tax credits that add up to the largest middle class tax cut for health care in history.

Finally, my proposal would bring down the cost of health care for everyone — families, businesses, and the federal government — and bring down our deficit by as much as $1 trillion over the next two decades. These savings mean businesses small and large will finally be freed up to create jobs and increase wages. With costs currently skyrocketing, reform is vital to remaining economically strong in the years and decades to come.

In the few crucial weeks ahead, you can help make sure this proposal becomes law. Please sign up to join the Organizing for America campaign in the final march for reform:
http://my.barackobama.com/commit

When I talked about change on the campaign, this is what I was talking about: coming together to solve a huge problem that has been troubling America for 100 years and standing up to the special interests to deliver a brighter, smarter future for generations to come.

I look forward to signing this historic reform into law. And when I do, it will be because your organizing played an essential role in making change possible.

Thank you,
President Barack Obama

Why is it that our media allow these senators to get away with patently verifiable falsehoods and lies? Is no one researching anymore? That Hatch would feel confident enough to write this piece shows the disrespect that he holds for journalists.

The deadline for accomplishing health care reform, which for months has been a moving target, has moved yet again. This time to March 18, before President Obama leaves for an overseas trip to Indonesia and Australia.

Politico’s Mike Allen reports that the White House and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are pushing for the deadline.

"Hill aides tell us this is physically possible, although some doubt that it’s psychically possible," Allen wrote. "The backstop is the Easter break, which would provide a week-and-a-half cushion. Then, the White House finally gets to make its big pivot to 2010 messaging."

More from MSNBC’s First Read: "The new deadline to get this done — have the House pass the Senate bill plus the fixes to that legislation, and then have the Senate pass the fixes via reconciliation — is Easter (or even the day the president leaves for Indonesia on March 18). If Democrats can’t get a vote in the House by then, we’ll know if this last push is in trouble."

Health Care Deadline In TWO WEEKS: Dems Want Bill Finished By March 18

Now is the time for Texas to have a real sensible governor.

(CNN) — Former Houston Mayor Bill White will be the Democratic nominee for the governor’s office in Texas, CNN projects, based on votes tallied by the Texas Secretary of State’s office.

In early voting, White was polling more than 75 percent of the votes with Palestinian-American businessman Farouk Shami in second place with 12 percent, leading a pack of six other Democrats.

On the Republican side, the early results revealed no winner yet in a tight race between incumbent Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson. Perry had more than 52 percent of the vote with Hutchinson trailing at 31 percent.

A third candidate, Debra Medina, was polling 16 percent.

Hutchinson is hoping to force a run-off against Perry, who put distance between the two by tying Hutchinson to Washington politics.

Ex-Houston Mayor White is projected Dem nominee for governor – CNN.com