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Now that the House has passed the health care reform bill it is up to the Senate to follow through. There was one House Republican who supported the bill. His name is Representative Anh Cao, who told CNN on Sunday that he needed to the needs of his district before the desires of his party.

In fact Cao's vote was not required to get the bill passed by the House, but it did give House Speaker Nancy Pelosi the opportunity to talk about bipartisan support for this controversial measure.
Cao stands behind his decision saying that it was the right one for his congressional district even though it was not a popular decision for his party, according to statements by this first-term representative from Louisiana's Democratic 2nd District. He points out that many of his constituents are uninsured, and many are poor. He contends that his decision was the right one for his district.

Cao did admit that he succeeded in getting the White House to pledge for his district to deal with the ongoing impact of Hurricane Katrina, for his vote. He says that his party leaders respect his decision to vote with the Democrats.

Representative Mike Pence of Indiana, who is the third-ranking Republican in the House, said on television that by pushing through the huge health care bill, the Democrats were not taking into consideration the wishes of the American public.

Pence said that bill would raise costs, while increasing the national budget deficit and that it would lead to the government takeover of the health care system.

Pence voiced his belief that the public is very much frustrated with the liberal establishment in Washington, and the Democrats are going to be history if they keep ignoring the American people.

At the same time Democratic congressman Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said on the same show that it had been reported by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office that the House bill would actually reduce the deficit.

Van Hollen chastised the Republicans for their not having dealt with the rising costs of health care that that harmed the U.S. economy during the years when the Republicans were running the White House and Congress.

He claims that the system has favored the insurance industry citing large industry profits while Americans have had to deal with unfair industry practices, one example being having one’s coverage denied for pre-existing conditions. He said that the American public needs to understand that the government is attempting to bring down insurance costs so as to help more Americans to be able to afford health insurance.

The House vote itself was quite dramatic. With just eight seconds left in the voting period, the Democrats began their count down and soon erupted into roars when House Speaker Pelosi declared that the bill had passed.

At the same time the House Republican lawmakers stood silently by with their arms folded across their chests.

Earlier that day, President Obama had met with Democrats to gain support for the bill, and called it the chance of a generation.
In the run-up to the vote, Republicans and conservative Democrats came together to pass an amendment to the bill that would prohibit federal funds for abortion services.