With 219 votes from Democrats and one from a Republican, H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, has passed the U.S. House of Representatives. This ends an extremely long day on the floor of the body, one that began well before 10 am and will end after midnight.

A plan that was rooted in the ideologies of so many Democratic members, but that was sprung within the campaign of a president of so many firsts. And as Speaker Nancy Pelosi stood to read the total vote count, with an ear-to-ear smile, the chamber erupted, from the floor to the gallery. History had been made.



Following the vote, another vote was taken, passing 428-0, on a resolution honoring the killed and wounded soldiers at Fort Hood military base in Texas.