Protests form while Demos seek votes on health bill

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama and House Democrats scrambled on Thursday to secure the votes to pass a historic health-care overhaul initiative, working to ease disagreements with rank-and-file over abortion and illegal immigrations.

Obama met at the White House with several Hispanic lawmakers who oppose any prohibition on the ability of illegal immigrants to use their own money to purchase health coverage in a new government-run marketplace.

"He listened to us. We listened to him," said Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., head of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. "We made it very clear that 20 votes in the Hispanic caucus" depend on the language in the House bill. Currently, there is no prohibition in the legislation, but the White House backs such a ban and one exists in the Senate bill.

"I think that he got our message," Velazquez said.

House Rules Committee Chairwoman Louse Slaughter, D-N.Y., said later that she did not believe there would be any change to the House bill.

The second-ranking Democrat in the House said lawmakers would debate and vote Saturday on the $1.2-trillion, 10-year measure that expands coverage to millions of uninsured. In a major boost, the American Medical Association and the powerful seniors' lobby AARP both threw their weight behind the bill. AARP, with its 40 million members, promised to run ads and contact activists to gin up support.

Obama planned a rare visit to the House Friday morning to persuade wavering Democrats.

Meanwhile, nine people were arrested Thursday during a sit-in at the Senate office of Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., to protest his opposition to a government-run health insurance program.

The protesters marched into Lieberman's office around 10 a.m. and demanded to meet with him. After their request was denied, nine demonstrators then staged a sit-in and declared they wouldn't leave until they had met the senator.

Capitol police removed them from the office in the Hart Senate building and charged them with unlawful entry.

Lieberman was not in the office at the time and was chairing a hearing on white-collar crime at a Homeland Security Committee meeting where other protester quietly held signs which read "Insurance Money Makes Me Sick."

The protest was organized by the Mobilization for Health Care for All, a group that supports proposals for a government-run health insurance plan.

"We are right on the brink," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. "We have a historic opportunity for us to again provide quality health care for all Americans. It is something that many of us have worked our whole political lifetimes on."

Pelosi and other Democratic leaders were working to nail down the majority votes they'll need to pass the bill.

Despite the optimism, work remained to be done, and a much slower timeline in the Senate made the ultimate outcome unpredictable.