“I saw how he was really putting his presidency on the line,” he added.
On Sunday night, he voted for the bill.
Congressman Stupak said he would oppose the Senate health care bill unless House leaders allowed a stand-alone vote to strengthen language in the Senate bill banning public funding of abortion services.
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But after talks with Speaker Pelosi and the White House, Stupak accepted the compromise of a new executive order reaffirming the principle that taxpayer dollars not fund abortion services in the new system.
“Although this legislation is not perfect and does not do everything I believe is necessary to reform our health insurance industry, it is a tremendous step forward for northern Michigan residents and for our nation,” he said in a statement after the vote.
Stupak backed the bill Sunday.
A former consumer activist in Chicago who organized one 1989 protest that featured seniors chasing then-Rep. Dan Rostenkowski (D) of Illinois down the street, Congresswoman Schakowsky was a strong yes for health care reform.