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Washington (CNN) -- Democrats have the 216 votes needed to pass health care reform legislation in the House on Sunday, the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus told CNN.
"This is a historic day and we are happy warriors," Rep. John Larson, D-Connecticut, told CNN's "State of the Union." He added, "We've got the votes."
However, two other House Democratic leaders said some members still were making up their minds, and Republicans vowed a fight to the finish.
"We don't have a hard 216 right now," Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Florida, told "Fox News Sunday" as Larson was speaking to CNN. But Wasserman Schultz, the chief deputy whip in the House, added: "I firmly believe we will have 216."
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland echoed Wasserman Schultz, telling NBC's "Meet the Press" that the final result was certain despite the lack of 216 committed votes a few hours before the House was to convene.
"I think we're going to have 216 votes when the roll is called, yes," Hoyer said, adding: "There's still members looking at it."
Also on the NBC program, House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said, "This fight is not lost yet."
iReport: Share your views on health care reform
The decisive House vote scheduled for later Sunday could define the success or failure of President Obama's administration, and the outcome was expected to be extremely close.
"Health-Care Cliffhanger," was the top headline in Sunday's Washington Post, describing the uncertainty of the vote that could make a Senate reform bill the law of the land.
An accompanying bill with changes to the Senate version still would need Senate approval if passed by the House. However, approval of the main Senate health care legislation would send it to Obama to be signed into law, with or without the changes in the accompanying bill.
With Republicans in unanimous opposition, Obama and senior Democrats have mounted a nonstop campaign to win enough votes in the House for the bills to pass.
According to CNN's latest count, 33 of the 253 House Democrats plan to vote against the legislation. Thirty-eight Democratic "no" votes are needed to kill the bill.
Former President Clinton made several phone calls Saturday to lobby wavering Democrats, party sources told CNN, and Obama made a rare visit to the House to rally the Democratic caucus to support the plan.
"Let's get this done," Obama said at the meeting, also attended by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada.
"If you agree that the system is not working for ordinary families, if you've heard the same stories that I've heard everywhere, all across the country, then help us fix the system," Obama said.
"Don't do it for me. Don't do it for [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid," he said. "Do it for all those people out there who are struggling."
Obama's speech came just hours after Democratic leaders decided to abandon a controversial legislative mechanism that could have avoided a direct vote on the health care legislation. They will now hold an up-or-down vote on the $875 billion reform plan that the Senate has already passed.
Multiple Democratic sources told CNN that Democratic leaders decided to drop the tactic, known as "deem and pass." The proposed tactic had come under fierce criticism.
The sources said the House will have three votes Sunday: a vote on the terms of debate, a vote on compromise changes to the Senate bill, and then finally a vote on the Senate bill itself.
"We have been debating health care for decades," Obama said. "It has now been debated for a year. It is in your hands. It is time to pass health care for Americans and I am confident that you are going to do it [Sunday]."
As the vote approached, tensions ran high inside and outside the Capitol building. Three Democratic African-American lawmakers -- including civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis of Georgia -- said demonstrators against the health care bill yelled racist epithets at them as they walked past. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri said a protester spit at him.
In addition, Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts, an openly gay Democrat, said protesters yelled anti-gay comments at him.
Administration officials claim that the reform plan has been picking up momentum in recent days. They told CNN they had a "really good day" Thursday, when the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the changes in the accompanying House bill would raise the total cost to $940 billion over 10 years while reducing the deficit by $138 billion -- $20 billion more than the bill passed by the Senate. The budget office numbers reassured some fiscally conservative Democrats, according to congressional leaders.
"Not only does it reduce the deficit, we pay for it responsibly in ways that the other side of the aisle -- that talks about fiscal responsibility but doesn't seem to be able to walk the walk -- can't claim when it comes to their prescription drug bill," Obama said Saturday in a jab at Republicans.
Boehner countered the president, saying Saturday that "Democratic leaders are telling their members after this passes, it's going to become much more popular. Well, they're dead wrong. This is not the way to go, and the American people know it."
Freshmen House Republicans also rallied Saturday against the bill.
"The health care decision should be made between a patient, their family and their physician," said Rep. Phil Roe of Tennessee. "Not the insurance company, not the federal government. And this is a great intrusion by the federal government in that decision-making process."
If enacted, the measure would constitute the biggest expansion of federal health care guarantees since the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid over four decades ago. It would extend insurance coverage to an additional 32 million Americans, according to a preliminary analysis from the budget office.
Republicans contend the plan amounts to a government takeover of the private insurance system that will do little to slow spiraling medical costs.
Obama addressed those concerns Saturday, insisting there is "no government takeover."
"We are making sure that the system of private insurance works for ordinary families," he said, calling the legislation a "patient's bill of rights on steroids" and "the toughest insurance reform in history."
Republicans also argue it would lead to higher premiums and taxes for middle-class families while resulting in deep Medicare cuts.
Among other things, the plan would expand Medicare prescription drug coverage, increase federal subsidies to help people buy insurance, and ban denials of coverage for pre-existing conditions.
It seeks to bridge the gap between previous House and Senate bills partly by watering down and delaying the implementation of a tax on high-end insurance plans.
Republicans are fuming over the Democrats' decision to use a legislative maneuver called reconciliation, which will allow the accompanying compromise measures -- if passed by the House -- to clear the Senate with a simple majority of 51 votes.
Senate Democrats lost their filibuster-proof 60-seat super-majority in January with the election of Republican Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts.
Republicans contend that reconciliation, which is limited to provisions pertaining to the budget, was never meant to facilitate passage of a sweeping reform measure such as the health care bill. Democrats point out that reconciliation was used to pass several major bills in recent years, including former President George W. Bush's 2001 and 2003 tax cuts.
House Democrats have expressed concern that the compromise measures will not be approved by the more conservative Senate. Pelosi said Friday, however, that "when our members go to vote, they will have all the assurances they need" that the Senate will approve the compromise.
House Democratic official: 'We've got the votes' on health care - CNN.com
"This is a historic day and we are happy warriors," Rep. John Larson, D-Connecticut, told CNN's "State of the Union." He added, "We've got the votes."
However, two other House Democratic leaders said some members still were making up their minds, and Republicans vowed a fight to the finish.
"We don't have a hard 216 right now," Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Florida, told "Fox News Sunday" as Larson was speaking to CNN. But Wasserman Schultz, the chief deputy whip in the House, added: "I firmly believe we will have 216."
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland echoed Wasserman Schultz, telling NBC's "Meet the Press" that the final result was certain despite the lack of 216 committed votes a few hours before the House was to convene.
"I think we're going to have 216 votes when the roll is called, yes," Hoyer said, adding: "There's still members looking at it."
Also on the NBC program, House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said, "This fight is not lost yet."
iReport: Share your views on health care reform
The decisive House vote scheduled for later Sunday could define the success or failure of President Obama's administration, and the outcome was expected to be extremely close.
"Health-Care Cliffhanger," was the top headline in Sunday's Washington Post, describing the uncertainty of the vote that could make a Senate reform bill the law of the land.
An accompanying bill with changes to the Senate version still would need Senate approval if passed by the House. However, approval of the main Senate health care legislation would send it to Obama to be signed into law, with or without the changes in the accompanying bill.
With Republicans in unanimous opposition, Obama and senior Democrats have mounted a nonstop campaign to win enough votes in the House for the bills to pass.
According to CNN's latest count, 33 of the 253 House Democrats plan to vote against the legislation. Thirty-eight Democratic "no" votes are needed to kill the bill.
Former President Clinton made several phone calls Saturday to lobby wavering Democrats, party sources told CNN, and Obama made a rare visit to the House to rally the Democratic caucus to support the plan.
"Let's get this done," Obama said at the meeting, also attended by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada.
"If you agree that the system is not working for ordinary families, if you've heard the same stories that I've heard everywhere, all across the country, then help us fix the system," Obama said.
"Don't do it for me. Don't do it for [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid," he said. "Do it for all those people out there who are struggling."
Obama's speech came just hours after Democratic leaders decided to abandon a controversial legislative mechanism that could have avoided a direct vote on the health care legislation. They will now hold an up-or-down vote on the $875 billion reform plan that the Senate has already passed.
Multiple Democratic sources told CNN that Democratic leaders decided to drop the tactic, known as "deem and pass." The proposed tactic had come under fierce criticism.
The sources said the House will have three votes Sunday: a vote on the terms of debate, a vote on compromise changes to the Senate bill, and then finally a vote on the Senate bill itself.
"We have been debating health care for decades," Obama said. "It has now been debated for a year. It is in your hands. It is time to pass health care for Americans and I am confident that you are going to do it [Sunday]."
As the vote approached, tensions ran high inside and outside the Capitol building. Three Democratic African-American lawmakers -- including civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis of Georgia -- said demonstrators against the health care bill yelled racist epithets at them as they walked past. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri said a protester spit at him.
In addition, Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts, an openly gay Democrat, said protesters yelled anti-gay comments at him.
Administration officials claim that the reform plan has been picking up momentum in recent days. They told CNN they had a "really good day" Thursday, when the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the changes in the accompanying House bill would raise the total cost to $940 billion over 10 years while reducing the deficit by $138 billion -- $20 billion more than the bill passed by the Senate. The budget office numbers reassured some fiscally conservative Democrats, according to congressional leaders.
"Not only does it reduce the deficit, we pay for it responsibly in ways that the other side of the aisle -- that talks about fiscal responsibility but doesn't seem to be able to walk the walk -- can't claim when it comes to their prescription drug bill," Obama said Saturday in a jab at Republicans.
Boehner countered the president, saying Saturday that "Democratic leaders are telling their members after this passes, it's going to become much more popular. Well, they're dead wrong. This is not the way to go, and the American people know it."
Freshmen House Republicans also rallied Saturday against the bill.
"The health care decision should be made between a patient, their family and their physician," said Rep. Phil Roe of Tennessee. "Not the insurance company, not the federal government. And this is a great intrusion by the federal government in that decision-making process."
If enacted, the measure would constitute the biggest expansion of federal health care guarantees since the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid over four decades ago. It would extend insurance coverage to an additional 32 million Americans, according to a preliminary analysis from the budget office.
Republicans contend the plan amounts to a government takeover of the private insurance system that will do little to slow spiraling medical costs.
Obama addressed those concerns Saturday, insisting there is "no government takeover."
"We are making sure that the system of private insurance works for ordinary families," he said, calling the legislation a "patient's bill of rights on steroids" and "the toughest insurance reform in history."
Republicans also argue it would lead to higher premiums and taxes for middle-class families while resulting in deep Medicare cuts.
Among other things, the plan would expand Medicare prescription drug coverage, increase federal subsidies to help people buy insurance, and ban denials of coverage for pre-existing conditions.
It seeks to bridge the gap between previous House and Senate bills partly by watering down and delaying the implementation of a tax on high-end insurance plans.
Republicans are fuming over the Democrats' decision to use a legislative maneuver called reconciliation, which will allow the accompanying compromise measures -- if passed by the House -- to clear the Senate with a simple majority of 51 votes.
Senate Democrats lost their filibuster-proof 60-seat super-majority in January with the election of Republican Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts.
Republicans contend that reconciliation, which is limited to provisions pertaining to the budget, was never meant to facilitate passage of a sweeping reform measure such as the health care bill. Democrats point out that reconciliation was used to pass several major bills in recent years, including former President George W. Bush's 2001 and 2003 tax cuts.
House Democrats have expressed concern that the compromise measures will not be approved by the more conservative Senate. Pelosi said Friday, however, that "when our members go to vote, they will have all the assurances they need" that the Senate will approve the compromise.
House Democratic official: 'We've got the votes' on health care - CNN.com
