J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press

We’re going to call it a night. Join us tomorrow (or more accurately, later this morning) for more coverage of developments in Washington as health care legislation moves forward.

Having just finished a triumphant news conference, Speaker Nancy Pelosi is now celebrating with her staff in her suite of offices overlooking the West Front of the Capitol. Two huge rounds of cheers and applause echoed out into the Capitol Rotunda. Staffers lined the walls of a corridor, as Ms. Pelosi toasted them for the Democrats’ victory on health care legislation.

David M. Herszenhorn

Speaker Pelosi is now holding her news conference to tout the Democrats’ votes tonight, flanked by a number of her party’s leading lawmakers in the House.

She called tonight’s vote an act of patriotism.

As President Obama spoke, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. looked on. Not far away, just outside the view of the cameras, a small group of White House advisers watched as Mr. Obama began trumpeting the virtues of the bill.

“This isn’t radical reform, but it is major reform,” Mr. Obama said. “This is what change looks like.”

As the clock approached midnight, the climactic moment was underscored by the hugs and handshakes from the small team of aides. The White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, put his arm around Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. (He wore jeans; she did not.) David Axelrod, a senior adviser, also was on hand, no tie or coat, just a smile.

“Tonight’s vote is not a victory for any one party,” the president said. He added, “I know this wasn’t an easy vote for a lot of people, but it was the right vote.”

Mr. Obama praised those who supported the bill, saying: “We rose above the weight of our politics.”

He urged the Senate to quickly complete the final pieces of the health care legislation, which begins on Tuesday. He said, “Some have predicted another siege of parliamentary maneuvering in order to delay it. I hope that’s not the case.”

“It’s time to bring this debate to a close and begin the hard work of implementing this reform properly on behalf of the American people.”

Before he called it a night, he sought to place the day in a broader perspective.

“What this day represents is another stone firmly laid in the foundation of the American dream,” Mr. Obama said. “Tonight, we answered the call of history as so many generations of Americans have before us. When faced with crisis, we did not shrink from our challenges. We overcame them. We did not avoid our responsibilities, we embraced it. We did not fear our future, we shaped it.”

After speaking for a little more than seven minutes — warning Americans of the “frenzy of instant analysis” to come — Mr. Obama turned and left the room. He did not answer a question from a reporter as to when he intends to sign the bill into law.

Jeff Zeleny

President Obama, speaking from the East Room, says that the votes tonight prove that this was for the people and by the people. He singles out Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her “extraordinary” work on health care legislation.

He says today’s votes answered the dreams of so many, who hoped their voice would be heard. “It has been heard tonight.”

The president, with Vice President Joseph R. Biden behind him, says this victory isn’t just for one party.

He once again brushes off the media handicapping of his or anyone else’s political future based on the vote’s tonight.

With the Senate expected to take up final action on the reconciliation measure the House just passed, the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, has issued this statement about tonight’s vote:

Today, over a half million Nevadans are a step closer to quality, affordable health care. Tens of thousands of Nevada small businesses are a step closer to getting critical relief to support health care for their employees. Over 200,000 Nevada seniors are a step closer to a stronger Medicare program that puts money back in their pockets instead of padding insurer profits. This story can be told all over America, and it represents the real impact of today’s passage of health reform in the House. I commend Speaker Pelosi and her team for leading passage of this common sense legislation that puts Americans back in control of their own health care, lowers skyrocketing costs, reduces the deficit, protects seniors and curbs insurance company abuses. She and her colleagues in the House understand that this was never about politics; it has always been about people who are struggling every day to keep their families healthy without going broke. This is about the scores of people we hear from every day who need greater security and stability in their health care. As the Senate prepares to complete our work on this historic effort, Senate Democrats reaffirm our commitment to reform because we know it’s good for middle-class families, seniors and small businesses in Nevada and all across America.

Not just yet. The White House press corps has been ushered into the East Room, where President Obama will deliver remarks.

The stately room, where Mr. Obama opened the legislative debate more than a year ago with the first health care summit, is quiet and still tonight. There are no doctors or nurses, who have often served as an audience. Instead, he will speak to an empty room — no spectators at this late hour — against the long backdrop of the Cross Hall. Jeff Zeleny

Speaker Pelosi grins as she gavels: “The bill is passed.” The vote was 220 in favor; 211 against. The Democrats got one more this time around from Representative Lynch (see below).

My colleague David Herszenhorn notes that Democrats once again break out in cheers, while Republicans are silent.

Representative Stephen Lynch, Democrat of Massachusetts, is signaling he’ll vote in favor of the House reconciliation bill, according to colleague David M. Herszenhorn. If you recall, Mr. Lynch’s decision to vote against the Senate bill drew the ire of labor leaders.

The Senate health care bill will be sent to President Obama for his signature, and while House Democrats are about to vote on revisions to it, the bill will become law — one way or another.

The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, has promised House Democrats that the Senate would quickly take up the reconciliation bill with the changes in it, and that he had secured the votes to pass it.

But while the Senate is bracing for a fierce floor fight over the reconciliation measure, the landscape was permanently altered by passage of the original Senate bill.

Should the reconciliation bill, which cannot be filibustered, collapse for any reason, the core components of the Democrats’ health care overhaul would move forward.

Indeed, Senate Republicans were quickly faced with a need to recalibrate their message from one aimed at stopping the legislation to one focused on winning back a sufficient number of seats in Congress to repeal it. Sheryl Gay Stolberg

Colleague David M. Herszenhorn reports that within the chamber, someone on the Republican side shouted “Baby Killer!” while Representative Stupak, an anti-abortion lawmaker who decided to vote for the bill, was denouncing a procedural move. He said it wasn’t “pro-life” but an effort to kill the bill.

Here’s our breakdown of the first vote on the Senate bill, known as HR 3590. This will show you by party, by region, who voted how.

Colleague David M. Herszenhorn says that the president watched the vote in the Roosevelt Room with Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and staff. Since Monday, the president has spoken with 92 lawmakers, either in person or by telephone, the White House said.

Now that the House has passed the Senate Health care bill, President Obama must think about the next step: signing the measure into law.

It is not as simple as it seems.

After more than a year of fighting for the measure, his top legislative priority, Mr. Obama will no doubt want to have an elaborate, high-profile signing ceremony at the White House — a kind of legislative victory lap. But he’s in an awkward spot.

Mr. Obama must sign the bill into law for the Senate to take up a package of changes to it under the budget procedure known as reconciliation. But if he holds a big signing ceremony right away, Mr. Obama will be celebrating a bill that he himself says is in need of improvement. The measure contains special deals that have become the subject of much derision — deals that would be stripped out in the reconciliation bill.

Alternatively, Mr. Obama could sign the bill quickly and quietly, with little fanfare. But if you had worked as hard as Mr. Obama has for passage of the health overhaul, wouldn’t you want to throw a big party when it was all over?

If Mr. Obama puts off his big bill signing celebration and the Senate fails to pass the reconciliation measure, he will have lost his opportunity for the victory lap. And if Republicans succeed in forcing the Senate to alter the reconciliation measure, that bill could get sent back to the House for more work, and the signing ceremony could get caught up in the messy legislative process.

White House officials were weighing their options on Sunday, as Mr. Obama prepared for an appearance in the East Room following the final vote. Whatever they decide, Mr. Obama will not sign the bill Sunday night. The measure must first be formally “enrolled” and sent from the Capitol to the White House, a process that can take a few days although short cuts have been arranged in the past so that it takes just a few hours. Sheryl Gay Stolberg

By a vote of 219-212, the House has passed the bill previously approved in the Senate last December, known as HR 3590. It would appear that 34 Democrats voted against it; 178 Republicans voted solidly against this bill.

Cheers have gone up in the chamber. As they crossed 216, shouts of “Yes, we can! Yes, we can!” went up.

Representative Rosa DeLauro, Democrat of Connecticut, pumped her fists in the air. More cheers and hugs.

The House begins a 15-minute vote on the Senate bill. It still has other votes ahead, including on its reconciliation bill. ProPublica did a side-by-side comparison of the Senate bill and House revisions and posted it late last week so that you can view the changes.

Speaker Pelosi closes her remarks by quoting a fellow lawmaker: “We may not have chosen the time, but the time has chosen us.” She also pays tribute to the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

President Obama spoke to many members of Congress today by telephone. But one call tonight was particularly important: Representative Bart Stupak.

A senior administration official confirmed that Mr. Obama had spoken to Mr. Stupak. The call took place sometime after the president issued an executive order outlining prohibitions against the use of federal funds for abortion. The order paved the way for Mr. Stupak and a group of lawmakers who oppose abortion rights to support the health care bill.

Was the topic of the call a presidential thank you? A senior administration official declined to comment. Jeff Zeleny

Riffing off an old political adage that all politics is local, Ms. Pelosi says that when it comes to health care, it’s all personal.

And she chuckles just slightly, when she says that for women, it’s personal because being a woman will no longer mean being a pre-existing condition.

Ms. Pelosi stands to speak, amid boisterous cheers. She says, Just think, members of Congress are joining those who passed landmark legislation like Social Security and Medicare.

Saying Americans are endowed with certain inalienable rights — life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, Ms. Pelosi says the health care legislation “will lead to healthier lives, more liberty to pursue hopes and dreams of the American people.”

She’s now trying to get members to repeat the refrain: Pass Health Care Reform. But they’re mainly clapping.

Mr. Boehner, who knows all too well what it’s like for the majority to lose control of the House, recalls that moment in 2007 when he turned the gavel over to Speaker Pelosi after Republicans were defeated. He said he then told Ms. Pelosi that this is the people’s house. “The moment a majority forgets it, it starts writing itself a ticket to being the minority,” Mr. Boehner says.

Mr. Boehner, his voice rising, asks if members can say the bill was derived through transparency and openness? “Hell, no, you can’t!” Mr. Boehner answers.

“Have you read the bill? .. Have you read the reconciliation bill? Have you read the manager’s amendment?” Mr. Boehner asks. “Hell, no, you haven’t.”

As members taunt each other a bit aloud, Representative David Obey, in the chair, says: “Both sides would do well to remember the dignity of the House.”

Representative John Boehner, the minority leader from Ohio, says he rises with a sad and heavy heart. He contends that House members are failing to reflect the will of their constituents.

The chamber erupts as Mr. Boehner continues to assert — as he has before — that you won’t be able to keep your health care plan. He and Mr. Obama debated this point at the health care summit last month.

While the health care drama unfolded in Washington, and President Obama was busy winning over last-minute votes, the rest of the Obamas hit the road. Destination: Broadway.

First Lady Michelle Obama, along with daughters Malia and Sasha, arrived in New York City for an afternoon performance of “Memphis” at the Shubert Theatre.

The Obama girls are on spring break and by now, they had planned to be touring Indonesia on the president’s first international trip of the year. But the White House called off the trip, given the precarious health care debate in Congress.

A White House aide confirmed the trip, but declined to offer additional details about how the First Family intended to spend the rest of their spring break, the Plan B version. Jeff Zeleny

The vote’s getting closer, as you can see now that Representative Eric Cantor, the Republican whip from Virginia, is speaking. He’s winding up, calling health care a very personal issue: “But many of us from both sides of the aisle don’t care for this trillion dollar overhaul, and the fact is, the majority of Americans don’t care for it either.”

For weeks, a multi-million dollar advertising war in the health care debate has been under way. Whether the ads were for or against the bill, lawmakers being targeted had one thing in common: they were Democrats.

But this week, at least some Republicans will be the focus of ads, beginning with Representative Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, one of the most outspoken members of the party’s caucus. One ad to begin running in her district is sponsored by Americans United for Change, a liberal group that has been pushing the legislation.

Ms. Bachmann is not seen as vulnerable in her re-election effort. A Democratic strategist familiar with the ad says they believe the message against Ms. Bachmann will amplify and she may “take the bait and respond.” So why run this ad against her?

Finally, Congress passed the health reform bill to rein in the power of the big insurance companies and guarantee that all Minnesotans can get the same health insurance as members of Congress. But our Congresswoman Michele Bachmann voted against that? She may be an “important” politician in Washington, but when it comes to health insurance, if it’s good enough for her shouldn’t it be good enough for the rest of us?”

Stay tuned to find out if she responds. Jeff Zeleny

Representative Mike Pence of Indiana, the chairman of the Republican conference offered a blistering criticism of the Democrats’ health care legislation.

“Some say we are making history,” he said in a speech on the floor. “I believe we are breaking history.”

Mr. Pence said that House Democrats were betraying some of America’s core political traditions, including “limited government” and the “consent of the governed.”

In his speech, Mr. Pence said: “The arrogance we have witnessed in this institution is breath-taking.” And he added, “Only in Washington D.C. could you say you are going to spend a trillion dollars and save the taxpayers’ money.”

Mr. Pence continued, “The America people don’t want a government takeover of health care.” And he urged Democrats to vote down the bill, an unlikely prospect. “I say to my Democratic colleagues stand with those who have gone before and made the hard choices to defend freedom in their time,” he said. “Stand with us. Stand for freedom and the American people will stand with you.”

In a speech to House Democrats on Saturday, President Obama mocked comments like that by Republicans suggesting that it was unlikely that Republicans were suddenly so concerned about the Democrats’ political fate that they would offer advice to make sure that Democrats hold on to their majorities in Congress. The president’s comments drew a laugh from House Democrats and he even chuckled at himself. David M. Herszenhorn

After all the developments today in which anti-abortion Democrats came out in favor of the health-care bill, groups on both sides have staked out their positions — some very clearly eyeing the 2010 midterm elections.

The National Right-to-Life Committee, with chapters in all 50 states had this to say:

The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) remains strongly opposed to the Senate-passed health bill (H.R. 3590). A lawmaker who votes for this bill is voting to require federal agencies to subsidize and administer health plans that will pay for elective abortion, and voting to undermine longstanding pro-life policies in other ways as well. Pro-life citizens nationwide know that this is a pro-abortion bill. Pro-life citizens know, and they will be reminded again and again, which lawmakers deserve their gratitude for voting against this pro-abortion legislation. The executive order promised by President Obama was issued for political effect. It changes nothing. It does not correct any of the serious pro-abortion provisions in the bill. The president cannot amend a bill by issuing an order, and the federal courts will enforce what the law says. To elaborate: The order does not truly correct any of the seven objectionable pro-abortion provisions described in NRLC’s March 19 letter to the House of Representatives, which is posted here:

Speaker Nancy Pelosi has released the list of her guests in the House gallery for tonight’s big health care vote. They include her husband, Paul Pelosi, and two of her daughters, Nancy Corinne Prowda and Alexandra Pelosi, as well as a son-in-law, Michael Vos, and Zeke Emanuel, the brother of White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel. Zeke Emanuel is a senior adviser for health policy at the Office of Management and Budget.

She also invited four other Obama administration officials: three economic advisers, Christina Romer, Mark Duggan and Jason Furman, and Nancy Ann DeParle, the head of the White House Office of Health Care Reform.

Ms. Pelosi’s other guests are: Gordon Witman, of PICO, a network of faith-based community organizations, Richard Kirsch of Health Care for America Now; Robert Hall of the American Academy of Pediatrics; Richard Trumka, the president of the AFL-CIO; Willarda Edwards of the National Medical Association. David M. Herszenhorn

This just in: The Susan B. Anthony group announced tonight that it has decided to strip Representative Stupak of its “Defender of Life” award that was to be given out next week. A spokesman for the group told us that it had been in talks with the Michigan Democrat last week, and believed he was leaning its way in opposition to the bill.

The Susan B. Candidate List Fund president, Marjorie Dannenfelser, issued this statement, headlined “Pro-Life Betrayers”:

“This Wednesday night is our third annual Campaign for Life Gala, where we were planning to honor Congressman Stupak for his efforts to keep abortion-funding out of health care reform — we will no longer be doing so. By accepting this deal from the most pro-abortion president in American history, Stupak has not only failed to stand strong for unborn children, but also for his constituents and pro-life voters across the country. “Let me be clear: any representative, including Rep. Stupak, who votes for this healthcare bill can no longer call themselves ‘pro-life.’ The Susan B. Anthony List Candidate Fund will not endorse, or support in any capacity, any Member of Congress who votes for this bill in any future election. Now through Election Day 2010, these representatives will learn that votes have consequences. The SBA List Candidate Fund will work tirelessly to help defeat Members who support this legislation and make sure their constituents know exactly how they voted. We will actively seek out true pro-life candidates to oppose Members who vote ‘yes’ on this bill, whether it be in general or primary elections. For these Members, it will be a quick downhill slide to defeat in November.” “The executive order on abortion funding does absolutely nothing to fix the problems presented by the health care reform bill that the House will vote on this evening. The very idea should offend all pro-life Members of Congress. An executive order can be rescinded at any time at the President’s whim, and the courts could and have a history of trumping executive orders. Most importantly, pro-abortion Representatives have admitted the executive order is meaningless.”

Readers and tweeters keep asking, how much longer? When will there be votes? Our congressional experts up here suspect a final round around 10:30 p.m.

And don’t forget, rounds of news conferences, statements and remarks by President Obama after that.

Earlier, a reader asked me directly, what happens after the House votes? If the Democrats succeed, then the Senate has to take up the reconciliation bill passed by the House. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, assured House Democrats on Saturday that he could muster a majority vote on reconciliation.

Representative Tom Price, a doctor and Republican from Georgia, says this health care legislation would violate patients’ trust.

“This is a sad day,” Mr. Price says. Those opposed to the bill? “We trust patients and families.” Those opposed? “They trust government.”

In arguing that a no vote would be bipartisan and the right thing to do, Mr. Price says if the bill becomes law: “We lose our morality. We lose our freedom.”

An Illinois Republican, Peter Roskam, highlights new estimates by a company in his home state, Caterpillar, that the health care legislation would cost it $100 million in part because it would lose subsidies received for retirees’ drugs.

Caterpillar wrote a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi last week about the costs it estimates would be imposed if passage occurs.

Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Democrat of Florida, says she’s speaking, in part, as one of 2-1/2 million breast cancer survivors, some of whom would be denied treatments for pre-existing conditions, and urges passage of the bill. “The nightmare ends tonight,” she says.

The Center for Reproductive Rights has chimed in, too, expressing its disappointment with the deal reached between President Obama and anti-abortion Democrats. Nancy Northup, president of the organization, issued this statement:

The president’s decision to issue an executive order designed to assuage Representative Stupak and his cohorts is a betrayal of millions of women across this country and of his campaign promises. The order lends credibility to an already impossibly flawed policy that punishes and discriminates against poor women by denying them the full range of reproductive health services and their constitutional right. Current policy known as the Hyde Amendment was denounced by President Obama himself as a presidential candidate. “Current law withholds funding for abortion under Medicaid and other federal programs even though the service is one of the most common procedures for American women. For millions of women, these federal programs are their sole means of getting health services, including reproductive healthcare. Abortion is the only medically necessary health service excluded from this coverage. Failure to provide insurance coverage for a medical procedure that only women need is discrimination. “It is unacceptable that a pro-choice President has put his imprimatur on a highly restrictive and unjust anti-choice measure. Early on in this debate a good faith compromise supported by pro-choice groups was tossed out to appease Representative Stupak and his cohorts. It is tragic that, under a pro-choice administration and a Democratic majority in Congress, harmful anti-choice policy will be the price American women will pay for health care reform.”

To offer a little context about the latest on health care and veterans, earlier today, the head of the Veterans for Foreign Wars issued a statement urging lawmakers to vote against the bill. Mr. Thomas J. Tradewell, a Vietnam veteran, said:

“The president and the Democratic leadership are betraying America’s veterans.

“And what makes matters worse is the leadership and the president knows the bill is flawed, yet they are pushing for passage today like it’s a do-or-die situation. This nation deserves the best from their elected officials, and the rush to pass legislation of this magnitude is not it.”

In response, General Eric Shinseki, the head of the Veterans Affairs Administration, said: “Fears that Veterans health care and TriCare will be undermined by the health reform legislation are unfounded. I am confident that the legislation being voted on today will provide the protections afforded our nation’s Veterans and the health care they have earned through their service. The president and I stand firm in our commitment to those who serve and have served in our armed forces. We pledge to continue to provide the men and women in uniform and our Veterans the high quality health care they have earned.

President Obama has strongly supported Veterans and their needs, specifically health care needs, on every major issue for these past 14 months – advance appropriations, new GI Bill implementation, new Agent Orange presumptions for three additional diseases, new Gulf War Illness presumptions for nine additional diseases, and a 16% budget increase in 2010 for the Department of Veterans Affairs, that is the largest in over 30 years, and which has been followed by a 2011 VA budget request that increases that record budget by an additional 7.6%.

To give our Veterans further assurance that health reform legislation will not affect their health care systems, the Chairmen of five House committees, including Veterans Affairs Chairman Bob Filner and Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton, have just issued a joint letter reaffirming that the health reform legislation as written would protect those receiving care through all Tricare and Department of Veterans Affairs programs.

Representative Lloyd Doggett, Democrat of Texas, just reduced passage of health care to four words for Americans: “You’ve got health care.” Technically, given there’s a contraction in there, we guess it’s still four.

He castigates Republicans for not finding anything likable. “For Republicans, it’s too short or it’s too long. It’s too thick or it’s too thin … It’s never just right ”

Representative Charles Rangel, whose ethics inquiries have contributed to some problems for Democrats this election cycle, remarks from the floor that one of the lowest points in life for him recently was when he had to step down from his position as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.

Travel notes from Senator Charles Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Finance Committee who ultimately balked at the Finance bill put forward in his chamber. Tonight, Senator Grassley tweets: “Flying bk DC Sun aftrnoon instead of Mon morn to get ahead of curve on Health/Stupak move “shocked”me I thought his stance wld hv kild bill.” In case you’re not accustomed to Mr. Grassley’s tweets or abbreviations (as well as some of ours in that 140-character limit), the Iowa senator is indicating that he’s shocked that Mr. Stupak would decide to vote for the health-care bill. Mr. Grassley anticipated that Mr. Stupak’s stance against abortion would’ve killed the bill.

Of course, maybe you figured out the shorter version.

Representative Joe Barton, a Republican, asks that the House start over again on health care. “This bill will not last,” Mr. Barton says. “It reignites the abortion debate.” And he added, he believes that if it’s still in force in 2014 when employer provisions take effect, millions could lose their insurance.

Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, has also issued a statement on the president’s decision to sign an executive order (designed to explicitly prohibit using federal funds for abortions).

We regret that a pro-choice president of a pro-choice nation was forced to sign an Executive Order that further codifies the proposed anti-choice language in the health care reform bill, originally proposed by Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska. What the president’s executive order did not do is include the complete and total ban on private health insurance coverage for abortion that Congressman Bart Stupak (D–MI) had insisted upon. So while we regret that this proposed Executive Order has given the imprimatur of the president to Senator Nelson’s language, we are grateful that it does not include the Stupak abortion ban.“

Representative John Shadegg, Republican of Arizona, and a longtime champion of allowing health insurance to be sold across state lines, said Democrats were making a grave mistake. “This bill will destroy freedom and do damage to the very fabric of our society,” he said in a floor speech. David M. Herszenhorn

Representative Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, said: “On health care, the Democratic party is the party of hope, and the Republican party is the party of Nope.” He added, “The G.O.P. used to stand for the Grand Old Party. Now it stands for grandstand, oppose and postpone.” David M. Herszenhorn

Representative John Dingell, Democrat of Michigan, is now speaking. His father introduced universal health care legislation dating back decades. And Mr. Dingell, who is in his 80s now, lent a huge gavel used when he presided over the House and it passed Medicare, to Speaker Nancy Pelosi for today’s events. Ms. Pelosi was carrying it around here earlier.

Representative Nathan Deal, Republican of Georgia, first announced he was resigning from Congress to run fulltime for governor in his state. But then he postponed his retirement/resignation for this very day — so that he could vote no against the health care bill. Tonight, as he just indicated, he’ll get his chance.

Mr. Hoyer begins recognizing “little punk staffers,” a reference to a derisive character made by Representative John Boehner, the minority last week, when he urged bankers not to be pushed around by staff members on the Hill dealing with financial legislation.

Tonight, Mr. Hoyer says, these are staff members who also represent those who worked for the Republicans’ Medicare drug benefit. And then lists a number of Capitol staff.

Mr. Hoyer continues speaking, recalling how one Republican said health care would become President Obama’s Waterloo. (It was Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina, but Mr. Hoyer did not name him.)

Rather, Mr. Hoyer says, if the bill is defeated, the Waterloo would be for the people who need health care. It “would be a defeat for them and for our country for a healthier America is a stronger America,” he says.

Representative Steny Hoyer, the Democratic majority leader of the House, opens up the full debate on health care legislation by drawing comparisons between the march across the Edmund Pettus bridge in Selma, Ala. decades ago, led by the Rev. Martin Luther Kr. Jr., and today’s daylong debate.

“Today, March 21, 2010, we will cross another bridge,” Mr. Hoyer said. “It is not a physical bridge but it is a bridge that too many Americans find they cannot cross.”

Mr. Hoyer then quotes the words of many past presidents, including George Bush, Gerald Ford, Richard M. Nixon, who all talked about the need for affordable health care.

The House is now moving toward full debate for final passage — still hours to go here, people. But they’ve passed the rules for debate, 224-206.

The president of the National Organization for Women posted this statement after Mr. Obama negotiated an executive order to help appease anti-abortion Democrats so that they would vote for health care.

Terry O’Neill, the N.O.W. president, said:

The National Organization for Women is incensed that President Barack Obama agreed today to issue an executive order designed to appease a handful of anti-choice Democrats who have held up health care reform in an effort to restrict women’s access to abortion. Through this order, the president has announced he will lend the weight of his office and the entire executive branch to the anti-abortion measures included in the Senate bill, which the House is now prepared to pass. President Obama campaigned as a pro-choice president, but his actions today suggest that his commitment to reproductive health care is shaky at best. Contrary to language in the draft of the executive order and repeated assertions in the news, the Hyde Amendment is not settled law — it is an illegitimate tack-on to an annual must-pass appropriations bill. NOW has a longstanding objection to Hyde and, in fact, was looking forward to working with this president and Congress to bring an end to these restrictions. We see now that we have our work cut out for us far beyond what we ever anticipated. The message we have received today is that it is acceptable to negotiate health care on the backs of women, and we couldn’t disagree more.

Representative Nita Lowey, Democrat of New York, issued this statement a little while ago, reflecting the rather torn views some abortion-rights lawmakers had toward their opponents on this issue. Ms. Lowey’s statement:

“As a lifelong advocate for freedom of choice and affordable health care for all Americans, I find it outrageous that health insurance reform was held hostage in an effort to restrict women’s reproductive rights. “The underlying health insurance reform bill contains objectionable language requiring insured women to write a check for general health insurance and a separate check for “abortion rider,” going far beyond current and continued policy preventing federal funding for abortion services. “Although the final bill language is disappointing, the bottom line is millions more American women will receive basic care to stay healthy and prevent unintended pregnancies.”

The House is moving forward with procedural votes toward debate. We’re expecting these hurdles will be cleared, and lengthy debate will follow.

With Mr. Kanjorski in the yes column, (see below), we’re estimating that the Democrats will have two more votes than the 216 required for passage of the health care bill later tonight.

Our graphic shows just four remaining undecided Democrats.

Representative Paul E. Kanjorski, Democrat from northeastern Pennsylvania has announced that he will vote for the health care bill. Mr. Kanjorski had remained one of the last undecided.

Here’s his statement:

Today I will vote for legislation designed to improve the affordability and accessibility of health care. Americans already spend more on health care than the people of any other nation. If we take no action, health care costs are expected to double over the next ten years, just as they have over the last ten years. It is not the bill I would have written if it were up to me alone, but it is the best we can do at this time. “This was one of the most difficult votes I have ever cast, primarily because there is a great deal of confusion about what this bill will do. Senior citizens do not have to worry about losing any benefits because of this bill. In fact, their coverage for prescription drug costs and preventative care will improve. No federal funding will be used to fund abortion. The bill does not empower the federal government to take over health care. If people are happy with the insurance they have, nothing needs to change. “However, this bill allows the American people to choose the health insurance plan that best fits individual and family needs by creating a marketplace of insurance plans. For too long, private insurance companies have monopolized how health insurance operates. This bill attempts to rein in those private insurers by prohibiting their most egregious abuses: denying coverage for individuals with pre-existing medical conditions, imposing a lifetime cap on medical care, and limiting the ability of individuals to change jobs without the fear of losing insurance coverage. It will also enable young adults to stay on their parents’ insurance until age 26. “I thank the many Northeastern Pennsylvanians who have shared their thoughts with me on this important legislation over the past few months. When you are sick, the last thing you should have to worry about is how to pay the bills. Insurance is supposed to relieve this worry, but instead the current system has made that worry worse. Today, we are working to reverse this course.”

F.Y.I., The Times is soliciting your views via Twitter at #nythcr. Of course, the general hashtag for health care today is #hcr. (There are many others that include differing sides of this debate, too.)

I’ve also been putting out some of the more newsy blog updates via @katephillips.

Readers have been wondering — what to expect tonight as we head into the evening hours up here on Capitol Hill. Our best guess, according to my colleagues who are veterans of late-night legislating, is that the final vote may come about 9 p.m. or later.

Now, that’s tentative. Right now, the House still has procedural votes, and debate still on the Senate bill and the reconciliation proposal.

Representative Marion Berry, one of the last remaining members of Congress whose vote had not been announced, issued a statement saying he would vote against the health care legislation. Mr. Berry, who is anti-abortion, said he was not persuaded by the executive order proposed by the White House to help lock in more votes.

Here’s his statement:

I appreciate and am humbled by the thousands of Arkansans who have called, written, e-mailed, and met with me over the last year to express their concerns about health care in this country. While there seems to me a broad agreement that our current health care system is unsustainable in cost and coverage, I cannot endorse this bill as it is currently written.” “Throughout this debate, I have stood by my conviction that the Senate health care reform bill does not adequately address the issue of federal funds being used to pay for abortions. Despite the recently announced Executive Order addressing this issue, I remain concerned that this legislation does not go far enough to satisfy my concerns. As a pro-life member of Congress, I believe that abortion is fundamentally wrong, and taxpayer money should not be allowed to support it.” “Beyond the issue of abortion, there were several concerns in the bill that I fought for and feel were not addressed properly. There are common sense ideas that would lower costs throughout the system, such as having the government use its bargaining power to negotiate prescription drug prices. Some of my other ideas would increase quality and fairness in our health care provider network by increasing Medicare reimbursement rates for rural providers, who currently are compensated far less than their counterparts in urban areas. This unfair system is forcing our doctors to stop caring for Medicare patients or to leave rural areas completely.” “I believe in health care reform, I just want it done right. I believe true reform would reduce the deficit and pay for itself from savings from our current system, not from putting more pressure on our hospitals and other providers. As I have said before, if you are willing to say what you are against, you need to be able to say what you are for too. That’s why I introduced my own health care reform bill, H.R. 4813.” “Although I will vote against this bill, I do hope this is the start of a new path in reforming what many agree is a broken system. It is our duty in Congress to try to work together and keep citizens informed on this issue and other legislation, so that our actions in Washington may successfully reflect the will of the people. My decision is dictated by my conscience and my solemn obligation to follow the voices of my constituents in the First Congressional District of Arkansas, who have honored me with the opportunity to serve them for 14 years.”

A lot of Republicans today have argued that this health-care bill smacks of European socialism, or a European “nanny-state” government.

Representative Jeff Fortenberry, Republican of Nebraska, discloses that a little boy the other day asked him, “if the government gets so bad, which country should we move to?”

Now, Mr. Fortenberry didn’t reveal whether he offered a particular country to escape to. Rather, he says he told the boy “America is still a good country, we just have to make it better.”

On the other side, Representative G.K. Butterfield, Democrat of North Carolina, argues that his district is in dire need of the health care bill, with 100,000 uninsured. Historians, he says, will some day write that the passage of this bill took America to a higher level, to a higher place …”

The White House says President Obama will speak from the East Room once the health care action tonight is over. Will that be midnight or later?

Mr. Stupak rejected Mr. Boehner’s contention that the executive order would not prohibit federal financing of abortions. The Michigan Democrat, a Catholic, also noted that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops still wanted statutory language barring the use of federal money for abortions. “I know it’s Lent,” he said, but added that even so the bishops could not supply the 60 votes needed in the Senate to approve such a law.

“This has the full force of law,” he said of the executive order. David M. Herszenhorn

Minority Leader John Boehner, of Ohio, issued this statement about the executive order President Obama has said he will sign once health care legislation is passed:

The law of the land trumps any Executive Order, which can be reversed or altered at the stroke of a pen by this or any subsequent President without any congressional approval or notice. Moreover, while an Executive Order can direct members of the executive branch, it cannot direct the private sector. Because of Roe v. Wade, courts have interpreted the decision as a statutory mandate that the government must provide federal funding for elective abortion in through federal programs. In other words, no Executive Order or regulation can override a statutory mandate unless Congress passes a law that prohibits federal funding from being used in this manner. Legal experts at the US Catholic Conference of Bishops, National Right to Life Committee, Americans United for Life, and Family Research Council have confirmed this view that if the Senate bill is signed into law, it is a statutory mandate for the new health plans to include federal funding of elective abortion. The need for an Executive Order is evidence that this is true, and Congressional Democrats know it. Make no mistake, a ‘yes’ vote on the Democrats’ health care bill is a vote for taxpayer-funded abortions.

Other legal experts have contended that the language is the Senate bill was sufficient to prohibit the use of federal funds for abortions, but anti-abortion Democrats wanted even more explicit language — thus the new executive order.

Representative Nick Rahall, Democrat of West Virginia, said, “It’s great day for America. It’s a great day for the unborn and it’s a great day for the uninsured.”

Representative Alan B. Mollohan of West Virginia also joined the bloc of anti-abortion Democrats. David M. Herszenhorn

Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

We’re not going to say it’s over until it’s over, but Mr. Stupak is suggesting that with his band of satisfied anti-abortion Democrats declaring they’ll vote in favor of the legislation, the Democrats are well past the 216 they need.

From colleague David M. Herszenhorn, Mr. Stupak: “We’re well past 216, yes.”

But David adds: A number of groups that oppose abortion rights said that an executive order was insufficient in part because of a lack of trust in the Obama administration.

Here’s the text of the planned order released by the White House today that appeared to mollify anti-abortion Democrats who had held out on the overall health-care bill.

Representatives Steve Driehaus, Kathy Dahlkemper, Marcy Kaptur and others join Mr. Stupak at the news conference to announce that the president’s proposed executive order will allow them to vote for the health care legislation. Ms. Dahlkemper notes that she considers the bill now a “full life” or “whole life” piece of legislation.

The Michigan Democrat, in citing the president’s executive order further outlining prohibitions against the use of federal funds for abortion, announces that he will vote for the legislation. “The real victory here or the real winners here are the American people,” Mr. Stupak concludes, noting that 31 million people would receive health care coverage.

On the president’s executive order, colleague Sheryl Stolberg notes: “The White House, sounding a note of confidence about the passage of the health care bill, has just announced that after its passage, Mr. Obama will sign an executive order that will reaffirm the measure’s ‘consistency with longstanding restrictions on the use of federal funds for abortion.'”

In an effort to shore up votes among anti-abortion Democrats, the White House and Democrats have been negotiating the language of an executive order that President Obama would sign to assure those representatives and others that federal funds would not be used for abortion.

Dan Pfeiffer, communications director for the president, wrote this in releasing the order:

While the legislation as written maintains current law, the executive order provides additional safeguards to ensure that the status quo is upheld and enforced, and that the health care legislation’s restrictions against the public funding of abortions cannot be circumvented. The President has said from the start that this health insurance reform should not be the forum to upset longstanding precedent. The health care legislation and this executive order are consistent with this principle.

The President is grateful for the tireless efforts of leaders on both sides of this issue to craft a consensus approach that allows the bill to move forward.

We’ll have a link to the lengthy text momentarily. And we’re still waiting for Representative Bart Stupak to appear publicly to talk about his decision on the vote.

Now we’re waiting for Representative Bart Stupak, who reportedly will be talking about 4 p.m. He’s been weighing to vote yes or no, mainly based on language related to abortion and federal funds.

The House will now vote for 15 minutes on a point of order.

The mood inside the House chamber was tense as lawmakers headed toward climactic health care votes on Sunday, but the atmosphere outside the Capitol was downright venomous.

As the House engaged in initial parliamentary maneuvering, hundreds of anti-reform protesters gathered on the south side of the Capitol between the building and the House office buildings across Independence Avenue, chanting and jeering Democrats and applauding House Republicans who egged them on.

“Nancy Pelosi, you will burn in hell for this,” one woman intoned repeatedly through a bullhorn as members of the crowd rang bells, blew a bugle, waved a varied assortment of flags and chanted “Kill the bill.”

Several Republicans appeared on a second-floor balcony of the Capitol above the crowd to give the protesters the thumbs up and display their own “Kill the Bill” signs. The Republicans even borrowed a “Don’t Tread on Me” flag from the group to wave above the crowd before returning it.

One protester was ejected from the House chamber for shouting against the health legislation, but he was also reportedly applauded by Republicans, a gesture that was condemned by Democrats who said Republicans were encouraging banned disruptions.

After racial slurs and other derogatory terms were hurled at Democrats by protesters on Saturday, numerous Democrats walked en masse from the House office buildings to the Capitol, running a gantlet of jeering and booing demonstrators. One was heard calling Representative Barney Frank, the openly gay Democrat from Massachusetts, a slur generally uttered against gays.

“It is almost like the Salem witch trials,” Mr. Frank said. “The health bill has become their witch. It is a supernatural force and you get hysteria. There is an anger obviously that goes beyond anything connected to the bill.” Mr. Frank said he thinks the name-calling will backfire.

“I don’t think this is the way you win over the American people,” he said. “I think the average American says ‘No, I don’t like this anger, this bigotry.” Carl Hulse

Representative Earl Pomeroy, Democrat of North Dakota, and one of the final holdouts, announced his support for the health care legislation in a joint statement with his state’s two senators, Kent Conrad and Byron L. Dorgan.

“We have concluded that doing nothing is not an option,” the North Dakotans said. “We don’t think this bill is the silver bullet to solve every problem facing health care in the United States. But we have worked hard to make sure it is good for North Dakota.” David M. Herszenhorn

Representative Dale Kildee, who broke ranks with other anti-abortion Democrats by announcing earlier that he believed the language in the Senate bill would indeed prohibit federal financing of abortions, says from the House floor that he has always been “pro-life,” and spent six years in a Catholic seminary. Noting that he will turn 81 this September, he said he had consulted his priest while deciding how to vote. “I am not going to jeopardize my eternal salvation,” said Mr. Kildee, of Michigan. But added that he believed the bills conformed to federal law outlawing funds for the procedure.

Representative Darrell Issa, Republican of California, has raised what’s known as a point of order over the number of earmarks in the bill. These are items roundly criticized in the Senate bill, like what’s been called the “Louisiana Purchase,” which was added to help with Medicaid costs in the wake of post-Katrina rebuilding or the “Cornhusker kickback” to help with Medicaid costs in Nebraska, the state of Senator Ben Nelson, a conservative Democrat.

Representative Louise Slaughter, Democratic chairwoman of the House Rules Committee, tells Mr. Issa: “The final bill will not have state-specific provisions.” But Mr. Issa counters that even if some of the provisions are not designed for single states, but for many states, “a bribe for one becomes a bribe for many.”

Representative Paul Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin, has been denouncing the bill as a fiscal nightmare. “This is not democracy,” he said. “This is not democracy.” Mr. Ryan, like many other House members today, also detailed his mother-in-law’s battle with ovarian cancer, asserting that were she a British citizen, she wouldn’t be able to receive the drug that she’s taking to fight her illness. (F.Y.I., the House is now voting on a procedural point of order that had been raised by Mr. Ryan.)

Representative Patrick Kennedy just took the floor, reminding House members that his father, the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy, fought for overhauling health care his entire life. In quoting from something the elder said about his brother John F. Kennedy during the debates over the Civil Rights Act of 1964, this younger Mr. Kennedy said the parallels between the inequalities over civil rights and health care disparities were clear. Mr. Kennedy called health care “a civil right” as well as a moral issue.

Despite swirling rumors to the contrary, Representative Bart Stupak, Democrat of Michigan and a leader of anti-abortion Democrats in the House, is still a “no” vote on the health care legislation, according to his spokeswoman, Michelle Begnoche.

Mr. Stupak told reporters on Sunday that he believes a deal on the abortion issue is imminent, which would mean he would potentially vote in favor of the bill.

But senior House Democratic aides and White House officials confirmed that a deal has not yet been clinched with the abortion opponents.

“There is not yet a deal, and Congressman Stupak is still a NO vote right now,” Ms. Begnoche said in an e-mail at 1:48 p.m. — David M. Herszenhorn

In announcing that he would oppose the health care legislation, Representative John Tanner, Democrat of Tennessee, offered a signal that Democrats were close to securing the votes needed to pass the bill.

Come again? Yup. Sometimes up is down in Congress, and sometimes down is up.

Mr. Tanner is retiring at the end of this year after completing his 11th term in Congress. Politically, he cannot be punished for voting in favor of the bill. And he is a close friend of the Democratic majority leader, Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland.

If House Democratic leaders are comfortable letting Mr. Tanner publicly announce his opposition, it is the clearest sign yet of their mounting confidence that they will have the 216 votes needed to pass the bill.

Still, they are not there yet. Senior Democrats and White House officials continued to negotiate with a handful of Democrats who oppose abortion rights over an executive order that would clarify abortion policy. An announcement of that deal would likely push Democrats over the top. — David M. Herszenhorn

Using the official White House blog, Macon Phillips denied an assertion made by Karl Rove, the former Bush adviser, on television that the administration was sending out unsolicited e-mail messages to federal employees urging support for health care reform.

Mr. Phillips, the administration’s new media guru, wrote:

Let’s be clear — and done — with this incorrect claim: the White House only sends mass messages to email addresses submitted through email signup forms on WhiteHouse.gov. And every message we send has a clear unsubscribe link at the footer to stop receiving messages at any time. While some people unsubscribe from the White House’s email program, many more have signed up. Since inauguration, the number of people who have opted-in for email updates has steadily grown, making this an increasingly popular way for anyone to stay current and informed about what’s happening with President Obama and the White House. Anyone can sign up for them here. Just today a fierce critic of health reform, Karl Rove, went a step further on ABC’s “This Week” by making the absurd and unfounded claim that the White House “sent out unsolicited e-mails to federal employees asking them to contact their legislators about this bill.” This is simply not true and unless Mr. Rove can point to a White House email making this request of anyone, federal employee or otherwise, he should correct this dangerous and inaccurate assertion.

Representative John Tanner, one of the Blue Dog Democrats, has just announced that he cannot support the health-care legislation as it stands. Here’s his statement:

Aside from national defense, no matter is more important to the future of our country than her financial integrity. Those who have followed my voting record throughout my Congressional service know how seriously I take such responsibility. The unwillingness among those on the other side of the aisle to work in good faith to acknowledge and address the damage done by dangerous economic policy of the early years of this century is regrettable. There is no question our health care system needs reform. Since the outset of this national dialogue, I have talked with many West and Middle Tennesseans about how we can identify and fix what is broken within our system. Chief among these goals is the long-term reduction in health care costs for families, employers and the government. The reconciliation bill the House is being asked to consider is a tribute to the legislative process, because it has improved the Senate bill and the House bill. For these improvements, I commend the White House and House leaders for bringing this bill toward the center, where the vast majority of Americans find themselves aligned ideologically. After thorough and careful review of the legislation, I am unconvinced that the long-term trend of rising health care costs is adequately addressed and am therefore unable to support the legislation.”

Throughout this debate, we’ll be hearing a lot of tough language and perhaps a little hyperbole as some talk about the death of liberty.

At the beginning of the House session this afternoon, Representative Marsha Blackburn, a Republican, warned that if the health bill passes, lawmakers will burden their children and their grandchildren with their greed. “Freedom dies a little bit today,” she said. “Unfortunately, some are celebrating.”

Representative Bart Stupak, the Democrat from Michigan who has been leading a bloc of anti-abortion holdouts on the Democrats’ bill, is still saying he’s a “no” vote, according to CNN. Some of the abortion opponents have been negotiating for an executive order to be issued by the president that would explicitly ban any federal funds for abortion. But at this stage in the voting, the upshot of those talks has yet to be revealed.

In an interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Representative James Clyburn, the Democratic whip, said of the abortion holdouts and the executive order: “I don’t think it’s quite settled yet, but I think it will be by late afternoon. Bart Stupak and I spent a lot of time together last evening. I’ve seen him on one of the networks this morning saying that we are very, very close. And I think that we’ll be there by the time that we vote. And I fully expect that we’ll get the votes that are necessary.”

Representative Brian Baird, Democrat of Washington, has announced he will support the legislation, bringing the Democrats ever closer to the 216 votes they need to pass the bill.

Mr. Baird, who is retiring after this year, had said the legislation did not go far enough in revamping the existing health care system.

But in a long statement Sunday, he said he would back the bill.

Here’s a portion of it:

There is no question in my mind that our current health care system cannot be sustained and must be improved. Because of my background as a health care professional, working for more than twenty years before entering Congress, having focused extensively on health care during my time in Congress, as a parent of two young children, and as someone who has listened to countless constituents and groups from across the professional, patient and political spectrum, there is no other issue before Congress that has received as much of my personal attention and effort. Providing health care is not a political issue for me, it was my chosen profession, it is something I feel deeply about, and it is a service to which I have dedicated much of my life. Recognizing the urgent need for reform, I have tried as hard as I possibly can to evaluate the merits of the proposals before us. I have read the entire House and Senate bills, plus the reconciliation legislation. I have studied the Congressional Budget Office analyses of both bills plus the reconciliation package. I have read reports by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, and numerous others. At my specific request, the Democratic caucus has held an unprecedented number of meetings with policy and legislative experts to go over in detail the text of the legislation and alternatives. Beyond studying the legislation put forward by the Democrats in Congress, I have also made a sincere and earnest effort to read and evaluate criticism of that legislation and consider alternative proposals, including proposals from members of both major political parties and independent groups. I also put forward my own proposal for comprehensive health care reform. The legislation before Congress today represents the results of more than a year of intense public debate. After months of discussion and the passage of a bill in the House last November, the Senate then engaged in extensive deliberations and debate, including consideration of numerous amendments. Since passage of the Senate bill, further modifications have been presented and the final draft plus all but nine pages of amendments was available to Congress and to the public online for 72 hours before the vote. This deliberation time is something I have long championed and insisted upon and I am heartened that the leadership followed this responsible and reasonable approach. The challenge before us now is this: the status quo cannot be sustained. It will continue to allow health care costs to rise more rapidly than people can afford, it will leave insured Americans facing the loss of insurance if they get sick or lose their jobs, it will leave countless small businesses unable to afford insurance for their workers, it will leave fifty million Americans without health insurance, and it will lead to the bankruptcy of the nation as health care entitlement costs continue to grow.

— David M. Herszenhorn

Representative Allyson Y. Schwartz, Democrat of Pennsylvania, is up first to speak for Democrats on the day of a historic vote on health care legislation.

“Today we will act on a uniquely American solution to American health care reform,” she said.

The House is in order and both sides are girding for a galactic floor fight as Democrats continue to work to lock in the final votes.

The White House is still negotiating the terms of an executive order that would clarify abortion policy in an effort to win over a handful of Democrats who worry that the legislation does not contain sufficient restrictions on the use of federal funds for insurance coverage of abortions.

The language in the bill, negotiated in the Senate, seeks to do just that. And many abortion opponents say they are satisfied with the Senate language. But some House Democrats have held out, noting that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is refusing to support the legislation.

Up at the Capitol Building this afternoon, the scene outside is a bit noisy with protesters on both sides of the health care issue shouting their views. “Kill the Bill!” by opponents and “Health Care Now!” by proponents can be heard even from inside the building.

The House of Representatives is preparing to begin a series of actions that will lead to a final vote sometime this evening on the health care legislation. Speaker Nancy Pelosi just gaveled the chamber into session.

We’ll be live blogging along the way, and following developments on Twitter using the #hcr hashtag.