With the House poised to take a crucial vote on health reform legislation over the weekend, President Barack Obama Friday held a campaign-style rally hoping to show wavering lawmakers the popularity of the proposal.
Obama, speaking to an estimated 8,500 people, more than half of whom were students, at George Mason University in northern Virginia, said that the long debate about health care reform, which started under Republican President Theodore Roosevelt, was about more than just the cost of health care or reforming insurance practices.
"It's a debate about the character of our country," he said, "about whether we can still meet the challenges of our time; whether we still have the guts and the courage to give every citizen, not just some, the chance to reach their dreams."
He added, "At the heart of this debate is the question of whether we're going to accept a system that works better for the insurance companies than it does for the American people."
Repeating a line that has punctuated his remarks in a series of rallies around the country in recent weeks, Obama said the time for debate has passed.
"Every proposal has been put on the table. Every argument has been made," he said. "We have incorporated the best ideas from Democrats and from Republicans into a final proposal that builds on the system of private insurance that we currently have."
Obama decried the "nonsense" that had been interjected into the discussions, including accusations of death panels or coverage for illegal immigrants, arguing that instead of putting government or insurance industry bureaucrats in charge of Americans' health, the reforms would give the people more control.
"This is a patient's bill of rights on steroids," he said. "Starting this year, thousands of uninsured Americans with preexisting conditions will be able to purchase health insurance, some for the very first time."
He added, "Starting this year, insurance companies will be banned forever from denying coverage to children with preexisting conditions. Starting this year, insurance companies will be banned from dropping your coverage when you get sick."
Obama highlighted that the reform bill would expand coverage, give individuals and small businesses more choices of insurance and better rate negotiating power, and give small businesses tax credits to help them cover the cost of insuring their employees.
Obama also emphasized that the $940 billion price tag for the bill was fully offset by spending cuts and tax increases to the point that it will ultimately result in a major reduction in the federal budget deficit.
"You've got a whole bunch of opponents of this bill saying, well, we can't afford this," he said. "These are the same guys who passed that prescription drug bill without paying for it, adding over $1 trillion to our deficit."
He added, "This bill, according to the Congressional Budget Office … [will] save us $1 trillion. Not only can we afford to do this, we can't afford not to do this."
Obama said that he couldn't be sure how the ultimate passage of health reform would affect his approval ratings or the electoral fates of Congressional Democrats, in part because the discourse around the bill had become so toxic.
However, he said, the bill is "enormously important" for the nation's future.
"I do know the impact it will have on the millions of Americans who need our help, and the millions more who may not need help right now but a year from now or five years from now or 10 years from now, if they have some bad luck; if, heaven forbid, they get sick; if they've got a preexisting condition; if their child has a preexisting condition; if they lose their job; if they want to start a company," he said. "I know the impact it will have on them."
Obama likened the ultimate passage of reform legislation to the historic votes that established Social Security and Medicare, noting that opponents of the health reform bill have used similar rhetoric in this year's debate.
"You know, the naysayers said that Social Security would lead to socialism," he said. "There were cynics that warned that Medicare would lead to a government takeover of our entire health care system, and that it didn't have much support in the polls."
He added, "Previous generations, those who came before us, made the decision that our seniors and our poor, through Medicaid, should not be forced to go without health care just because they couldn't afford it. Today it falls to this generation to decide whether we will make that same promise to hardworking middle-class families and small businesses all across America."
Invoking the words of Roosevelt that "Aggressively fighting for the right is the noblest sport the world affords," Obama expressed his confidence that the measure would pass.
"We are going to get this done," he said. "We are going to make history. We are going to fix health care in America."
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.