An agreement between the White House and pro-life House Democrats has likely sealed the final House passage of a bill to reform the nation's health care system.
The House is poised to vote later Sunday on a Senate health reform bill but the ultimate passage had seemed in danger as a bloc of pro-life Democrats who voted to support a House reform bill that contained language more restrictive of federal funding of abortion threatened to withdraw their support.
However, the White House reached a deal to issue an executive order following the ultimate signing of the bill to clarify that the bill would not expand federal funding of abortions, which is presently prohibited by the Hyde Amendment.
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., the leader of the bloc of between six and 12 House Democrats, said they were able to reach the agreement while standing firm in their principles that the legislation not expand beyond present law any provisions that could allow federal funding of abortion.
He said the order would clarify that funding for community health centers in the bill could not be used to support abortion, and expand "conscience clause" protections for health care providers who object to abortion.
"The real winner here is really the American people," he said, adding that he had always been supportive of the goal of expanding health care to roughly 30 million uninsured Americans.
Stupak said the support of his colleagues puts the vote count "well past" the 216 votes needed to clear the House.
The House is then expected to pass a series of technical fixes to the bill that would bring the cost of the bill to roughly $940 billion, but would reduce the deficit by $130 billion over 10 years.
The executive order falls short of what the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and other anti-abortion activists had advocated, but Stupak said that the order would still have the force of law and marked the best additional protections that could be achieved at this time.
"Statutory language, we would love to have it, but we can't get it through the Senate," he said. "Make no doubt about it, there will be no public funding for abortion" following the enactment of the health reform legislation.
He added, "I agree with the Bishops. I would rather have a statute. . . . [But] we can't get more than 45 votes in the Senate."
Stupak also noted that he believed that Democratic leaders would have ultimately cleared 216 votes without the support of his bloc.
Following the vote Sunday, the Senate is expected to take up a bill enacting a series of technical corrections to the Senate measure, including some controversial provisions benefiting certain states seen as specifically added to secure the vote of particular Senators.
The Senate is expected to finalize the reforms, using the budget reconciliation process to circumvent a GOP filibuster, before the Easter Break at the end of the week.
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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.