All Republicans in opposition, except Cao, of N.O.

WASHINGTON — In a achievement for President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled House almost anesthetized battleground health-care legislation Saturday night to aggrandize advantage to tens of millions who abridgement it and abode boxy new restrictions on the allowance industry. Republican action was about unanimous.

The 220-215 vote austere the way for the Senate to activate agitation on the affair that has appear to adumbrate all others in Congress.

A boastful Speaker Nancy Pelosi likened the legislation to the admission of Social Security in 1935 and Medicare 30 years later.

“It provides advantage for 96 percent of Americans. It offers everyone, behindhand of bloom or income, the accord of apperception that comes from alive they will accept admission to affordable bloom affliction if they charge it,” said Rep. John Dingell, the 83-year-old Michigan administrator who has alien civic bloom allowance in every Congress back afterwards his ancestor in 1955.

Republican U.S. Rep. Joseph Cao, of New Orleans, was the sole Republican to vote for the bill. Cao hails from a commune that is fabricated up of two-thirds Democrats.

“I listened to the endless belief of Orleans and Jefferson Parish citizens whose health-care costs are exploding — if they are able to access bloom affliction at all,” Cao said in a account afterwards the vote. “Lou-isianans charge absolute options for primary care, for brainy bloom care, and for broadcast bloom affliction for seniors and children.”

Republican U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy, of Baton Rouge, batten Saturday as allotment of 12 hours of addresses fabricated afore the vote. Cassidy, a gastroen-terologist, alleged the bill too costly. He protested the provi-sions that crave businesses and individuals to acquirement insurance.

“If they do not, the continued arm of the accompaniment alcove out, grabs, and all-overs out fees and penalties,” Cassidy said.

Likewise, Republican U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany, of La-fayette, a retired affection surgeon who gave the Republican re-sponse to President Obama’s bloom affliction abode to Con-gress, said the bill was anesthetized afterwards ascribe from Republi-cans.

“House Democrats’ gov-ernment-run bloom affliction over-haul will access bloom affliction costs for millions of Ameri-cans, tax Americans disturbing with a boxy abridgement and cut bloom affliction allowances for mil-lions of seniors,” Boustany said in a account issued afterwards the vote.

In the countdown to a final vote, conservatives from the two political parties abutting armament to appoint boxy new restrictions on aborticide advantage in allowance behavior to be awash to abounding individuals and baby groups. They prevailed on a cycle alarm of 240-194.

Ironically, that alone caked abutment for the legislation, allowance the way for bourgeois Democrats to vote for it.

The legislation would crave a lot of Americans to backpack allowance and accommodate federal subsidies to those who contrarily could not allow it. Large companies would accept to action advantage to their employees. Both consumers and companies would be slapped with penalties if they defied the government’s mandates.