Health care vote tally (updated continuously)

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As I’m listening to President Obama’s speech on health care at George Mason University today, I’ve again come to realize how embarrassingly slow, not only this year’s attempts at health care reform has been, but nearly a century-long debate on the issue in this country. Even more so when compared to country’s like Germany and Great Britain, which enacted univeral health care more than a century ago and a half century ago, respectively.

The New York Times, which came out yesterday editorially in favor of passage (no secret there), has put together a historical timeline tracking America’s slow progress on reform.

A vote in the House will likely come Sunday, which would be one of the most historic pieces of legislation in history, and the single most important one regarding health care. Obama, who said at George Mason that he wasn’t sure how the vote would implicate his presidency, has, nonetheless, staked his career on it.

Here’s some resources to help you sort through the details of reconciliation bill:

• Congressional Budget Office cost estimate
• Full text of the reconciliation bill (H.R.4872)
• Senate version of the bill (H.R. 3590)
• Health care timeline
• USA Today Q&A on health care reform
• The Washington Post: 5 questions on health care

Here’s my favorite chart, and the most enlightening regarding who’s pockets are lined by the health industry, a table mapping campaign contributions, how House members voted Nov. 7 and their current leaning:

Who’s in play: House health-care vote (Hint: check out Rep. Joe Barton)