Obama calls on lawmakers

Obama calls on lawmakers to show 'courage' in health-care fight (w/video)

Former President Barack Obama on Sunday night called on members of Congress show "political courage" and defend the work his administration did to extend health care coverage to 20 millions Americans. The former president was speaking in Boston after receiving the Profile in Courage Award, presented on the 100th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's birth, and his remarks marked a rare foray into the day-to-day political scrum. In the course of a 45-minute speech, his second since he left office, Obama praised the courage of single mothers who sacrifice for their children and soldiers who put their lives on the line for strangers. But he focused largely on the health-care debate that is roiling the nation following the passage in the House of the Affordable Health Care Act on Thursday. The move is one step in the process of repealing Obama's landmark health-care law. Obama praised the courage of freshman lawmakers who voted for the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, knowing that it might put their seats and political careers at risk. "These men and women did the right thing," Obama said. "They did the hard thing ... and most of them did lose their seats." As the legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act moves to the Senate, Obama called on Republican and Democratic lawmakers to demonstrate similar courage to ensure that vulnerable Americans do not lose access to care. "This great debate is not settled but continues, and it is my fervent hope - and the hope of millions - that regardless of party, such courage is still possible," Obama said. —tampabay.com