Today the House held their long-awaited vote on the budget reconciliation bill. The vote, we knew, was going to be close. The final count was 216-214. Two Republican members did not vote. All Democratic House members voted no, except for Earl Blumenauer who was out of town. Thirteen Republicans broke with the leadership and voted against this bill, which makes very harmful cuts to Medicaid, child support enforcement, foster care, and student loans programs. The Republicans who voted against the bill were Gerlach (PA), Ney (OH), Johnson (IL), Jones (NC), Latourette (OH), Leach (IA), McHugh (NY), Paul (TX), Ramstad (MN), Simmons (CT), Sweeny (NY), Smith (NJ), and Wilson (NM). The Emergency Campaign for America's Proirities should be commended for their work in pressuring many of these moderate Republicans into switching their votes. Interestingly, the vote to pass this bill -- which cuts significantly from both Medicaid and Medicare -- comes one day after Bush said in his State of the Union address: "Our government has a responsibility to help provide health care for the poor and the elderly, and we are meeting that responsibility." Our government is not meeting that responsibility. The bill just passed cuts almost $40 billion from entitlement spending over five years, with Medicaid and Medicare bearing 27 percent of the brunt of those cuts. Forty-five million Americans are already without health insurance. Despite the President's comments, there appears to be a glaring hole in the efforts on the part of this country's leadership in fufilling any sort of compassionate health care responsibilities. Washington Post: Budget Cuts Pass By a Slim Margin