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The Speech Tonight
With all of the TV chatter and bickering, it might be easy to forget what makes health insurance reform such a monumental issue. It is not about the fortunes of one political party or another; it is about the anxiety and insecurity Americans face, about ensuring that the tragedy of illness is not compounded by a second tragedy in dealing with health insurance. Two brave parents who represent these struggles -- Laura Klitzka from Wisconsin and Nathan Wilkes from Colorado -- will join the First Lady at the Capitol to watch tonight's speech. Their powerful stories help underscore what's at stake with health insurance reform – watch:
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Tonight the President will make clear to Congress exactly what he would like to see in the health insurance reform legislation that gets sent to his desk. With four out of five committees in Congress having finished their work and the fifth announcing today that they are moving forward, more progress has been made today than in all the decades since reform was first proposed by Teddy Roosevelt. But tonight the President will explain how these bills should be pulled together to find the best solutions possible to bring peace of mind to Americans who have insurance and affordable coverage to those who don't.
- We will be streaming the video live here at WhiteHouse.gov. You can also watch and discuss it through our Facebook chat application.
- You will also have a unique opportunity to talk to Anita Dunn, our Communications Director here at the White House, immediately after the speech when she answers your questions in a live video chat through WhiteHouse.gov and Facebook.
Also note: the Department of Education is planning on a live-captioned version of the address here.
