...thanks to Democrats and President Obama.

The Daily Kos has a great article about this and the misconceptions the Republicans are using to cover up the facts.

The Recovery Act, which passed a year ago, granted 98 percent of Americans with a tax cut. One third of the Recovery Act was made up of tax credits.

The credits included:

• An increase in the Earned Income Tax Credit
• An expansion of the Child Tax Credit
•  For those who work, the Making Work Pay tax credit offered $400 per individual and $800 per couple
• For those who lost their job, there was a 65 percent tax credit to help cover the cost of health care. The first $2,400 in unemployment benefits went tax-free
• Up to $2,500 under the American Opportunity Credit for students and parents paying for college tuition
• $8,000 for first-time home buyers
• A deduction of state and local taxes paid on a new car
•  Up to $1,500 for home improvements to increase energy efficiency

For the first time in our nation's history, Congress has passed comprehensive health care reform. America waited a hundred years and fought for decades to reach this moment. Tonight, thanks to you, we are finally here.

Consider the staggering scope of what you have just accomplished:

Because of you, every American will finally be guaranteed high quality, affordable health care coverage.

Every American will be covered under the toughest patient protections in history. Arbitrary premium hikes, insurance cancellations, and discrimination against pre-existing conditions will now be gone forever.

And we'll finally start reducing the cost of care -- creating millions of jobs, preventing families and businesses from plunging into bankruptcy, and removing over a trillion dollars of debt from the backs of our children.

But the victory that matters most tonight goes beyond the laws and far past the numbers.

It is the peace of mind enjoyed by every American, no longer one injury or illness away from catastrophe.

It is the workers and entrepreneurs who are now freed to pursue their slice of the American dream without fear of losing coverage or facing a crippling bill.

And it is the immeasurable joy of families in every part of this great nation, living happier, healthier lives together because they can finally receive the vital care they need.

This is what change looks like.

My gratitude tonight is profound. I am thankful for those in past generations whose heroic efforts brought this great goal within reach for our times. I am thankful for the members of Congress whose months of effort and brave votes made it possible to take this final step. But most of all, I am thankful for you.

This day is not the end of this journey. Much hard work remains, and we have a solemn responsibility to do it right. But we can face that work together with the confidence of those who have moved mountains.

Our journey began three years ago, driven by a shared belief that fundamental change is indeed still possible. We have worked hard together every day since to deliver on that belief. We have shared moments of tremendous hope, and we've faced setbacks and doubt.

We have all been forced to ask if our politics had simply become too polarized and too short-sighted to meet the pressing challenges of our time. This struggle became a test of whether the American people could still rally together when the cause was right -- and actually create the change we believe in.

Tonight, thanks to your mighty efforts, the answer is indisputable: Yes we can.

Thank you,

President Barack Obama

The health insurance reform proposal President Obama released this morning (Monday, February 22, 2010) builds on the work done by Congress over the past year, putting forward a plan that lowers costs, guarantees choice, and enhances quality health care for all Americans. Using the Senate bill as a starting point, the President's proposal bridges the differences between the Senate and House-passed bills, while incorporating additional ideas from Republican members of Congress.

Here are some of the key elements of the President's proposal:

• It makes insurance more affordable by providing the largest middle class tax cut for health care in history, reducing premium costs for tens of millions of families and small business owners who are priced out of coverage today. This helps over 31 million Americans afford health care who do not get it today and makes coverage more affordable for many more.
• It sets up a new competitive health insurance market giving tens of millions of Americans the exact same insurance choices that members of Congress will have.
• It brings greater accountability to health care by laying out commonsense rules of the road to keep premiums down and prevent insurance industry abuses and denial of care.
• It will end discrimination against Americans with pre-existing conditions.
• It puts our budget and economy on a more stable path by reducing the deficit by $100 billion over the next ten years and about $1 trillion over the second decade by cutting government overspending and reining in waste, fraud and abuse.

Additionally, the President's proposal includes a new measure that allows the government to put a stop to unreasonable and unfair premium rate increases.

You can read the full proposal at WhiteHouse.gov.

President Barack Obama ordered an additional 30,000 U.S. troops into the war in Afghanistan on Tuesday night, in a prime-time speech at the U.S. Military Academy, the president told the nation his new policy was designed to “bring this war to a successful conclusion.”

Shortly after tonight's historic vote on the Health Insurance Reform Bill, President Obama sent out the following email to supporters:

This evening, at 11:15 p.m., the House of Representatives voted to pass their health insurance reform bill. Despite countless attempts over nearly a century, no chamber of Congress has ever before passed comprehensive health reform. This is history.

But you and millions of your fellow Organizing for America supporters didn't just witness history tonight -- you helped make it. Each "yes" vote was a brave stand, backed up by countless hours of knocking on doors, outreach in town halls and town squares, millions of signatures, and hundreds of thousands of calls. You stood up. You spoke up. And you were heard.

So this is a night to celebrate -- but not to rest. Those who voted for reform deserve our thanks, and the next phase of this fight has already begun.