Obama: House healthcare vote proves country 'still capable of big things'

President Barack Obama hailed House passage of healthcare reform, the biggest victory of his presidency.

“Tonight, at a time when the pundits said it was no longer possible, we rose above the weight of our politics,” Obama said. “We proved we’re still a people capable of doing big things.

"This is what change looks like," he added.

Obama but did not say when he would sign the Senate legislation, which will now go to his desk.

The House’s approval of the Senate bill completes work on that legislation, but the Senate must still take up a package of changes to that legislation approved Sunday by the House.

Obama said the victory is not one for either party but for the American people, and he brushed back predictions he said where sure to come about what House approval would mean for his administration and his standing in the polls.

“This legislation will not fix everything that ails or healthcare system but it will move us in the right direction,” he said.

Obama said he hoped the Senate would consider the reconciliation package swiftly and that it would not be delayed by a wave of parliamentary procedures.

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