Obama tells Black Caucus 'now is the time' for health care reform

Speaking to the annual legislative conference of the CBC, Obama said that America must reform its health care system now for the sake of the country and its children. "I know there are voices out there telling us we're moving too fast when it comes to health insurance reform," President Obama said. "They're telling us to slow down. They're telling us to wait." To counter that trend, the president cited a case of a woman who discovered a lump in her breast in June and was told she would have to wait 6 months to be eligible for health insurance to cover her. He asked the audience how we could expect that woman to wait.

Citing efforts to reform the system dating back to Teddy Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton, the president said Americans had waited long enough for health insurance reform. "There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over," Obama told the cheering crowd." There comes a time to remember the fierce urgency of right now. Now's the time," the president said.

Obama also cited statistics that showed racial disparities in economic opportunities for blacks and whites, including data that indicated "downward mobility" for young blacks while young whites were facing "upward mobility."