STUPAK REACHES DEAL WITH PRESIDENT, SPEAKER…. It looks like it’s finally finished. Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) hosted a 4 p.m. (ET) press conference — he didn’t cancel this time — and announced that Democrats “have an agreement,” struck with the White House and Speaker’s office.
Stupak said the breakthrough came as a result of an executive agreement from President Obama — which will apparently be signed after the legislation becomes law, and which Stupak says will maintain existing law.
More soon.
Update: White House officials are now saying they count 220 “yes” votes — four more than needed for passage.
Second Update: Here’s a copy of the text of the executive order. And here’s some additional context from the White House.
Third Update: Asked about vote totals, Stupak told reporters, “We’re well past 216, yes.” It’s not exactly clear how many votes this bloc represents, but there are seven pro-life Dems on the dais right now, including Stupak.
Fourth Update: Stupak, during the press conference, said he thought the leadership had reached 216 even without him and his voting bloc. I’m fairly certain that isn’t true — the last I heard from a reliable source, Pelosi had 214, which is one of the reasons the White House was still working on finding a resolution with Stupak.
