In an historic vote more than 60 years in the making, the House of Representatives this afternoon voted to approve (220-211) what AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka calls a "momentous step toward comprehensive health care."

The bill survived a $100 million lie-and-distortion campaign by Big Insurance to kill it-the same kind of tactics these groups have aimed at health care proposals for six decades. Trumka says the bill is not "a baby step or half measure," but a solid step forward to set our country on a path to health care that actually works for working families.

After personally calling dozens of House members on Friday, Trumka spent the weekend meeting with House members to firm up votes in favor of the bill. On Capitol Hill today, Trumka joined two workers-among the millions in this nation for whom passage of this health care bill means the difference between food and health care.