President Obama signed the final iteration of health care reform legislation into law this morning in a ceremony in Alexandria, Va.

"Today we mark an important milestone on the road to health insurance reform and education reform. More broadly, this day affirms our ability to overcome the challenges of our politics and meet the challenges of our time," Obama said.

"When I took office, one of the questions we had to answer was whether it was still possible to make government responsive to the needs of everyday people--middle class Americans, the backbone of this country--or whether the special interests and lobbyists would continue to hold sway like they've done so many times before. And that's a test we met one week ago when health insurance reform became the law of the land in the United States of America."
He listed some of the changes enacted today as improvements upon the original bill enacted last week, including:
- Increased tax credits to families and businesses to pay for health insurance,
- A $250 allocation to seniors to help close the Medicare drug program "doughnut hole,"
- New investment in community health centers to provide primary care, and
- Strengthening of efforts to fight fraud and waste.

Higher education funding reforms were also combined in the amended legislation signed today.

The president singled out House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her leadership in getting the health care bill and its revisions passed.

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