WASHINGTON, DC - The House version of the healthcare reform bill passed Saturday night by a narrow margin of 220 to 215.

Both Democratic Congressman Steve Kagen of the 8th District and Dave Obey of the 7th District, voted in favor of the bill.

In a phone interview Represenative Kagen tells Newswatch 12 this bill is positive change and a step forward.

He says, "We're securing the health and the security of all of our families and I believe that by working together, that we're going to guarantee that no family in the future will ever have to lose their home or hold a bake sale just to pay for life saving cancer treatments for either themselves or their children."

Kagen says the House version begins to close the donut-hole in Medicare part-D starting in 2010.

He adds it will also start to reform medical malpractice or tort reform, by making grants available to study each state and how to reduce medical malpractice.

Seventh District Congressman Dave Obey from Wausau says quote "This is a landmark day in the history of our country – this legislation can open the door to health coverage to over 35 million Americans and begin to make healthcare more affordable for virtually everyone. It’s been seventy years in coming."

The National Republican Congressional Committee or NRCC criticizes both Congressman Kagen and Obey's decisions to vote for the healthcare bill.

A spokesperson says it's disappointing to see Democrats pass a healthcare bill in the middle of the night.

Spokesperson Tom Erickson says, "Everybody should find that troubling, we're all about transparency here. Nobody should have to watch a trillion dollar government takeover of healthcare passed almost at midnight on a Saturday night, I think that's bad government and the Democrats should be held responsible for that."

The bill now moves to the Senate for debate and an eventual vote. Both the House and the Senate must come to a compromise before the President can sign it into law.