With the House vote on the Affordable Health Care for America Act expected within hours, President Barack Obama came to Capitol Hill Saturday to secure votes from Congressional Democrats.

The president spoke for approximately 15 minutes, veering away from controversial topics such as the public option and abortion funding.

“[It was] higher level,” Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) told reporters. “[Obama] talked about the imperative of the country, talked about the tough decisions, acknowledged that it was hard.”

Instead, the President focused on his desire to lower health costs for families and small businesses, casting the impending vote as a historic opportunity.

Obama acknowledged the heated opposition to the bill being waged by Conservative activists, telling the caucus that Democrats could not win them over simply by opposing the legislation.

Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, who served in the House from 2002-2008, accompanied the President. Emanuel reportedly worked the room, talking to his former colleagues on an individual basis.

The president’s remarks were received warmly, with some members spontaneously bursting out with calls of “fired up, ready to go,” a popular slogan from Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign.

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Director of the Domestic Policy Council Melody Barnes read to young children at the Education Department’s outdoor plaza. The “Read to the Top!” initiative promotes summer reading among young children. August 10, 2009.

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Domestic Policy Council Director Melody Barnes read to young children as part of the “Read to the Top!” summer initiative at the Department of Education Monday.

U.S Secretary of Education Arne Duncan welcomed Emanuel and Barnes to the initiative, which aims to promote reading amongst young children during the summer vacation from school.

While Emanuel is infamous for his aggressive behavior and vocabulary, the Chief of Staff adopted a more family-friendly tone for Monday’s event, making jokes while reading “Duck For President” that may have gone over the youngsters’ heads.

Following a section of the book that described animals lining up to register to Vote for Duck, Emanuel noted that “It’s obviously not in Chicago.”

“‘Have you seen the other one: Duck Runs For Congress?” Emanuel joked. “It’s really good.”

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) explains that out of all the tax credits available, the Earned Income Tax Credit has the lowest rate of participation. Emanuel claims that this is due in large part to the complexity and the lack of knowledge of the program. (0:12)

 

 Standard Podcast [0:12m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) and Senate Democratic Conference Vice-Chairman Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) today introduced legislation that will expand the use of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Emmanuel and Schumer were joined by Alison Reardon, SEIU Director of Legislation and Susan Chambers, Wal-Mart Executive Vice President of the Global People Division, representatives of two of the groups that have endorsed the legislation. (more…)