Today In History: Obama Launches Health Care Reform Bill; Reagan Talks Nation's 'Star Wars' Defense

March 23, 2017, is the 82nd day of the year, with 283 days remaining. The moon is in a waning gibbous phase, with illumination at 24 percent.

Obama's Health Care Reform Bill Is Signed Into Law

Surrounded by lawmakers and guests in 2010, Barack Obama signed into law the Health Care Reform Bill, which — still requiring approval of the U.S. Senate for changes made by the House of Representatives following zero support by Republican members of either group — constituted the largest expansion of federal health care guaranteed in more than four decades.

Obama said during the signing ceremony, “It's been easy at times to doubt our ability to do such a big thing, such a complicated thing, to wonder if there are limits to what we as a people can still achieve.”

“We are not a nation that scales back its aspirations. We are not a nation that falls prey to doubt or mistrust,” the president continued. “We don't fall prey to fear.”

A Long Time Ago In A Nation Far, Far Away...

Ronald Reagan, in a speech made from the Oval Office in 1983, called for defending the United States against first-strike attacks by developing the Strategic Defense Initiative, an enterprise that gained the nickname “Star Wars” after the futuristic sci-fi franchise.

The goal was to mount a near-total defense against massive, sophisticated, intercontinental, ballistic missile attacks. Star Wars comprised building a network of ground-based and space-based systems to shield the country, with the space-based side utilizing lasers armed with nuclear warheads in order to shoot down incoming Soviet missiles.

Stay on top of all breaking White House news by signing up for the free Patch morning newsletter.

Photo credit: Pete Souza via Flickr