NEW : ` ` Now is the time to make a decision '' about health care reform , president says . NEW : ` The American people are ready for change and they want it now -- not later.'' The bill `` deserves the same kind of up-or-down vote '' that was used to pass President George W. Bush 's signature tax cuts and welfare reform in the 1990s , Obama said at the White House . ` But GOP says reconciliation never meant to be used for such a major policy change . Top GOP leaders have reiterated calls for president to scrap his plan , start over .
NEW : ` ` Now is the time to make a decision '' about health care reform , president says . NEW : ` The American people are ready for change and they want it now -- not later.'' But GOP says reconciliation never meant to be used for such a major policy change . Top GOP leaders have reiterated calls for president to scrap his plan , start over .