a quick return to twitter here. maverick is writing us. now that the scotus decision is final, maybe the country can have an honest discussion about health care without distortion and games. c-span.org has a full page devoted to the health care ruling. you'll find the text of the opinions if you want to read through it yourself. we have twitter feeds and other resources available to you to deep dive into the health care ruling if you're interested in doing so. and as senator harkin prepares, let's see if we can take a quick call. very quick call from minnesota. sean, if you could keep your comments brief, please. we're watching and waiting for senators. >> caller: absolutely. thank you for taking my call. thank you for c-span. you are great. i'm a single father of father. i believe the whole system needs to be revamped but we don't need to rely upon government to give free health care to everybody.

they should rely on smaller communities, churches and we need to remove pharmaceuticals from our health insurance and we don't need more taxes. we need to repeal the tax and look at sound money and the federal reserve on the ron paul revolutionary, i support democracy freedom of the constitution to get involved with government on every single level is the only which we get reform in this country and take our country back. >> i'm going to jump in. the senators have begun speaking. thank you for your comments. appreciate it. >> was in charge of passing the affordable care act through committee and through the senate. today's decision by the supreme court is a rigorous resounding confirmation of the constitutionality of the affordable care act. it is great news for america's families, businesses and our economy. the affordable care act moves us forward where every person has

affordable, quality health care in america. even though the law will not be fully implemented for several more years, it's already made a big difference in the lives of many americans. 100 million americans have received free preventive care. 105 million americans no longer face lifetime caps on benefits. more than 5 million seniors have saved more than $3.7 billion in prescription drug costs. nearly 17 million children can no longer be denied coverage because of pre-existing health conditions. today's decision keeps consumers rather than insurance companies in the driver's seat. today's decision protects more than $1 trillion in deficit reduction. today's decision allows us to continue our work replacing the current sick care system with a true health care system. one focused on wellness and prevention and public health and keeping people out of the

hospital in the first place. the supreme court has made it clear what we have known all along. those trying to block health care reform are standing on the wrong side of history. for those of us who believe that quality health care is a right and not a privilege, this is a great day. it is time. it is time for speaker boehner and the republicans to put politics behind us, join with us in ensuring that every american has access to quality affordable care. that no person is denied coverage due to a pre-existing condition. no one has their coverage canceled when they get sick. and to make sure that women are no longer discriminated against by insurance companies. i've often said that the affordable care act is not like the ten commandments chiselled in stone. it's like a starter home. suitable for improvement. so i call on republicans to join us in making sensible

refinements as we continue to implement the law. i invite the republicans to bring their tool kits and not their sledgehammers. let's make the affordable care act work for every american. the choice is to go forward or to be dragged backward. the great majority of americans and now the supreme court has said we want to go forward. the justices have spoken. now let's get back to work building a reformed health care system that works not just for the wealthy and healthy but works for every american. and with that i want to introduce a great partner who has been in this fight from the very beginning on our committee who has written parts of this law, the great senator from the state of maryland. >> good morning america. good morning the world.

if you want to know what democracy looks like, come to constitution avenue. this is what democracy looks like. the congress voted on health care. the supreme court has ruled on health care. we now know that health care is legal, constitutional, undeniable and irreversible. let's hear it for democracy! the system worked and it will work for the american people. we will now be able to go forward with making sure that 32 million people have universal access. we've broken the stranglehold of insurance companies where pinstriped guys sitting in their boardrooms decided to gets health care and now americans will get health care they need, their doctors say they need and they'll be able to get it. the crowds are cheering us on.

[ applause ] for we women, it's an enormous victory because today what we've been able to affirm is that insurance companies will no longer be able to discriminate on the basis of gender where women pay 30% more for their health care with men of the same health care status. number two, women just simply being a woman will no longer be a pre-existing condition. we cannot be denied health care because we're pregnant, because we've had a c-section or because we've had domestic violence and we affirmed our preventive health care where we'll be able to get our mammograms, we'll be able to get our maternity and child care and as we fought for the women, we also fought for the men too. it's very noisy here. it's very exciting here. but this is the voice of democracy.

open, free to all. god bless you. god bless america. thank god that the supreme court followed the constitution. [ applause ] >> senator ben cardin. >> first, i'm ben cardin, senator from maryland. i had the honor of serving with the senator of maryland. i want to thank my colleagues that are here from the house of representatives for their incredible work on behalf of the american people. this is a good day for the american people. they won today. it's also a good day for the rule of law. the supreme court decision affirms prior precedent and confirms the proper role for the congress of the united states. it allows us to move forward with quality, affordable health care for all americans. health care is a right and not a privilege. we're able to continue to move forward. it allows us to move forward

with reforms to protect against the practices of insurance companies that would deny them coverage, pre-existing conditions, and now allow families to keep their children on their insurance policies to age 26 and allows us to continue to expand medicare to cover that coverage gap for prescription drugs and wellness exams for our seniors and let's us move forward with quality health care for all americans in a more affordable cost-effective way. this is good for the taxpayers of our country. the important message from today from the supreme court is that it is now time for democrats and republicans to move forward with health care. let's not relitigate what's already been done. let's continue to make progress so that all americans can indeed have quality health care in america. this is the message from the supreme court and this is what we need to continue to do. thank you.

>> thank you, senator harkin. i'm senator chris coons of delaware. this is an historic decision and important moment for our country. the people of delaware, my constituents, my neighbors, friends, like kathryn and melanie have had their lives changed for the better by the affordable care act and for me supporting the affordable care act has always been about the people whose lives are changed for the better rather than the politics being shouted by the opponents of this important bill. i am pleased that the supreme court today affirmed its role in our constitutional order by deciding on narrow and appropriate grounds to uphold the core elements of the affordable care act. let me tell you why this matters to real people in my state. melanie first met my wife at an

annual breast cancer walk and her story is heartbreaking. like her mother and sister before her she was diagnosed with near fatal breast cancer. her husband left her when he heard this news and she lost her health care provided through her husband's employer. having lost health care, she could not get health care through a new employer. and she lost not only her opportunity at getting life saving treatment, but her home facing bankruptcy, facing debt, it was through the affordable care act that she was able to get health insurance despite her pre-existing condition that made possible critical care in delaware's hospitals. another woman we met who contacted my office named kathryn. when her husband passed away, her husband then 21 lost health care because she couldn't afford cobra. it's only because of the affordable care act that health care was reinstated for her daughter below 26 years old.

dozens of others who fought so hard to pass this landmark bill can tell you dozens of similar stories from their states. it is time for us to work together. republican and democrat, senate and house, to focus on the issues that matter to the people of america. providing affordable high quality health care, insisting on progress on moving forward rather than those who would fight to take america backwards and i'm grateful for this landmark decision by the supreme court today upholding the constitutionality of the core provisions of the affordable care act. thank you. >> let's hear it for our senators, everybody!

we're also joined by a doctor from families usa. we're happy to have him. let me just tell you this. you know, back in the day, roosevelt wanted to see health care for all americans. truman wanted to see it. kennedy wanted to see it. you know what? we all remember how president clinton fought for it. but today health care for all americans has been found to be constitutional and so this is a great day for celebration. i want you all to know that we are out here today marking this victory, clear that the work we did to get to us this point was the right thing to do but also clear that we are going to head forward and continue to make health care truly something that all americans can have and enjoy. i want to say that i'm so proud to be here with members of the progressive caucus and the progressive community who fought for health care who will continue to fight for health care and so let me say to the

members of the health progressive caucus who fought so hard and fought so long, we have more miles to go but let's take a minute to celebrate this moment. health care is a constitutional. as the senator said, irreversible, forward ever backward never and now let me say come on up to my co-chair from arizona. >> thank you very much, keith. despite the shrillness next door, today is a significant day for the american people. a huge step that this supreme court by ruling the core of the affordable care act constitutional has provided us with a step toward the fundamental right that everybody in this country should have health care. and today it is affirmed that a minimum level of coverage for every american is constitutional and right. we should celebrate that. work to be done, yes.

more to gain? yes. today we have broken the ice on a decade's old inability to do health care in this country. the people next door should be happy. today the supreme court affirmed that romney care is constitutional and they should be happy with that and they should celebrate it with us. today is a victory not just for president obama, not for those of us who supported this, but it is a victory for the american people on this long, tough road to get us to this point to begin to create a climate in this country where health care is a fundamental right available and affordable for every american. thank you very much. >> hi. i'm congresswoman carolyn maloney from new york. god bless america. god bless the constitution and

god bless all of the presidents on both sides of the aisle that have made health care their top priority. thank you, president obama. it is a great day. it is a great day for americans. not for one party or the other or for an ideology but for the 34 million americans who will have access to affordable, available health care. it is a great win for our seniors who will no longer fall through the doughnut hole and for women who will not be discriminated against by insurance policies that historically charged them more for their premiums than their male colleagues and women will no longer be treated as a pre-existing condition thereby denying coverage for pregnancy, for c-sections and the very important preventive measures in the bill that will help prevent cancers and diseases. it is a great victory for our country, which is joining that family of economically

advantaged countries that are providing health care to their people. all their people. and now it's time to go back to work creating jobs for healthy americans. >> i'm the congressman from new york. today the supreme court did not disgrace itself. in upholding the affordable care act, the supreme court has shown that even in a time when washington often seems to have reached a new level of dysfunction, there remains a respect for the rule of law, a respect for precedent, and for the ability of congress to -- [ applause ] >> protect our health care!

[ applause ] >> there remains a respect for the ability of congress to legislate on matters that affect the welfare of the american people. that's what was at stake today. by not caving in to the political calls, the supreme court stayed by more than 70 years of legal precedent to ensure that 32 million americans will now have access to health insurance, to ensure that 42,000 americans will no longer died every year for lack of health insurance and to ensure the many other benefits of affordable health care act, to assure that people can no longer be denied insurance, health insurance,

because of pre-existing conditions. this is a good bill. it's a good start. we have more to do. the supreme court today said that despite the reactionary nature of the court, the affordable care act is so clearly constitutional that it upheld. the supreme court did not disgrace itself today and we can go on from here to legislate for theler we the better welfare of the american people. >> we're going to have a doctor from families usa. thank you very much. >> good morning. i'm the executive detectiirecto families usa, the national organization for health care consumers. today is a hallelujah moment for america's families. it means that families will have the peace of mind knowing that they will have the health coverage and care they need, when they need it.

it means that tens of millions of people are going to get help so that insurance is affordable. it means insurance companies can no longer deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions like children with asthma and diabetes. it means insurance companies can no longer set an artificial cap in what they're willing to pay out when someone has a catastrophic illness or an accident. it means that women will no longer be discriminated against and have to pay higher premiums. it means that small businesses will get tax credits so they can afford to provide health coverage for their workers. and bottom line, tens of millions of people will get health coverage for the first time. so this is an extraordinary moment and the effort to defeat the affordable care act has been stopped in its tracks and now we get on with the task of

implementing health reform in every state all across the country. this is truly a hallelujah moment for america's families. health reform is moving forward. >> thank you, doctor. >> i'm a canniongresswoman from ninth judicial district. imagine the burden that has been lifted from the shoulders of millions and millions of americans. no longer under obama care will families have to worry that someone will have a catastrophic illness and not only will they have to deal with the illness but the whole family may go bankrupt because of it. that won't happen because of obama care. no longer will the woman with breast cancer or the man with prostate cancer have to worry that he will not or she will not have access to the health care

that they need. a person with mental illness will now have full access to health care. this is such a great decision. we congratulate chief justice roberts and the majority of the court for deciding that the law of the land is that health care finally in the united states of america is a right and not just a privilege for those who can afford it. thank you. >> thank you. and now we have the chair of the women's caucus and progressive caucus. >> brothers and sisters, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, today is a day we've been waiting on for over a century in this country. the supreme court's decision to uphold obama care and i say it very proudly today, is especially important for women

and children, the most vulnerable among americans. women are twice as likely as men to be dependent upon their spouses for health insurance. children who are going to be covered until they are 26 are of course dependent upon their parents for health care. so as the co-chair of the women's caucus, i am especially celebrating this decision today for women and children in the united states. i hope that in november women will appreciate the work and the sacrifice that democrats have made to bring this bill forward to the supreme court. thank you. >> laura richardson of california. >> i would just like to focus on

two points. in 1968 at 6 years old, laura richardson from california, i wanted to become a member of congress because i thought that there were laws in the civil rights movement that were unfair. my comments i want to say to chief justice roberts for showing for the first time in a long time that government can work if we focus on the facts and we do what's right. in my district we have people who cannot afford to have health care. we have young people who due to no fault of their own can't get a job and therefore don't have coverage. today chief justice roberts and the other members of this court said we're going to get back to doing things right. my second point to president obama. i remember many of my colleagues here just over a year ago we walked across the street. we were spat on.

we were cussed at for standing up for people. and today now we're able to say that the right thing was done. let's get about doing more work and stop the politics and help the american people. thank you. >> former chair of the progressive caucus. >> thank you. thank you. well today the supreme court affirmed the will of the american people. the struggle is not over. you can hear that the republicans are going to try to dismantle step by step by step everything that this is in this legislation and everything that the american people stand for. but instead we can now strengthen this act. we can add health care for all. we can start working to make sure that there is competition

to make sure that we have medicare for everybody. and when we do that, nobody will worry ever again about whether they have health care in the united states of america. thank you, supreme court. thank you progressive caucus. thank you progressive community. thank you democrats. we all made this happen. thank you very much. >> thank you for coming out. i represent the people of central new jersey. the history of the united states has been a history of extending human rights to every person and to provide access to excellent health care for every woman, every child, every man is part

of that progress. today the supreme court has allowed that progress to continue. we have work to do. we should not be continuing this circus that we see around us. we should be getting to work to make sure that we extend affordable, excellent health care to every person in america. the supreme court decision today makes that possible. >> thank you, rush. >> chair of the congressional black caucus. today the supreme court of the land has upheld the affordable care act. it is settled law. we took a lot of hits on behalf of the american people but that's over. no amount of noise coming from our right will change that. it is the law of the land. the people of the united states have won. better access to affordable health care and nation's unsustainable health care costs

will be controlled and we'll be a stronger and more competitive country. i want to say that i'm proud of the work that the caucus has done to expand not only access but to take our nation closer to health equity and i want to thank all of our partners who work with us who supported us to make this day possible. and to applaud the administration and secretary sebelius for their diligence and commitment to implementing this law. we look forward to working with them to make sure provision that still remain are fully implemented and to work with our state partners to make sure that no state denies any of their citizens the right to medicaid expansion that we provided in this bill. now it's time for those republican colleagues to begin to do the work of the people. to pass job legislation. to pass our transportation and

our appropriations bills and take care of the people that we were elected to serve. >> there you have heard the reaction from a number of democratic house and senate members. the supreme court plaza across from the capitol building here in washington d.c. and their support for the supreme court's upholding the affordable care act. you are watching an historic day in washington. a landmark supreme court decision upholding the president's centerpiece legislation. we're getting reaction from washington and from all of you around the country. as we do that, we've just heard from democratic members. let me give you some of the voices of dissent. this is a politico report on the losing end of the 5-4 decision say that the entire health care reform law should have been struck down. they write, "the act before us here exceeds federal power in

mandating purchase of health insurance and denying nonco nonconsenting states funding. in our view it must follow that the entire statute is inoperative." on the losing side of that argument is the chief justice upholding the law. statements from the republican leaders suggested they would move for repeal. we now have confirmation of that from eric cantor's office. they have a vote scheduled on july 11th. he tells us the house will once again to repeal obama care. we're taking your phone calls from around the country here on c-span3. continuing live coverage of the supreme court decision. our phone lines are open and we'll put the numbers on the screen. we also are taking comments via twitter if you would like to send