>> good afternoon. if for nothing else today's health care decision underscores the importance of this election. the people of america are going to have a choice to make in november and clearly it's a choice that we'll bear upon the direction of this country as far as our health care is concerned. the decision today really indicates we have entered an age in which is government, washington, will be controlling health care. unless something changes. most americans i believe still, still like the health care that they have. and the president has continued to say that his law will allow folks to keep the health care they like. but what they've seen is that's just not the case. obama care will preclude people from having the health care that they like. we have seen this law increase costs. and we are committed to changing

that. we are committed to taking sure that we can return to patient based health care in this country where we can keep costs low and we can increase access. and that's why when we return the week of july 9th, i've scheduled a vote for total repeal of the obama care bill to occur on wednesday, july 11th. and in that way we can clear the way towards trying to again focus on accomplishing a health care future that is premised upon patient centered care, lowering cost and affording better access. >> today's decision by the supreme court did nothing to end the debate in america on health care it only enhanced it. the decision raises the question to be very clear is the patient going to have the decision making process or a forum of government run health care. it's a debate that will drive

this house and this nation. the debate of health care goes deeper than the ability for the access and the cost. at a time when america faced 40 months of unemployment above 8%. unfortunately, i'm very fearful of the discussions i've had with small business owners the decision today is going to determine decisions they make in jobs. the economy won't be turning around because this health care bill actually harms the economy. their own studies by administration shows it will take people off their current health care plans that they have. we'll raise the cost. so the debate has not ended. the debate has only begun. you see a group of individuals behind us that won't be the only ones, but i believe across this nation it's going to be a healthy debate. one that's on policy. we look forward to working with those individuals and also listening to the nation to solve

health care that actually empowers the patient to make their own decision. >> today was not a good day for freedom. it was not a good day for struggling american families who wish to keep the health care that they have. i respect the ruling of the supreme court and i respectfully and vehemently disagree with it. for those who have concluded though that it is constitutional, i remind them a constitutional law does not make for a wise law. the trillion dollar deficits of the obama administration are clearly constitutional. they are not wise. so the fight will continue. we believe the president's health care law still fundamentally is hurting our economy and hurting jobs. every day i hear from some small businessmen in the fifth district of texas that i

represent. one tells me they'll never hire more than 50 people. another tells me they've spent $350,000 in compliance costs and had to lay off six workers. the law weighs in at $2 trillion. $800 billion of talks. family of four premiums up $2200. the affordable care act has not proven so affordable for struggling families, for tax payers much less a dwindling federal treasury. but most importantly americans want to be able to choose their own doctor. they want quality health care. they want access to health care. they want portable health care at a cost they can afford. the president's health care threatens that. to the supreme court was heard today and we respect them. as the republican leader said the second week of july the people's house will be heard

from and ultimately the people in america will be heard from. >> this decision today by the supreme court was clearly a troubling decision. behind us and within our conference clearly disagree with that decision. but as chief justice roberts says, it's not the role to have court to protect the people from their political decisions. and the people clearly chose in 2008 and we are now as a nation living under the consequences of that political choice. but as a physician, i can tell you that the doctors and the patients of this land are very troubled because this law just like yesterday hasn't changed today violates every single principal that we hold dear as a nation in health care. whether it's accessiblity or affordability or high quality care or choices for patients this law violates all offense those thins and makes them more difficult, which is why each one of us has said in one way or other we will work together with our conference and with the american people to make certain that this law is repealed and

that we move forward in a lodge cam, rational, deliberate way with patient centered health care which means patients and families and doctors making medical decisions not government. >> speaker boehner? >> if you'd like to ask a question, all you have to do is raise your hand. anybody wants to yell, it will ensure that i don't call on you. chad. [ laughter ] >> my hand was up first. can you explain why something the court finds to be constitutional, all of you have sworn to uphold the constitution, you don't agree with the policy. isn't there inconsistentsy there? you don't like the policy. you're saying you respect the decision of the court how are you saying it's incongruent? >> the court makes the decision about whether this law is constitutional. it doesn't mean that the law is wise. it doesn't mean that the law is good for the country. i'll give you an example.

you look through the decision today and the chief justice in his opinion outlines the fact that commerce clause, trying to expand on the commerce clause is not constitutional, but because it's a tax it can proceed because of the congress has the ability to impose taxes. so, we could, the government could decide that we're going to tax you if you don't eat broccoli on tuesday. it's not a very wise law. all you have to do is raise your hand. no words required. >> the house has voted to repeal one of the first votes you took. what makes it necessary to go

forward and go through this fight again because none of the dynamics has really changed. >> i think the real outcome of the today's decision is to strengthen our resolve to make sure that this law is in fact repealed. we're going to work every single day between now and election day and the american people then will get an opportunity to make their decision on election day because elections have consequences. and the election 2008 clearly had a consequence that most americans disagree with. >> were you surprised at chief justice roberts became the swing vote with more liberal members of court and faced health care decisions? >> i'm blessed that i'm not a lawyer. it's not for me to decide, the court while i'm disappointed in their decision. they came to a decision, i

respect it. >> speaker boehner, democrats say you're holding yet another vote to repeal this vote is a sign that republicans are sore losers and there's plenty of laws that republicans have passed that they're not holding votes to repeal. >> resolve. there's a lot of revolve months our colleagues and months the american people to stop the law that's hurting our economy, driving up the cost of health care and make it more difficult for employers to hire new workers. the american people want this bill they want it repealed. what they really want are common sense steps to empower them and their families to choose the doctor they want at lower cost. >> how do you think this is going to cut politically in the fall and does governor romney's -- >> we'll let the american people -- the american people will make that evident on election day. >> do you think it's going to help motivate --?

>> what i'm concerned about is a law that's driving up the cost of health care and making it harder for employers to hire people. that's what i'm concerned about. >> given the ruling in the house and this ruling that the penalty for not having insurance within the taxing power versus the commerce clause, with the house trying to repeal that penaltity or future republican houses not put in a penalty for failing to pay that penalty? it will save medicare from being cut by $500 billion and instead we can put in place common sense steps that really will help the american people have better access to the quality care that they want. thanks, everybody.

>> covering a number of congressional news conferences reaction for the 5-4 supreme court decision upholding the bulk of the 2010 health care law. coming up we will take you live to the senate side. senate democrats will have some comments to the supreme court decision. we'll have that live on c-span 3. we're keeping an eye on the twitter reaction from members and reporters. a couple from harry reid the majority leader in the senate. nancy pelosi the democratic leader in the house says republicans want to challenge the constitutional health care law are showing that they're quote, hand maidens of the special interest. and republican snow says the decision is regrettable. congress must repeal the law and enact reforms to make health care affordable for americans. more of that on our website at cspan.org and send your

comments, twitter.com/v span. president obama in a ten-minute address to the country earlier this afternoon, shortly afternoon said the decision by the supreme court is a quote victory for people all over this country. >> good afternoon. earlier today the supreme court upheld the constitutionality of the affordable care act. the name of the health care reform we passed two years ago. in doing so they re-affirmed a fundamental principal that here in america in the wealthiest nation on earth no illness or accident should lead to any family's financial ruin. i know there will be a lot of dugs today about the politics of all of this about who won and who lost. that's how these things tend to be viewed here in washington. but that discussion completely misses the point. whatever the politics today's decision was a victory for people all over this country

whose lives will be more secure because of this law and the supreme court's decision to uphold it. and because this law has a direct impact on so many americans i want to take this opportunity to talk about exactly what it means for you. first, if you're one of the more than 2 a million americans who -- 250 million americans who have already health insurance, you will keep your health insurance. this law will only make it more secure and more affordable. insurance companies can no longer impose lifetime limits on the amount of care you receive. they can no longer discriminate against children with preexisting conditions. they can no longer drop your coverage if you get sick. they can no longer jack up your premiums without reason. . they are required to provide free preventive care like check ups and mammograms. a provision that's already helped 54 million americans with private insurance. and by this august nearly 13 million of you will receive a rebate from your insurance

company because it spent too much on things like administrative costs and ceo bonuses and not enough on your health care. there's more because of the affordable care act young adults under the age of 26 are able to stay on their parents' health care plans a provision that's helped six million young americans. because of the affordable care act seniors receive a discount on prescription drugs. a discount that's saved more than five million seniors on medicare about $600 each. all of this is happening because of the affordable care act. these provisions provide common sense protections for middle class families and they enjoy broad popular support. thanks to today's decision, all of these benefits and protections will continue for americans who already have health insurance. now, if you're one of the 30 million americans who don't yet have health insurance, starting in 2014 this law will offer you

an array of quality, affordable private health insurance plans to choose from. each state will take the lead in designing their own menu of options. if states can come up with better ways of covering more people of the same quality and cost, this law allows them to do that, too. i've asked congress to help speed up that process and give states this flexibility in year one. once states set up these health insurance marketplaces known as exchanges, insurance companies will no longer be able to discriminate against any american with a preexisting health condition. they won't be able to charge you more just because you're a woman. they won't be able to bill you into bankruptcy. if you're sick, you'll finally have the same chance to get quality, affordable health care as everyone else. and if you can't afford the premiums, you'll receive a credit that helps pay for it. today the supreme court also upheld the principal that people who can afford health insurance should take the responsibility to buy health insurance.

this is important for two reasons. first, when uninsured people who can afford coverage get sick and show up at the emergency room for care, the rest of us end up paying for their care in the form of higher premiums. and second if you ask people to cover people with preexisting conditions but don't require people who can afford it to buy their own insurance, some folks might wait until they're sick to buy the care they need. which might drive up everybody's premiums. that's why i knew it wouldn't be politically popular and resisted this idea when i ran for office. we ultimately included a provision in the affordable care act that people who can afford to buy health insurance should take the responsibility to do so. this idea has enjoyed support from members of both parties including the current republican nominee for president. still i know the debate over this law has been divisive.

i respect the concerns that millions of americans have shared. i know a lot of coverage through this health care debate is focused on what it means politically. well, it should be pretty clear by now that i didn't do this because it was good politics. i did it because i believed it was good for the country. i did it because i believed it was good for the american people. there's a framed letter that hangs in my office right now. it was sent to me during the health care debate by a woman. for years and years she did everything right. she bought health insurance. she paid her premiums on time. but 18 years ago she was diagnosed with cancer. even though she'd been cancer free for more than a decade, her insurance company kept jack up her rates year after year. despite her desire to keep her coverage, despite her fears that she would get sick again she had to surrender her health insurance and was forced to hang her fortunes on chance.

i carried her story with me every day of the fight to pass this law. it reminded me of all the americans all across the country who have had to worry not only about getting sick, but about the cost of getting well. she's well today and because of this law there are other americans, other sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers, who will not have to hang their fortunes on chance. these are the americans for whom we pass this law. the highest court many the land has now spoken. we will continue to implement this law. and we'll work together to improve on it where we can. but what we won't do, what the country can't afford to do is refight the political battles of two years ago or go back to the way things were. with today's announcement it's time for us to move forward to implement and where necessary improve on this law. now's the time to keep our focus

on the most urgent challenge of our time. putting people back to work, paying down our debt, and building an economy where people can have confidence if they work hard, they can get ahead. but today i'm as confident as ever that when we look back five years from now or ten years from now or 20 years from now, we'll be better off because we have the courage to pass this law and keep moving forward. thank you, god bless you and god bless america. >> president obama at about 12:15 p.m. eastern some two hours after the supreme court handed down the 5-4 decision upholding the president's health care law of 2010. mitt romney shortly after the court decision also spoke to reporters briefly saying if american's want to get rid of

bam care they're going to have to replace the president in the election. >> as you might imagine, i disagree with the supreme court's decision. and i agree with the dissent. what the court did not do on its last day in session, i will do on my first day if elected president of the united states, and that is i will act to repeal obamacare. let's make clear that we understand what the court did and did not do. what the court did today was say that obamacare does not violate the constitution. what they did not do was say that obamacare is good law or good policy? obamacare was bad policy yesterday and it's bad policy today. obamacare was bad law yesterday, it's bad law today. >> obamacare raises taxes on the american people by approximately $500 billion. obamacare cuts medicare, cuts

medicare by approximately $500 billion. and even with those cuts and tax increases obamacare adds trillions to our deficits and to our national debt and pushes those obligations on to coming generations. obamacare, also means that for up to 20 million americans, they will lose the insurance they currently have, the insurance that they like and they want to keep. obamacare is a job killer. businesses across the country have been asked what the impact is of obamacare, three-quarters of those surveyed on the chamber of commerce so obamacare makes it less likely for them to hire people and perhaps most troubling of all, obamacare puts the federal government between you and your doctor. for all those reasons it's important for us to repeal and replace obamacare. what are some of the things that we'll keep in place any must be in a reform, in a real reform in

a health care system. one, we have to make sure that people that want to keep their current insurance will be able to do so. having 20 million people, up to that number of people lose the insurance they want is simply unacceptable. number two, got to make sure that those people that have pre-existing conditions know that they will be able to be insured and that they will not lose their insurance. we also have to assure that we do our very best to help each state in their effort to assure that every american has access to affordable health care and something that obamacare does not do that must be done in real reform is helping lower the cost of health care and health insurance and is becoming prohibitively expensive. and so this is now a time for the american people to make a choice. you can choose whether you want to have a larger and larger government, separating you and

your doctor, whether you're more comfortable with higher deficits and whether you're willing to have a government to put in place causing you to lose the insurance that you like or whether you want to return to a time when the american people would have their own choice in healthcare, where consumers will be able to make their choices as to what kind of health insurance they want. this is the time and choice for the american people. our mission is clear. if we want to get rid of obamacare, we have to get rid of president obama. my mission is to make sure we do exactly that, that we return to the american people the privilege they've always had to live their lives in the way they feel most appropriate or we don't pass on massive deficits and debts, where we don't have a setting that jobs are lost and if we want a bright, economic future for ourselves and for our kids, we must replace obamacare, that is our mission and that is our work and i'm asking the people of america to join me. you don't want the course that president obama has put us on,

if you want, instead a course that the founders envisioned, then join me in this effort. help us, help us defeat obamacare, and help us defeat the liberal agenda that makes government too big, too intrusive and killing jobs across this great country. thank you so much. mitt romney has a fund-raiser this evening in new york city. neil king of "the wall street journal" tweeting this afternoon that the romney campaign suggests it's raising about $350,000 an hour since the supreme court decision now well over $1 million. the obama campaign tweeting earlier the presidents tried to pass health care reform for decades and this one got done. you can read more at twitter.com/c-span and check out the supreme court coverage at c-span.org. we'll continue here on c-span3 with more reaction coming up in about 2:15 eastern.

we expect to hear from a number of senate democrats including leadership. we'll have live coverage for you. reactors this morning on floor of the senate. his comments next and those of republican leader mitch mcconnell. >> i'm happy, i'm pleased to see the supreme court put the rule of law ahead of partisanship and ruled that the affordable care act is constitutional. mr. president, it's a long opinion and we know that when we come back after the elections there need to be things to improve the law and we'll do that, woing together, but today millions of americans assume benefits for the law that we passed. seniors are saving money on prescriptions and check-ups. children can no longer be denied insurance because they have a pre-existing condition, a protection that will soon extend to every american. no longer will american families be a car accident or heart

attack away from bankruptcy. every thursday i have a welcome to washington. today they had a group of people from nevada, and have relatives that have cystic fibrosis. it's been so hard for these young people to get insurance. it's not going to be that way anymore, mr. president. no longer will americans live in fear of losing the health insurance because of losing a job. no longer will tens and millions of americans rely on emergency room care or go without care entirely because they have no insurance at all. soon every man, woman and child in america will have access to -- and passing the affordable care act was the greatest single step in access from affording quality health care for every

person in america, regardless of where they live and how much money they make. unfortunately, republicans have targeted the rights and benefits guaranteed under this law. i'd like to give the power back to the insurance companies. the power of life and death back to the insurance companies, but our supreme court has spoken. the matter is settled. no one thinks this law is perfect. i don't and democrats have proven we're willing to work with republicans to improve one of the problems that exist in this law, in fact, any other law. millions of americans are struggling to find work today and we know that. our first priority must be to improve the economy. it's time for republicans to stop fighting yesterday's battles. now that this matter is settled, let's move on to other things like jobs.

>> two and a half years ago a democratic-forced a piece of legislation on the american people that they never asked for and that has turned out to be just as disastrous as many of us predicted. amid economic recession, and a spiraling federal debt and accelerated increases and government health spending. they proposed a bill that made all of those problems worse. and they promised lower health care costs. they're going up. americans were promised lower premiums, they're going up. most americans were promised their taxes wouldn't change and they're going up. seniors were promised medicare were being protected and it was rated to pay for a new entitlement instead. americans were promised they would create jobs. the cbo predicts it will lead to

nearly a million fewer jobs. americans were promised they could keep their health plans if they liked it, yet millions have learned they can't, and the president of the united states himself promised up and down that this bill was not a tax and this is the top selling point because they knew it would never have passed if they said it was a tax. well, the supreme court has spok spoken. this law is a tax. the bill was sold to the american people on a deception, but it's not just that the promises about this law weren't kept. it's that it made the problems it was meant to solve even worse.