the supposed cure has proven to be worse than the disease. so the pundits will talk a lot today about what they think today's ruling means and what it doesn't mean, but i can assure you this -- republicans won't let up whatsoever in our determination to repeal this terrible law and replace it with the kind of reforms that will truly address the problems it was meant to solve. we passed plenty of terrible laws around here that the court found constitutional. constitutionality was never an argument to keep this law in place and it's certainly not one we'll hear from republicans in congress. there's only one way to truly fix obama care. only one way and that's a full repeal. a full repeal that clears the

way for common sense step by step reforms that protect americans' access to the care they need from the doctor they choose at a lower cost. and that's precisely what republicans are committed to doing. the american people weren't waiting on the supreme court to tell them whether they supported this law. that question was settled two and a half years ago. the more the american people have learned about this law, the less they have liked it. so now the court has ruled. it's time to move beyond the constitutional debate and focus on the primary reason this law should be fully repealed and replaced because of the colossal damage it has already done to our health care system, to the economy and to the job market. the democrat health care law has

made things worse. americans want it repealed and that's precisely what we intend to do. americans want us to start over and today's decision does nothing to change that. the court's ruling doesn't mark the end of the debate. it marks a fresh start on the road to repeal. that's been our goal from the start. that's our goal now and we plan to achieve it. the president has done nothing to address the problems of cost, care and access. we will. mr. president, i yield the floor. >> and other senate reaction to the supreme court decision, ben nelson, democrat of nebraska tweeting today's health care ruling ushers in a new era of

accessible healthcare for all americans. republican lisa murkowski of alaska, i will work with anyone who wants to replace this health care law with something smarter, leaner and better for alaskans and democrat robert men end ez of new jersey saying the supreme court decision also helps the latino community keep the benefits they gained under the law and you can read more at c-span.org. lots of coverage of today's supreme court decision. here on c-span3, coming up in 15 minutes or so, we expect to hear from senate democrats and we will have that live for you. nancy pelosi, the democratic leader in the house spoke to reporters with her reaction on the supreme court health care ruling. she also talked about the upcoming vote in the house on the contempt of congress citation on eric holder. that vote coming up shortly and watch it on c-span. this is from earlier. >> good afternoon. pretty exciting day. the decision that was announced

by the supreme court is a victory for america's families. it was a victory for america's families when we passed the affordable care act and the president signed it into law. since then, tens of millions of people in our country are already benefiting from the legislation. as you know, as the president said sowe said so eloquently, children can no longer be denied because of a pre-existing condition. they can stay on their parents' policies until 26 years old and seniors can have access to preventive visits and being a woman will no longer be a pre-existing medical condition. it's a victory for women. it's about wellness. it's about prevention. it's about the health of america, not just the health care. it's pretty exciting. earlier this morning i met with

our caucus after the decision was announced. it was, as you know, no surprise to us. we knew that -- we thought that we were on solid ground in terms of interstate commerce and on solid ground in terms of the constitution and just a question of what the vote would be and with that confidence, we happily embraced the decision that came down. now we can move forward to the full implementation of the law and when that happens for the american people, the best is yet to come. i want to say a word about senator kennedy. i spoke to vicki kennedy this morning and patrick kennedy before coming here, thanking them for the important role that he played, a lifetime of commitment to make the health care a right and not a privilege in our country. he called it the great unfinished business of our country, of our society. i knew that when he left us he would go to heaven and help pass

the bill, and now i know he's busily at work until this decision came down inentiring one way or another and now he can rest in peace. his dream for america's families has become a reality. i would be pleased to take any questions. >> the president has said himself on numerous occasions that the individual mandate is not a tax. do you think the individual mandate and health care law is a tax? >> the court has upheld the legislation. i think, and i have to see the specific language that they identified with how we had the bill in the house as part of the decision and their documentation for the decision. call it what you will. it is a step forward for america's family, and you know what? take yes for an answer.

this is a very good thing for the american people. what you're talking about here is washington talk. what is happening out there is children, families with a child with a preexisting medical condition which means for a lifetime, they will be discriminated against in terms of insurance. not anymore. same thing when the bill is fully implemented. that's what's important to people. technical term, that's for us here, what means something to the american people is what it does to them. yes? >> the republicans have said that this decision raises the stakes for the election and brings clarity and even an opportunity for them. do you think it is dangerous for the democrats to have it reopen in this election in the second year? >> i think we all have to take a step back and say why are we here? we are here to do a job for the american people. we are here to act upon our

beliefs and a belief that many of us shared is that health care is a right and not a privilege in our country. we believe that health care bill needed to be passed so that families would not be -- because they have a diagnosis or an accident that heap health care costs on them. we believe it's about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, that people can now pursue their aspirations depending on their talents and again, their aspirations without being job locked because a child has a pre-existing condition and the fear of a diagnosis. they can be a writer, they can start a business. they can be self-employed. they can change jobs. this is about our responsibility to reduce the deficit. if there were no other reason to pass the health care reform act then because of cost and cost of individuals and cost to families, cost to businesses,

large and small. cost to our economy in terms of it being a competitive issue -- a competitiveness issue and cost to federal, state and local budgets, then we would have had to do this. so -- the politics be damned, this is about what we came to do and any time we want to waste time seeing it through a prism of what does this mean in terms of the election -- upheld the justices of the supreme court. >> chief justice john roberts on the medicaid extension called it a gun to the head of states given that he signed and they had to comply unless -- or

before moving their federal medicaid funding. why was it designed that way and do you think -- i'm not -- >> with all due respect to your characterization of it and here's what it does and we wrote this very carefully because, aga again, we wanted to have balance in the legislation and we wanted to have legitimacy and be well received and what it does is it says for three years states will receive 100% of their medicaid funding for this bill without any matching funds. i don't think that's a gun to the head. i think that it is -- i think, again, further to that point, i think the house language has more clarity that we wrote in an original bill and it addresses that concern, but 100% of the money without marching funds and medicaid has matching elements

to it, but not as for as the expanse of medicaid in this bill. i think that we're very -- we're not bothered at all by the decision in regard to medicaid and we think that most governors will probably accept 100% funding without matching funds. yes, sir? >> are you going to -- will you be walking out of the house chamber today? >> the. >> thank you for bringing up the contempt of congress. i did have something to say about that. it would be mischief -- mischievous of me, you would think it was a matter of mischief if i said i don't think there's any coincidence that this is being taken up on the same day that the supreme court decision came down.

it's just too much of a coincidence especially when you think that the motions or contempt only was passed out of the committee one week ago. what the republicans are doing with this motion on the floor today is contemptible. the constitution tells the branches of government that they should work together and try to resolve differences without gaining an upper hand or showing strength. words to that effect, and so there was an obligation on the part of the congress, the house of representatives if they wanted to go forward with such a motion to try to resolve it. trying to resolve it is not sending a bill to the floor of

the house based on a false premise is not the truth that is on the floor today. a false premise and asking for a vote, tying it to guns so they can politicize it. you may recall that four and a half years ago we had a motion of contempt for two employees at the white house. josh bolton and harriet meyers. for over 200 years -- excuse me, 200 days we tried to get information from the white house. they stonewalled it, nothing. month in and month out, chairman of the commit, mr. conyers and our leadership said keep trying, keep trying so we don't have to bring the contempt to the floor because we want to exhaust every remedy, but that is not what is being done here. this is something that makes the

witchhunt look like a day at the beach. it is a railroading of a resolution that is unsubstantiated by the fact, based on a false premise, coming to the floor of the house in a manner of less than two weeks when we spent over 200 days trying to get word one from the bush administration and these people have gotten thousands and thousands of pages of documentation. that documentation is exculpatory of the attorney general. huh? they're saying that there's an attitude in our caucus that we should not honor the process, but it's coming to the floor. i, myself, intend to stay long enough to vote no, and i'll see

what the will of many of our caucus think that we should do a complete walkoff. i honor the wish of my caucus, but i want to be there long enough to make sure that the record is straight with what is going there. now we are very honored by the work of elijah cummings and we want to be there to support him on the floor and i want to speak firsthand about what is said on the floor following up on this. as i said before, this isn't about anything other than they're trying to undermine the chief legal officer of our country, the attorney general. it is the first time in the history of america that a cabinet officer has had a contempt of congress resolution on the floor against him or against her. i believe, as i said from the start. this is their attempt to tie the hands of the hoerj to undermine his effectiveness and that of

his department to address issues of voter suppression that are going in our country. they have many other complaints. they don't like the fact that he is not moving forward to defend the doma act. the constitutionality of the act which i believe is constitutional. again, it's about a lot of things and that's why i say it's contemptible because it mixes misrepresentation. in some circles they will call them lies and i don't like to use words like that and this representation, politics, and misuse, and abuse of power on the house on the subject. so i will vote no as many times as i possibly can today and what they are doing and i will make my decisions one way or another, but i support the walkoff

whether my role is, and i will add more on the floor or the walkoff. i'll make a judgement when that time comes. >> what is your message to republican house members who are scheduling a vote to repeal and go forward with this idea of repealing the health care bill the week after the july 4th break. >> are they having hearings on this legislation that they're just going to come back a few days after? no. really, they're going to have a vote to say if your child has a pre-existing medical condition and no longer can be discriminated against, we're going to overturn that. if you're a senior and paying less for your prescription drugs and getting free preventive check-ups and the rest, we're going to overturn that. if you're 26 years old and under and you're on your parents' policy, pull the plug on that as well. it is -- they make their own decisions. i think that it clearly points

out that even -- even with a decision by the supreme court and the law passed by the congress of the -- signed by the president and upheld by the supreme court, they're still fighting a fight that we have always been and will continue to always be the special interest of our country and they take a loyalty oath to not bring in revenue rather than honor to protect and defend the constitution. the fight for the health insurance industry over and over again at the cost to the taxpayer and consumers. this is just more of the same. no surprise about it. >> we'll take you live now to the senate. democrat leaders coming out to talk about the supreme court ruling this morning. >> i'm very pleased that the supreme court today found the affordable care act constitutional. this law has already changed the

lives of millions of americans and so many ways for the better. and soon, virtually every man, woman and child in america will have access to health insurance. they can afford the vital care that they need. the supreme court has spoken. the matter is settled. with millions of americans still struggling in this tough economy, we can't look back. we need to look forward. we shouldn't waste time re-fighting old battles. we should focus on creating jobs, improving the economy of the people of this country. republicans in congress have made it clear that instead of focusing on jobs they want to have this old, old, political fight. republicans in the house have announced even a day early next month. they'll have a vote on what? repealing, as they say, obamacare.

it's just a show vote. a show vote on votes that they've had so many different times to repeal the law. this is what my friend, the republican leader said just an hour or two ago. quote, the court's ruling doesn't market end of the debate. it marks a fresh start on the road to repeal. that's not what middle-class americans want to hear. we should be working to improve the economy, not wasting time on partisan, strictly political issues. in the coming weeks we'll take up legislation to cut taxes for employees, employers and we want to make sure that these employers decide to buy a new piece of equipment will be able to depreciate it this year now. we want to make sure that when they hire new people they'll be able to get a 10% tax credit for

that, and we're going consider a bill to give incentives for corporations that start a facility-shared home and we'll do everything we can legislatively to stop corporations from shipping jobs overseas. my republican colleague should think very hard about whether they want to continue letting the tea party debate their agenda. one of the tea party's folks, who is, by the way, a member of the united states senate said that just because a small number of people said that's constitutional doesn't mean it is. can you believe that? that's what he said, so it's time to start listening to the middle class -- the middle class who so badly needs our help and republicans should stop fighting yesterday's battles and start working with us to put americans back to work. senator durbin?

thanks, senator reid. the republicans said the affordable care was was unconstitutional and unnecessary. today in this 193-page opinion the supreme court made it clear that the affordable care act signed by president obama, passed by congress is constitutional. period. the highest court in the land has spoken and they told us that what we did fits within the constitutional authority. is it necessary? i take that issue on in my state of illinois with republicans who argue we shouldn't do anything, explain that to the families, the 102,000 25-year-olds who now have health insurance coverage through their family, explain that to the literally millions of uninsured people in illinois who no longer have to worry about pre-existing conditions, denying coverage to a child or lifetime limits cutting off chemo therapy mid-course. explain that to the thousands and thousands of senior citizens

who are getting a helping hand paying for their prescription drugs. we also know that expanding medicaid, offering the expansion of medicaid means that people will be paying patients going into hospitals. today they estimate that only 1% -- 1% of america will end up in the category of those who decide don't want any health insurance at all. i think those people are shirk their personal responsibility. when they are brought in to health care coverage it's fairer for every family, every business, everybody in america. the bottom line is the president said it is time for us to put some of these political battles behind us and join together on a bipartisan basis to not only tackle this problem, to make health care more affordable and to make it more reasonable for people across america that as the majority leader said to tackle, the larger, more challenging problem of creating more good-paying jobs in america. we'll come back after the fourth

of july recess with a specific proposal to help small businesses hire more people. it would be a breath of fresh air if the bipartisanship that we've seen for the past several weeks in the senate will continue when it comes to the small business jobs bill. we should work together. democrats and republicans for affordable health care and for more good paying jobs in america. >> thank you. well, this is not the first time for supporters -- this is not the time, rather, for the supporters of healthcare to gloat nor is it a time for sour grapes from the law's critics. just as speaker boehner vowed not to spike the football if the law was overturned, republicans should not carry on out of pique now that the law has been upheld. democrats remain willing to cooperate on potential improvements to the law, but now that all three branches of government have ratified the law, the time for quarrelling is

over. the time for disputing its validity is over. congress should now return to its full-time focus, the issue of jobs and the economy in america. you ask people what they want us to focus on. it's not rehashing health care. there may be a small few on the far right who enjoy doing that. the american people want us to focus on job, the economy, helping the middle class and that's what we will be doing the rest of the session even if our republican colleagues simply want to look backward. it's unfortunate that speaker boehner and house republicans are planning to plow ahead with the repeal vote after the fourth of july recess. the republicans are in a sense, tracked between the tea party base. it wants to repeal this law at all costs and the rest of the country which wants them to move

on. so far, republicans seem to be casting their lot with the tea party and this is a mistake. the public is fatigued with all these partisan fights that they just want to keep re-enacting them and the republicans should not be so quick to dismiss another potential effect of this decision. the health care law can receive a second airing with the public because of this decision. the court's validation of the law may cause americans to reconsider their opinion of it as well and there is a precedent for this. when social security was passed it was the cry to socialism just like health care. like health care, it withstood a constitutional challenge early on and social security went on to endure as a cherished program in the country. the health care law is getting more popular with time as more and more of it goes into effect and lastly, let me say this,

this decision reserves not only the health care law and also the supreme court's position as an institution above politics. i and others have criticized the court's conservative block or its heavy handed activism like citizens' united, but in this case, at least, the chief justice acted as the umpire that he promised to be. some have expressed surprise over his vote in this decision, but maybe we shouldn't be so shocked. after all, he's the most powerful conservative in washington who doesn't have to worry about the next election. unlike the gop's elected leaders, roberts can afford to follow the law rather than fret about his standing with the tea party. his was a welcome display of judicial independence. the supreme court sure could use more than one swing vote every now and again.

>> well today's victory really was for the american people and now it really is time for us to move on having lived and waited for this decision for so long. i've heard from so many people in my home state of washington about the security that they have been waiting for when it comes to their health care. a woman who came up to me on the street and said that she had been diagnosed with cancer and was about to go into extensive ke chemotherapy and was so worried that decision to undo the health care law meant that she would lose her coverage. a business owner who told me that because she was now getting tax credits for the first time because of the health care law didn't have to lay off two employees this year and could keep her business going. these are the people that this law is making a difference for and today they can breathe a sigh of relief. they don't want to hear that this is going to be another

political debate for weeks and months ahead. they want us to do the right thing and move to getting our economy back on its feet and creating jobs and getting its country strong again and that's what we as senate democrats intend to do. okay. [ inaudible question ] >> every governor in this country who is part of the plan will make their state a better state, and i think those governors that are now saying some things that they continue along wish they hadn't because they will not have the ability to help their constituents. [ inaudible question ]