of americans. we know that it's going to create nothing, but a giant, bureaucratic system and it's beginning to do that. it's taken away the consumer choices and it's intruding into the relationship between your doctor and you as a patient. i don't fault the supreme court today for their decision and here's why because, basically, you can see this written into justice robert it's opinion, chief justice roberts, that he basically says it's not the supreme court's job to fix the mistakes made by congress. it's up to the people who elect members of congress and the president to decide what kind of policies that you want in this nation. as such, it's our responsibility as members of congress and hopefully a new president coming forward that we're going repeal obamacare, lock, stock and barrel and pull it out by its roots. so we intend to do that.

do we have support for that? anyone in for that? remember that if you're going to get more people covered under health care insurance, you need to make it affordable and attractive, not force them through law. what we want is more consume are -- consumer choices and not more government mandates that micromanage every day of your life. and i'll end with one other point and that is that there's a difference between health care coverage and access to health care. there are countries around the world that have 100% health care coverage. you have a card that entitles you to walk into a clinic and ask for care. but in many of those countries, be you do not get timely care. even our neighbor to the north canada and great britain. they have 100% coverage and they wait in long lines and sometimes die in the process. that is not a value that we want here in america. so i thank everyone for coming

out. we've got our marching orders now and the second week of july, the house of representatives will be voting once again to repeal obamacare and if that doesn't happen, if it doesn't get passed through all of the way of the president's signature, you know what to do on november 6th. >> supporters of the tea party caucus, expressing their reactions on the supreme court's decision today. upholding most of president obama's health care overhaul law. the vote was 5-4, with chief justice john roberts joining the court's four more liberal members. justice roberts wrote in his decision the affordable care act's requirement that certain individuals pay a financial penalty for not obtaining health insurance may reasonably be characterized as attacks. because the constitution permits

such attacks it is not our role to forebid it or pass upon its wisdom or fairness. the court did substantially limit a major piece of the law, one that expanded medicaid, with today's supreme court ruling, we want to get your comments and feedback. you can go to our facebook page to post your thoughts and share your opinion with others. the most will remain atop of the page for the remainder of the day. more congressional reaction with senate democratic leaders. couple hours after the decision was handed down. we'll hear from majority leader harry reid, whip dick durbin, new york senator charles schumer and patty murray. this is 15 minutes. >> i'm very pleased that supreme court today found the affordable care act constitutional. this law has changed the lives of so many americans in so many ways for the better.

soon virtually every man, woman and child in america will have access to health insurance they can afford and the vital care that they need. the supreme court has spoken the matter is settled. with millions of americans struggling in this tough economy we can't look back. we need to look forward. we shouldn't waste time refighting old, old battles. we should focus on creating jobs and 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 keep having this old, old political fight. republicans in the house have announced even a day early next month, that they're going to have a vote on what, repealing as they say, obama care. it's just a show vote.

a show on votes they've had so many 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 mark the 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 and not wasting time on partisan, strictly political issues. in the coming weeks we're going to take up legislation to cut taxes for employees, employers, and we want to make sure these employers who 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 10% tax credit for them. and we're going to consider a bill to give incentives for

corporations that start up facilities here at home and we're going to do everything we can, legislatively, to stop corporations from shipping jobs overseas. my republican colleagues should think hard about whether they want to continue letting the tea party debate their agenda. one of the tea parties who's by the way a member of the united states senate, said just because a small number of people said that's constitutional doesn't mean it is. can you believe that? but 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. republicans said affordable care act 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 have told us that what we did fits within our constitutional authority. is it necessary? i'd 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 have health care coverage through their families, explain that to the literally millions of uninsured people illinois who no longer have to worry about preexisting conditions, denying coverage to a child, or cutting off chemotherapy mid-course, explain that to the thousands of senior citizens across america who are now 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 they don't want health insurance at all. i think those people are shirking 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 make it more reasonable for people across america, but 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 for a specific proposal to help small

businesses hire more people. it would be a breath of fresh air if the bipartisanship 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 for the supporters of health care to gloat. nor is it a time for sour grapes. from the law's critics. justice speaker boehner vowed not to spike the football if the law was overturned. republicans should not carry on out of peak 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 ratify 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. they're making small few on the far right who enjoy doing that. the american people want us to focus on jobs, 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 a repeal vote after the fourth of july recess. the republicans are in a sense trapped between their tea party base that 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 but they just want to keep re-enacting them. republicans -- plus republicans should not be so quick to dismiss another potential effect of this decision. the health care law could well 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's a precedent for this. when social security was passed, it was decried as socialism like health care. like health care, withstood a constitutional challenge early on and, of course, social security went on to endure as a cherished program in the country. the health care law is getting popular with time, getting more popular with time, as more and more of it goes into effect. and lastly, let me say this. this decision preserves not only the health care law, but also

the supreme court's position as an institution above politics. i and others have vocally criticized the court's conservative block for its heavyhanded activism in recent decisions 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 welcomed display of judicial independence. the supreme court sure could use more than one swing vote every now and again. >> 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, was about to go into extensive chemotherapy and was so worried that a decision to undo the health care law would mean 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 this country strong again and that's what we as senate democrats intend to do. >> okay. >> [ inaudible ]. >> every governor in this country who is part of the plan will sit and make their state a better state and i think those governors that are now saying some things -- if they continue along the same they will wish they hadn't because they will not live up -- they will no, not have the ability to help their constituents like the states that have it. >> the president has said on numerous occasions that the individual mandate is not a tax. do you think the individual mandate and health care law is a tax? >> i'm not here to give everyone

my limited knowledge of constitutional law. i am here to say that the law has been upheld, it's good for the country, it's good for my people in nevada. it's something that now we can look at -- i don't have to worry about a child that's born with a cleft palate. i don't have to worry about a child after birth develops diabetes or the kids that came to see me today have cystic fibrosis that develops. i don't have to worry about them anymore. very soon, all adults not just those that are under age 18, will be sbitszled to insurance even though have a preexisting disability. the people that stay on their parents' insurance policy, 6 or 7 million, benefiting from this law. millions of senior citizens having the doughnut hole filled, millions of these senior

citizens can get wellness checks they couldn't do before. i'm not about to give you a dissertation on constitutional law. the law has been withheld and i'm happy it has been. >> even if it passes the house, even if it passes the house and the new congress, given the 60 vote requirement for legislation in the senate and president's signature, isn't it a few -- a waste of time moving -- is it a waste of time for the house of representatives taking up the vote? >> they should be spending that time focusing on jobs. we have millions of people who are under employed or unemployed. that's what we are -- that's why we're here today, telling each of you, we're focusing on job creation and we need the republicans to join with us. america needs economic health and line our small business jobs bill, we're going to vote on the week we get back, employers around america want that to

happen. they want that to happen. it's good for all of them. a tax credit, if they increase their payrolls a little bit, not only that, buying new equipment, write it off now. to answer your question, they're wasting their time, they should be spending it on jobs. >> [ inaudible ]. >> said the first thing to do is [ inaudible ] repeal the health care law in her [ inaudible ] decided the massachusetts health care law [ inaudible ] with legislation? >> at one time in my life i was really good with a yo-yo and the governor romney must be really good at yo-yo because we never know where he stands from one time to another. one time he's up, one time he's down. as we've seen with governor romney, one thing that's consistent about him is his inconsistency.

pardon me? >> [ inaudible ]. >> we've passed a law, you can't repeal it by an executive order. we're here to talk about jobs not about romney's inconsistency. >> [ inaudible ]. >> are already saying if they [ inaudible ] majority in november they would seek to repeal as much of the law as possible but reconciliation would only require -- >> all the more reason the american people should understand we want to focus on jobs, not taking away benefits that millions of americans have today for sure. there's no more uncertainty. we're focusing on jobs. let them focus on taking good things away from the american people including they repeal this, it's a loss of 400,000 jobs. not 4,000. not 40,000. 400,000 jobs. and we are here to focus on

saving those 400,000 jobs and creating more jobs. >> the republicans are going to talk about health care [ inaudible ]. >> some democratic reaction there to the supreme court's decision earlier today upholding most of president obama's health care law. the vote 5-4, chief justice john roberts joining the court's four more liberal members. there were some limits on the medicaid portion of the bill and we are bringing you full details throughout the day here on c-span 3. of this decision released today by the supreme court. neal served as president obama's acting u.s. solicitor general from 2010 to 2011. he argued all of the health care law challenges in the lower

courts, including the 11th circuit court of appeals case which was decided in the supreme court today. neal was inside the supreme court when the decision came down. he discussed his reaction, analysis of chief justice roberts' opinion and the court's decision in the medicaid portion of the oral argument. decision medicate portion of the oral argument. . >> the former acting solicitor general and in that role argued all of the health care cases in the lower courts including the health care case that was before the supreme court. he joins us now by phone. can you first of all tell us what your reaction was when you heard of the decision? >> i was sitting in the courtroom and the chief started with a discussion about why the sders clause which is one of the argument that is the federal government advanced to justify the legislation, why it was

wrong and would be an unprecedented expansion of the power. many people in the room at that moment thought the federal government will lose this. then he turned to the government's second argument, the tax power argument and it was clear from a couple seconds in the government won the case and the mood in the audience had changed markedly. the chief justice's opinion i think is quite interesting. it says that the affordable care act mandate provision that requires americans to have a certain amount of insurance or pay a penalty. the chief said that say tax. it looks like a tax and it smells like a tax and quacks like a tax. it is a tax. >> i want to get to policy again and the law in a second. i'm curious about your own frame of mind. just over the very short seconds really. >> my frame of mind was different because the chief had

done something similar two years ago in the voting rights act case which is say big case about the constitutionality act of 1965 and i remember sitting in the courtroom and it was again about eight minutes of this is unprecedented. dangerous. i thought we lost. he switched to all of a sudden we turned out that he read the statute in a way that allowed us to win. he did the same statutory move here. i was holding out hope going through that that the chief would come our way. it was nice to see them. >> have you had a chance to celebrate success? >> no. not really. i do think it's not my success, but the success of a lot of men and women at the justice department and throughout the federal government that have been so -- >> we have been brigging you reaction to the supreme court decision today. other news, the house has voted

to hold eric holder in contempt. >> they led us to an unnecessary and unwarranted out come. during this time, the men and women at the department of justice and i have remained focussed on what should be and must be the government's top priority, protecting the american people. when concerns about operation fast and furious first came to light, i took action. i ordered an independent investigation into what happened. we learned that the flawed tactics used in this operation began in a previous administration. i made sure that they ended in this one. i also made sure that agents and prosecutors across the country knew that such tactics must never be used again. i put in place new policies. new safeguards and took steps to

facilitate robust oversight. let me be clear. that was my response. operation fast and furious. any suggestion to the contrary is simply not consistent with the facts. i hoped that leaders would be good faith partners in this work. others however have devoted their time and their attention to making reckless charges. unsupported by fact and to advancing truly absurd, truly absurd experience theories. unfortunately the same members of congress were nowhere to be found when the justice department and others invited them to help look for real solutions to the terrible problem of violence on both sides of our southwest border. that's tragic and also irresponsible. the problem with drugs and weapons trafficking across the border is a real and significant

public safety threat. it deserves the attention of every leader in washington. in the face of these and other challenges, the justice department continued to move forward in fulfilling the critical responsibilities whether it is with regard to prosecuting financial and health care fraud, achieving a record mortgage settlement, taking aggressive action in protecting the most vulnerable among us. we are challenging proposed voting changes and redistricting that would disenfranchise million was voters. this department of justice has not been afraid to act. nor have i been. some were not popular and helped to explain the actions that were taken today by the house. as attorney general, do i not look to that which is politically expedient. on behalf of the american people who i am privileged to serve, i seek justice. in recent weeks, the justice

department secured its seventh conviction in the most serious plot our nation faced since 9/11 and two days ago, the department awarded more than $100 million in grants to save or create law enforcement jobs including more than 600 jobs for recent veterans. this is the kind of work that leaders in washington should be strivinging ing tto advance. i refuse to be deterred from it. i will not let election year politics and gainsmanship stand in the way of continued progress. today's vote may make for good theater in the minds of some, but it is at base both a crass effort and a great disservice to the american people. they expect and they deserve far more. as a result of the action taken today by the house, an unnecessary court conflict will ensue. my efforts to resolve this

matter sort of the battle were rebuffed by congressman issa and supporters. it's clear they were not interested in bringing an end to this dispute or even obtaining the information they said they wanted. their goal was the vote that with the help of special interest, they now have engineered. whatever the path that this matter will now follow, it will not distract me or the men and women in the department of justice from the penitentiary tasks from the responsibility. a great deal of the work remains to be done. i am going to be getting back to it. i suggested those who orchestrated the vote do the same. >> attorney general eric holder reacting to a house vote. this is how the associated press put it.

the house approved a precedent-setting resolution to hold eric holder in criminal contempt of congress. the first time a sitting cabinet member has been held in contempt. a number of democrats boycotted the vote. the republicans pushed through the resolution because holder did note turn over documents related to a botched gun tracking operation known as fast and furious. the house oversight and government reform committee wants justice department records from a 10-month period after february 2011. that month the department initially denied guns were allowed to be purchased in arizona and be taken to mexico. in early december, the department acknowledged the assertion was wrong. that according to the associated press and all throughout today as that story is unfolding. we have been bringing you reaction to the supreme court's decision upholding most of president obama's health care overhaul law, the affordable

care act and will return to more reaction in that decision from iowa senator and a number of other democrats here on c-span 3. >> we will never ever ever comply and the architect of obama care and the brother from the former chief of staff to president obama. he runs the system. only those between the ages of 15 and 40 are worthy of health care. the federal government should control 100% of the resources. do you want to live in a world