businesses across the country have been asked what the impact is of obama care. three quarters of those surveyed by the chamber of commerce says that obama care makes it less likely for them to hire people. and perhaps most troubling of all, obama care puts the federal government between you and your doctor. for all those reasons, it's important for us to repeal and replace obama care. what are some of the things that we'll keep in place, and must be in place in a real reform of our health care system? one, we have to make sure that people who 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 who have pre-existing conditions know that they will be able to be insured and 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 obama care does not do that must be done in real reform is helping lower the cost of health care and health insurance. it's becoming prohibitively expensive. 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, more and more intrusive in your life, separating you and your doctor. whether you're comfortable with more deficits, higher debt that we pass on to the coming generations. whether you're willing to have the government put in place a plan that potentially causes you to lose the insurance that you like. or whether, instead, you want to return to a time when the american people will have their own choice in health care, where consumers will be able to make their choices as to what kind of health insurance they want. this is a time of choice for the american people. our mission is clear. if we want to get rid of obama care, we're going to have to replace 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 way they feel most appropriate. where we don't pass on to coming generations massive deficits and debt. where we don't have a setting where jobs are lost. if we want good jobs and a bright economic future for ourselves and for our kids, we must replace obama care. that is my mission, that is our work, and i'm asking the people of america to join me. if 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 obama care. help us defeat the liberal agenda that makes government too big, too intrusive, and is killing jobs across this great country. thank you so much.

>> and the supreme court handed down its decision this morning. the vote was 5-4 with chief justice john roberts joining the court's four more liberal members. in his decision, the chief justice wrote the affordable care act's requirement that certain individuals pay a financial penalty for not obtaining health insurance may reasonably be characterized as a tax. because the constitution permits such a tax, it is not our role to forbid it or to pass upon its wisdom or fairness. supreme court upholding most of president obama's health care overhaul law, showing you today here on c-span3 reactions to that. we'll go now to senate majority leader harry reid and minority leader mitch mcconnell for what they had to say. >> i'm happy, i'm pleased to see the supreme court put the rule of law ahead of partisanship and

rule that the federal care act is constitutional. mr. president, it's a long opinion, and we know that when we come back here after the elections, there may be some things we need to do to improve the law and we'll do that working together. but today millions of americans are already seeing the benefits of the laws that we passed. seniors are saving money on their prescriptions and checkups. 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 a heart attack away from bankruptcy. mr. president, every thursday, i have a welcome to with washington, and today they had a group of people from nevada who or have relatives that have cystic fibrosis. it's been so hard for these young people to get insurance. not going to be that way anymore, mr. president.

no longer will americans live in fear of losing their health insurance because they lose a job. no longer will tens of millions of americans rely on emergency room care or go without care entirely because they have no insurance at all. soon virtually every man, woman, and child in america will have access to health insurance they can afford and the vital care they need. passing the affordable care act was the greatest single step in generations toward ensuring access to affordable, quality health care for every person in america, regardless of where they live or how much money they make. mr. president, unfortunately republicans in congress continue to target the rights and benefits guaranteed around this law. i would 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 as spoken. the malt is settled.

no one thinks this law is perfect. the presiding officer doesn't, i don't. but democrats have proven we're willing to work with republicans to improve what other problems that exist in this law, or in fact in 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, though, for republicans to stop re-fighting yesterday's battles. now that this matter is settled, let's move on to other things. like jobs. >> mr. president, 2 1/2 years ago, a democratic president teamed up with a democrat-led congress to force 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 protected. amid economic recession, a spiraling federal debt, and accelerated increases in government health spending, they proposed a bill that made all of

those problems worse. americans were promised lower health care costs. they're going up. americans were promised lower premiums. they're going up. most americans were propsed their taxes wouldn't change and they're going up. seniors were promised medicare would be protected. it was rated to pay for a new entitlement instead. americans were promised it 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. this is one of the democrat's top selling points, because they knew it would never have passed if they said it was a tax. well, the supreme court has spoken. this law is a tax. the bill was sole 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. 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. now, look, we pass plenty of terrible laws around here that the court finds constitutional. constitutionality was never an argument to keep this law in place. and it's certainly not one you'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 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 2 1/2

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 with the supreme court's announcement upholding the health care overhaul law, we've been bringing you details of the decision, reaction from the white house, congress, presidential republican candidate mitt romney, and you can view any of today's coverage also at our website at c-span.org. reactions now as we continue with supporters of the tea party movement. >> there are other members who are on their way -- okay.

thank you, all for coming. my name is michele bachmann. i'm a member of congress and i'm proud to represent the sixth congressional district of minnesota. i was just seated in the supreme court chamber as i heard the decision come down. we had a brief reaction before. we've invited members of the tea party caucus to come and begin to give their thoughts to you today. others are making their way over from the capitol and we'll begin this morning with the very first reaction from sandy adams of florida. sandy, if you could introduce yourself and your district. >> all right, sandy! >> hi, i'm sandy adams, i'm from florida's 24th district, central florida area, and while i'm very disappointed, it just makes me more resolved to continue the fight to repeal, repeal this legislation. this has done nothing more than to raise your health care costs and put government in between you and your doctors and it is impeding our businesses from hiring people. this legislation must be repealed and i am committed to doing just that!

>> good morning. my name is jeff landry, i represent louisiana's third congressional district. and i can echo, i'm proud to be here with representative michele bachmann and sandy adams and steve scalise, and i will tell you at the end of the day, our founders relied on one group to solve our problems. it wasn't the supreme court, it was, we, the people. and the people, it's time for the people to speak up and demand that congress repeal this law, limit this federal government, and solve the problems that have been ailing this country over the last 30 years. and so my commitment to you and to the people is that i will continue this fight, and ensure that we repeal this damaging legislation that now knows no limit to the federal government's power. thank you.

>> thank you, jeff landry! >> thank you very much. i'm blake farenthold from texas. i think jeff had it exactly right. the final check on the power of government is the people. if you object to this law, if you object to the continuing overreach of the federal government as we take more and more of your money away, as we take more and more of your rights away, it is up to you to elect the people to put a stop to it. people like the representatives you have here, people all throughout this country who are committed to less taxes and more freedom. our forum for the redress of our grievances is ultimately the ballot box. it is up to each and every one of you in november to go out, exercise your right to vote, and say no to laws like this takeover of health care, this invasion of the doctor/patient relationship, and this new tax that has been mysteriously created by the supreme court.

thank you very much. >> thank you! >> this is congressman steve scalise from louisiana's first district. now, clearly i'm disappointed in the supreme court's decision today. one thing they did that we said all along was that the individual mandate was not constitutional under the commerce clause. and they at least congress's ability there. but they went further and allowed it to stand urn the tax laws. and i think one thing that the supreme court did confirm today is that president obama broke his word to the american people, because consistently for years now, he has said this this was not a tax. the supreme court today confirmed this is, in fact, a tax, a massive tax increase on american families, middle class families, the very people president obama said he wouldn't tax. and so it confirms that, but i'm more resolved than ever to go back and go to work to repeal this entire law. i'm on the house energy and commerce committee. we'll be having hearings starting next week to go back to repeal this law, to fix the things that are broken. and remember, obama care

promised to lower health care costs. it's been confirmed now to increase health care costs. it's actually made problems worse. we need to fix the real problems in health care, to lower costs, to increase access. and obama care made that worse. and the final thing i'll say is, look, the u.s. supreme court had their say here on the last thursday in june. the american people are going to have their say on the first tuesday in november. and that -- >> whoo! >> support sunglasses for dogs! sunglasses for dogs, congresswoman! >> thank you. i'm congressman john mica from florida. it's been said the power to tax is the power to destroy, and today a lot of destruction was done by this decision. i'm concerned about two things. first the impact on our senior citizens. this is probably the most devastating employee to american

senior citizens who will have a $500 billion cut from medicaid -- medicare. and they will also limit the choices of our seniors, both for care and also their choices as far as freedom in this country, which individual freedom is being destroyed not only for our seniors, but also for our citizens under this decision. the second thing, as a business person, this is a death nail for business in this country. small business has been reeling from just the thought of this going into effect. today's decision will do more to hurt our economy than anything we could do in washington, in the state houses or across this country. so this is a bad day for business. it's a bad day for our senior citizens, and it's a bad day for

america. and congress needs to repeal this now. >> i want to thank the members who are just a small sample of the tea party caucus in congress. we have a very large con tin jens of members of congress and they're all reacting to this unprecedented decision, but there are just a few things we want to say. as a result of the president's $1 trillion stimulus program and as a result of obama care, all across the united states, spontaneously, you saw americans attending, some for the first time, town hall meetings of their member of congress. that was in august of 2009. they stood up and they held their member of congress, their senator, accountable for what happened with obama care. the people were not happy. and we saw a revolt happen in 2010, where the american people did come to the ballot box, and

we saw nancy pelosi lose the gavel to her hand as a direct result of -- and because of that, we saw a new majority in congress that did pass the repeal of obama care. the members of the tea party caucus that have spoken to you this morning and the other members of the tea party caucus did vote to repeal obama care. you see, we have the job one third done. now we have to complete the job in the senate and also in the white house. it's imperative. we don't have a choice. because our legal remedies have now concluded in the supreme court today. as inexplicable as this decision is, with no foundation in our constitution for upholding the individual mandate, this court has ruled today, and this has meant a turning point in

american history. with the largest expansion of government power over our liberties, in over even our very lives. so that now government for the first time in the history of the country has power to force every one of you to buy -- to force you force you to purchase whatever product or service government tells you to buy just because you breathe. that's never happened before in the history of the united states. and add to that dr. john fleming as a member of the tea party caucus from the great state of louisiana. dr. john fleming. >> four more years. four more years. >> four more years of michele bachmann. yeah! >> look, folks, it's kind of hard to follow michele bachmann, don't you think? she's could go a wonderful job for us. >> strong, conservative women. >> absolutely.

strong, comfort tim woman for strong conservative women and americans in general. my name is john flemming. i'm congressman from the fourth district of louisiana, northwest louisiana. i'm a physician, and have been a doctor for 36 years and still practice medicine when i get an opportunity and also a small business owner, so i've been tasked for years to not only provide health care but to provide health care benefits to my employees. so i have an understanding of the microcosm of that economy. loc, folks, obamacare, we all know, is despised by two-thirds of americans. we know that it will create nothing but a giant bureaucratic system, and it's already beginning to do that. its taken away the consumer choices. it's intruding into your relationship between your doctor and you as a patient. now, i don't fault the supreme court today for their decision and here's why, because basically, you can see this written into justice roberts'

opinion, chief justice roberts, that he basically said 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 now our responsibility as members of congress and hopefully a new president coming forward that we're going to 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 and not force them through law. what we want is more consumer choice, not more government mandates that micromanage every day of your life, and i'll also end with one other point and

that is this. 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, and you have a card that entitles you to walk into a clinic and ask for care. in many of those countries you do not get timely care. even our neighbor to the north, canada, and great britain, they have 100% coverage, and yet they wait in long lines sometimes and die in the process. that is not a value that we want here in america. so i thank everyone for coming out. we have 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 all of the way through the president's signature, you know what to do on november 6th. thank you very much. reaction continuing throughout the day here in

washington, d.c. to the u.s. supreme court decision today upholding most of president obama's health care overhaul law. senator tom harkin approaching the microphone there, and we'll hear from a number of congressional democrats. >> between the ages of 15 and 40 are worthy of health care resources and that the federal government should control 100% of the health care resources. do you really want to live in a world where you're 45 years old and a bureaucrat says you cannot have a psa test? my dad would be dead under obamacare. thank god he got cancer and got treatment before obamacare came into effect because he's almost 70 years old, and in obama's eyes he's a useless member of

society. this is my family. this is my husband's family. they were allowed to die? >> really loud.

>> i'm senator harkin, chairman of the health education labor and pensions committee in the united states senate, the committee that was in charge of passing the affordable care act through committee and through the senate. today's decision by the supreme court was a rigorous resound in 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 for 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, preventative 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, that 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's 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 cancelled when they get sick and to make sure that women are no longer brazenly discriminated against by insurance companies. i've often said that the affordable care act is not like the ten commandments chiseled 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, 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 have said we want to go forward. the justices have spoken. now let's get back to work, building a reform health care system that works not just for the wealthy and the 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, senator barbara mikulski. >> thank you! >> 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,