any day now the supreme court as you well know because your name is burwell, in king versus burwell, is about to rule and if the court rules against the administration then millions of people will be stuck with a government designed health insurance that they cannot afford. so, i mean, the big question is then what? what about the people who are going to lose their subsidies, and possibly their coverage? is the president going to dictate to us how to fix this flawed law or is the president is the administration, going to be willing to work withes us to give families greater freedom in choosing the healthcare that work best for them? >> so with regard to the question of the courts, i think you know we believe that we are implementing the law as it was written, as the statute is written, as it was intended as cbo has scored it for all these years, as recent articles have reflected that those that were part of writing the law indicate that it should be. the idea that citizens in the state of new york should receive federal subsidies that taxpayers contribute to and citizens in the state

what i have been focused on is the scope of king versus burwell. people will lose coverage because they implemented coverage illegally and what can we do to bring coverage? we can bring a lot of other things, but from my perspective, i want to take care of those 5 million people to 8 million people number one and number two, i want to take care of those states doing poorly under the law. what can we do to protect those states? host: your colleague in the statehouse, governor bobby gentle, is about to enter the republican race. what are his chances? senator cassidy: oh, my gosh. bobby, when he first ran for governor and no one thought he had a chance, he came in a close second. never underestimate the fellow. for now say he is not in the top 10. i have not focused on that, steve, beyond occasionally looking at the paper when i am home. when i am home i talked to my mother, my wife, and my daughters and believe it or not i do not talk about politics. i try not to. senator cassidy: will you make an endorsement -- host: would you make an endorsement in

any day now the supreme court as you well know because your name is burwell, in king versus burwell isabout to rule. if the court rules against the administration, then millions of people will be stuck with a government-designed health insurance that they cannot afford. so i mean, the big question is then what? what about the people who are going to lose their subsidies and possibly their coverage? is the president going to dictate to us how to fix this flawed law or is the president, is the administration going to be willing to work with us to give families greater freedom in choosing the health care that works best for them? >> so with regard to the question of the courts. i think you know we believe that we are implementing the law as it was written as the statute is written as it was intended as cbo has scored it for all these years, as recent articles have reflected that those who were part of writing the law indicate it should be. the idea that citizens in the state of new york should receive federal subsidies that taxpayers contribute to and citizens in the state of texas should

burwell. we're going to hear about it by the end of june. and that claims that on the basis of, again a very strange reading of the statute -- it's not a constitutional case -- that many states are going to lose their subsidies for health insurance, again, on the basis of a legal theory that no one ever thought of until after statute was passed. and it's a really strange legal theory because it makes large parts of the statute make no sense. it tells states, it tells the federal government that it has to set up these health care exchanges, and then it doesn't let anybody enroll in them. it's really a very silly theory. but the whole story of the health care cases from the beginning of the earlier one and of this one is a story about silly theories being treated with much too much respect. and what i try to do in the book is explain to people who aren't lawyers what the constitutional issues are and what's wrong with these constitutional theories, because i think it's very important, you know? the shape of constitutional law constitutional la

senator cassidy: king versus burwell does not address the tax code. if the medical device tax comes up, there may be some who are interested in that. but it is actually another part of the code, and we have to go a bit further afield to incorporate that. melissa what i have been focused , on is the scope of king versus burwell. first, those 5-8,000,000 people who may lose the coverage they have because the obama administration implemented coverage illegally and what can we do to bring coverage? we can bring in a lot of other things, but from my perspective, i want to take care of those 5 million people to 8 million people number and number two, i one. want to take care of those states doing poorly under the law. what can we do to protect those states better? host: your colleague in the statehouse, governor bobby jindal is about to enter the , republican race. what are his chances? senator cassidy: oh, my gosh. bobby, when he first ran for governor and no one thought he had a chance, he came in a close second. never underestimate the fellow. right now,

but first let me start off by thanking our witness secretary burwell. i understand that you've got to get going so we're going to move this as quickly as we can, but we were supposed to have this hearing earlier in the year but events overtook us so here we are today. i understand that the majority of your remarks are going to be about the budget, that's all well and good, about you it shouldn't surprise you secretary burwell but we're a little more interested in talking about obamacare especially given the president's remarks this week. i hope he gives you a medal for this job because defending this healthcare law is to easy task. i think any objective observer would say that this law is on the fritz. by the law's own standards the whole point of obamacare was to make healthcare more affordable but premiums aren't going down they're going up. way up. all over the country. insurers are proposing double digit premium increases, in maryland close to 30% tennessee 36%, south dakota 42%. tack season was like a bad dream before, now it's a total nightmare. p

how much leeway will be over. >> king versus burwell has been decided.you look over your shoulder has opposition hampered implementation of the law. would it be working better if there haven't had been so many people working against the implementation. >> there's no doubt that would have been the case. that diminishes well too. on the other handsome of the problems were self-inflicted with the changes that we started with the end of 2013 and 2014. it wasn't just the opposition. sometimes the democrats did not have it either and the democrats were running away from the affordable care act, when they conceded it wasn't as popular as they hoped it would be. a lot of blame for public opinion has to be laid at the feet of the administration. probably you will start seeing the democrats being a bit more bold for taking credit for the successes. some of the political dynamics will change and the insurance industry is relieved here. they know. justice roberts' opinion or majority report noted that in the first paragraph, that had the dash if the decision went th

thank you, secretary burwell. the reason is your repeal the past a couple months ago include a bill a bipartisan bill that i sponsored to require binding bids from suppliers participating in the durable medical equipment supplies competitive bidding program. the provision removes fat actress from the program. ensures seniors get quality medical equipment. in a compromise with the administration, the log requires that cms template the provision not earlier than january 1 of 2017 but not later than january 1 of 2019. i think that the 2019 is a very generous timeline. to implement the bill. and would help with your leadership that we could move it closer to the january 1, twenty-second timely because at the end of the day, as you know again there's bipartisan support for this concept. my good friend bill pascrell is over this issue as well. we think this will ultimate help separate the good from the bad and ultimate help our seniors. so your leadership would critically important to moving it closer to the beginning a

burwell. i understand that you've got to get going. so we're going to move this as quickly as we can. but we were supposed to have this hearing earlier in the year, but events overtook us. so here we are today. i understand that the majority of your remarks are going to be about the budget. that's all well and good. but it shouldn't surprise you, secretary burwell, but that we're a little more interested in talking about obamacare. especially given the president's remarks this week. i hope he gives you a medal for this job. because defending this health care law is no easy task. i think any objective observer would say that this slaw on the fritz. by the law's own standards the whole point of obamacare was to make health care more affordable. premiums aren't going down, they're going up. way up. all over the country. and insurers are proposing double-digit premium increases. in maryland, it's close to 30%. tennessee, 36%. south dakota, 42%. tax season was like a bad dream before. now it's a to

burwell. -- and author of a book about king v. burwell. if you are a governor and one of these states, what are your options for preparing for this decision? michael o. leavitt: let's walk through what will likely happen. if the court rules for king, then within eight hours president obama will say, you can fix this, just change three words in the statute and everyone's insurance who has received a subsidy will be secure. that is a strong and direct message and it will be one that will be heard. then the republican-controlled congress will respond in a way that is not quite as certain. there are basically three different points of view among republicans. one is that this is the moment that will allow them to repeal and hopefully replace the affordable care act. another group, who believe that goes a little too far, to use it as a means of taking the law part why don't we just ask for a lot of changes in exchange for those three words? and then the third are among those who say, let's just pass a temporary fix and then after the election we

any day now the supreme court as you well know because your name is burwell, in king versus burwell, is about to rule and if the court rules against the administration then millions of people will be stuck with a government designed health insurance that they cannot afford. so, i mean, the big question is then what? what about the people who are going to lose their subsidies, and possibly their coverage? is the president going to dictate to us how to fix this flawed law or is the president is the administration, going to be willing to work withes us to give families greater freedom in choosing the healthcare that work best for them? >> so with regard to the question of the courts, i think you know we believe that we are implementing the law as it was written, as the statute is written, as it was intended as cbo has scored it for all these years, as recent articles have reflected that those that were part of writing the law indicate that it should be. the idea that citizens in the state of new york should receive federal subsidies that taxpayers contribute to and citizens in the state

now it's king versus burwell because, of course miss burwell replaced kathleen sebelius at hhs.een sebelius joining us on the phone. what's your initial reaction? you must be excited. >> good morning, jake. i think it's a very positive decision for the 6.5 million people around the country who now have affordable health care based on the framework of the law that provides tax subsidies and i think it gives them really an opportunity to make sure that the law continues to grow not only having more people with affordable care but the kind of real improvements in care that are going on lowest health inflation in 50 years, the biggest drop in uninsured rate ever seen in this country, and now we can continue to make sure that people who have coverage can get the kind of care that they need and deserve. so it's a very positive step forward. i'm pleased that the majority of the court and a strong majority actually felt that the law was written the way it was providing subsidies for everyone who qualified based on income not based on who set up the marketplace. >> there is of course sti

burwell.nd he has the ignominious distinct of being my very first pr boss in private practice which i'm sure many will hold him to to account for all of the mistakes i've made since then. we've got mr. michael cannon who is the director of health policy studies at the cato institute. he's a learned and well-respected scholar on questions of economics and health care. we have professor andy grewal who's an associate professor of law at the university of iowa college of law in iowa city. we have ms. elizabeth b. wydra, chief counsel of the constitutional accountability center here in washington, d.c. and we have mr. robert weiner who is a partner at arnold & porter. i'd like to ask each of the witnesses to stand and be sworn in, please. will you raise your right hand? the t do you affirm the testimony you're about to give before the committee will be the truth, thetruth, t whole truth, and nothing but the truth?e so help you god. thank you very much. mr. carvin, we'll start with you. please turn

thank you so much and now secretary burwell. secretary burwell: thank you attorney general lynch. thanks to everyone for being here today. medicare is the cornerstone of the social compact that we have with our citizens. there is no greater responsibility than ensuring its integrity. that is why eliminating fraud, waste, and abuse is a top priority for the administration and the department of health and human services. we are deeply committed to protecting the medicare and medicaid programs and will not tolerate theft from taxpayers. today's development is a victory for those taxpayers and each of us who will depend on the stability of medicare in the years to come. as attorney general lynch mentioned, this is the largest arrest in the strike force's history both in terms of the number of individuals as well as the dollar amounts. the investigation stretched across the nation. in fact, this is the first action we've taken to pursue cases in nonstrike force districts. this followed the data. we followed it where it led. it exposed more than 240 suspects and, specifically, we target

those include cases like the holly lobby against burwell case and the cases that are now growing out of the state writ up. since that is in the news, that is very much on everybody's mind. since we have counsel on both sides of the case with us here today, we will ask them to start off by telling us about what has happened in this area since hobby lobby against burwell. i will start off with christina. christina: you may wonder why my hair is messy. greg and i already got at it. i was specifically asked to talk about areas of agreement. i'm working hard. i'm sure you can hear my accent. no, i have not been drinking. i am cuban-american. i feel very passionate about these issues. one area of disagreement that we have is the hobby lobby case. as you may have heard, americans united mischaracterized it as crazy evangelicals denying health care to women. that wasn't actually the case. i'm kidding, greg. you never said crazy. greg: she is paraphrasing. christina: the hobby lobby family are an evangelical family from oklahoma city. he started their business in a garage with a $600 loan. th

burwell case challenging subsidies in the health care law and the hhs 2016 budget request. live coverage starts here on c-span 3. >>> on our next washington journal, we'll talk to colorado freshman senator cory gardner about the defense programs bill. then california congressman on president obama's strategy to fight isis in iraq and syria. phillip gordon talks about his recent piece for politico on how the middle east is falling apart. washington journal on c-span. you can join the conversation by phone or on facebook or twitter. >>> the new congressional directory is a handy guide to the 114th congress with color photos of every senator and house member, plus bio and twitter handles. also a fold-out map of capitol hill and a look at congressional committee, the president's cabinet, federal agencies and state governors. order your copy today. it's 13.95 dollars through the c-span store at c-span.org. >>> next, a house veterans affairs sub committee hearing on non-va services for soldiers who normally receive care from veteran facilities. the hearing is 90 minutes. >>> good

sylvia burwell talking about the affordable care act. >> i thought her testimony was coming days afternt obama said that he had no plan b. at the start of testimony, it did get heated. watch what happened when the house ways and means committee paul ryan asked secretary burwell with the obama administration is going to do if the subsidies are struck down by the court. >> critical decisions will sit with the congress and states and governors to determine if the subsidies are available. >> the question is is the president going to say i have this one-page deal, take it my way or the highway is that going to be their position enact or is the administration going to be willing to work with congress to find a way to get more health care freedom? >> the marketplace is a market. it uses private insurers. >> the question is what will the administration do? >> the problem is they have made a decision. harris: while the obama administration refuses to start an alternative, senate republicans will be ready with a plan. >> depending on what the supreme court decides we will have a proposal that pr

it does present a political problem for republicans if they win king/burwell, because they have all ofeople who the press can go interview who are screwed, frankly and they have to come up with a solution. >> well, i think if the case goes against the law, which i really don't think it is going to. but if it goes against the law i believe the republicans will be the dogs who caught the car. i think it's a political disaster for them. i think indicative of that is the proposal that ron johnson made, the senator from wisconsin, who suggested they pass a bridge and support the subsidies through the next election. no coincidence that he is up for re-election in 2016. and i believe it is telling that he wants to bridge the subsidies. but the fact is, chris, they have had five years to come up with a plausible alternative to the health care act and they have not done so. so it is unlikely they will do so overnight. >> that is an interesting point. you have a fair number of republicans in cycle 2016 who are facing competitive races. and that is a really good point. that they will be really ou

burwell issue and don't know whether obamacare is a good idea or bad idea.why i'm sitting here in the middle. but i do want to discuss three circumstances where other regulations under 36-b clearly contradict the legislative language. and if you think established by the state is clear, you'll think these ones are very clear, even offered a case of beer on twitter to anybody who could come up with some colorful counterargument. in the first circumstance, a statute plainly grants credits only to citizens when their income falls within a particular range. 100% to 400% of the relevant poverty line amount. irs doesn't like that result and potentially expanded credits to several million persons below the 100% amount. again, if you think established by the state is clear, a statute that refers to 100% to 400% is far clearer. and the second circumstance is the aca has two related provisions. one provision says that if you're a large employer and you offer health insurance to your employees, we want you to automatically enroll all those employees in coverage, and the

burwell case. let's hear from you larry from michigan. >> caller: i have a comment regarding the health care law. >> yeah. >> caller: seems to me that a fair solution to this would be the single payer whereas we have the 19-year-olds picking up their costs it's tremendous as opposed to others that maybe will get breaks. we want to spread this risk out overall the citizens with a single payer program. i think the american public will support that in the future. thank you. >> bill in plano, texas. the republican line. bill, what do you think of the decision today from the court? >> caller: well, the decision is what it is. my question is great, now who is going to pay for it? >> appreciate that, bill. mike huckabee, the former arkansas governor and now a presidential candidate called the supreme court decision today a our founding fathers did not create a do-over provision the powers to circumvent congress and part of the decision today from chief justice john roberts says that -- part of his decisio

the hhs secretary sylvia burwell testifying before the house human services committee, saying this is the case where the obamacare, some 6 million of them could lose the subsidies living in 34 states where republicans have refused to build their own exchanges instead having the federal government do it for them. here is burwell before the committee. >> if the court says we don't have the authority to give the subsidies, the critical decisions will lie with congress and the states to determine if those subsidies are available. >> she says it will.be up to republican governors in many of those states, no one believes the senators or governors will be acting any time soon to enact a fix. politically vulnerable they are trying oturn up the pressure ahead of the decision. it could come as early as monday. john. >> mike viqueria in washington. >>> the senate heard testimony about the amtrak derailment in fixed e-philadelphia that killed eight and injured 200 others. no indication that the train's engineer was using his smartphone but the investigation is far from over. >> there was no talki

burwell. >>> argument this morning in case 14114 king versus burwell. >> mr. chief justice, may i please the court this is a straightforward case where the clear language of the statute dictates the -- >> will you back up? before we get to a question of statutory construction, as you know each plaintiff -- or at least one plaintiff, has to have a concrete stake in these questions. they can't put them as ideological questions. and we have four plaintiffs. as to two of them there is a declaration stating i am not eligible for health insurance from the government. but there's a question of whether they are eligible for coverage as veterans. >> um yes. one of those is mr. hearst who would have to -- i would refer you to the joint appendix of page 42 where this is the government's recitation of facts where they make it clear mr. hearst would have to spend $750 of his own money because of the irs rule. mr. hearst was a veteran for ten months in 1970. he is not eligible for any veterans service because if you've served such a short health services -- >> i'll ask the

burwell that to do with the affordable care act. what day are those decisions expected to come down? guest: the court is in the final days of issuing its big rulings. they will come out within the next three weeks or so. we don't know yet exactly when, but most likely the big cases will come toward the end of the month. host: the supreme court already looking ahead to its future cases. some being picked up and rejected yesterday. can you talk about the san francisco gun regulation case that was rejected yesterday? guest: the court declined to take up the challenge to a san francisco gun regulation, which at least two of the justices said they would have liked to have taken. they said in a dissenting statement, it is quite possible that regulation is not in compliance with the supreme court's previous rulings on gun rights. host: what did the supreme court take up yesterday in that decision for cases down the road? guest: one of them is a business case. they took up a case involving tyson suits about worker pay at a processing facili

this case is officially king versus burwell. burwell is the secretary of human services and david king is the lead plaintiff one of four virginia residents taking on the case to oppose obamacare to get it to the supreme court. i reached david king today to get his response to the decision, and he told me "politics over law." others are thrilled with what the justices did. and they said that the aca is a stable part of the american healthcare system. >> last time, it was i closer margin 5-4 and this time 6-3 and who flipped. >> it was justice kennedy who nipped. and he was one of the dissenters in 2012 and the dissenters felt that the entire law should be thrown out. this was a big switch for justice kennedy, and we have no clue why he flipped. >> let's look at the taxes at the center of the case. more than 7 million people bought healthcare through it, and 09% of them had tax credits to afford their premiums, and the average is 3300 a year. that is enough to cover about 3/4 of the average premium. >>> the affordable care act is

-miles-an-hour burwell it's nice -- miss burwell it's nice in seattle.'m not sure you made the right choice to come back to work. >> anytime the wrong washington. is that what you're telling me? >> we're talking about if the president does this or whatever. let's talk a specific. i think that we have not heard a specific come out of the republicans in -- since the bill was passed. never put anything on the table. now we have a bill, 1016, put in by senator jobson from wisconsin, and his -- it's his solution if the bill fails and as i read it quickly it repeals the individual mandate it repeals the employer mandate and it says that the states can continue the funding down and the standard of benefits that people getting not the national standards but whatever the state of mississippi or alabama or georgia or texas or one of these states that has not had an exchange whatever they set as a benefit, we know it will be lower because it already is. won't cover people in medicaid, shy clearly don't care about the level of health care, but explain to me how you

today,my joined by secretary sylvia burwell from -- >> you're listening to live to loretta live talking in washington, d.c. about the charleston church massacre where nine people were killed. we'll be talking more about that breaking news as the newscast at 11:00 a.m. continues on nbc10. for more information tune into nbc10.com or download the "nbc10 news" app. >>> calling for climate change and cultural revolution. up next, the release of a much-anticipated environmental manifesto by pope francis. >>> all eyes of the nation's highest court this morning. we expect the supreme court to make big decisions on several key issues. >>> and we're in for some more wet weather. as i'm tracking the remnants of bill and it's affect on our weekend. that's just ahead. rule on several high-profiled cases today. they could vote on subsidies for affordable care act and also same-sex marriage nationwide. they still have 17 decisions to hand down this term. >>> to strong words by pope francis when it comes to climate change. now he's calling for a cultural revolution. nbc national correspondent tracie po

burwell so there is not the supreme court. it was the lead against choices are in terms of the supreme court i just want to be clear, we shouldn't think of the supreme court is all of a sudden the blessing standiford think of the last major standing case from the roberts court. it was clapper versus amnesty international two years ago when the supreme court ruled 5-4 that no one would've standing to challenge federal law given the national security agency the billy to accept mutation those trained in foreign countries. the reason was no one could show their communications were and likely intercepted by the nsa. and if it doesn't kill people. that's a terrible decision in terms of standing restrictive and that's the most recent one. >> win some of you all were courting, the court to draw twice as many cases or even more. more than twice as many cases decided today that some things i'm hearing, maybe they're still taking too many cases. what do you think? is the court decided you must speak with no. i think i'm not taking enough

cynthia burwell before the house and means and as the supreme court gets set to weigh in on it we'll for fireworks there. >>> also passenger rail safety. weave been we've been talking a lot about that with the release of the ntsb report of the derailment in new jersey. a settlement is getting under way with what has been a very rough year on the rails. john boehner met with his congress. >>> let's talk about the derailment in philadelphia. i'm joined from capitol hill with details on this report. luke you're everywhere, man, as usual. >> right on. fascinating report by the ntsb. we learned, as we sort of allude to do in the opening, but i think it's important. there is a lot of speculation about the engineer and what he was doing with his cell phone. after this weeks-long investigation, the ntsb was able to determine that there was no data being moved on that cell phone, and so as of right now, they believe it to be truthful when the engineer said that he was not on his phone in any capacity. we learned that it was not connected to the wi-fi on the train and that he allowed them to g

sylvia burwell testifying in front of the committee. jonathan hunt in l.a.. jenna: sounding the alarm in iran. the administration needs to change its foreign policy. what he is telling lawmakers we must do. the pentagon wants to send more u.s. troops to iraq to take on the basis. the next guest has done multiple deployments in iraq saying this is a move in the right direction. we have to do more. he will tell us what that is next. jenna: the president of russia meeting with the leader of the catholic church, pope francis was urged to use his visit to help ease tension in ukraine. we will keep you updated. airline stocks continued to fall today. what does that mean for you as you look for a great fare on your summer travel plans? a watercraft dealership leads to an explosion that rattles an entire neighborhood. what caused a jet ski to blow up. jon: fox news alert, lawmakers hearing about the administration's foreign policy agenda specifically in the middle east. the former director of the defense intelligence agency appearing before a house committee expected

and we had secretary burwell before the ways and means committee yesterday. i posed this question to her. and her answer was a bunch of razzle dazzle and nonsense. sight the president's budget as authority to spend money. i argue they don't have this authority. >> what about commissioner koskinen? what is what is he saying about this. >> i haven't asked him directly about this. >> isn't it more his problem. >> it's his problem and her problem. it's both of their problems. when it comes down to it, it's the president's problem because he is he spending our money. this becomes insidious and dangerous. now, already, there is litigation as you know regarding the cost sharing reduction program. the house is enjoying seeking standing before the federal court and there is a possibility that we are going to prevail on that. this is a similar situation. this is spending money without the legal authority to do it. it is acting with impunity. >> so what can you do about it? >> here is what we can do about it. first of all i asked the secretary to come in. she has agreed

burwell testified in february we have no plan b. shame on her and the president.s what the statute is. i don't know now the supreme court is going to decide. i would be worried. >> they always claim, the intent of the way it was written, but that's not what it was. listen to brett bayerer. he was questioning mitch mccommonly about a backup plan. >> obamacare was the single worst piece of legislation been passed in the last half century. what we'll do brett, is offer a proposal to protect the american people. >> won't there be senator some in your party who say any vote for even that the patch, will be a tacit endorsement of obamacare? >> i think we have to see what the supreme court decides before we announce a proposal to deal with it. >> republicans, greta, saying they're going to wait. so these 6 million people will have to wait too. we -- everybody is falling all over themselves on it. this is a real problem for the american people. let me tell you something, gretchen. you don't go to what the intents of the statute is the court isn't supposed to unless the wo

and then the supreme court arguments for the case in king versus burwell.resident obama reacted to the ruling on the health care law. he was joined by the vice president in the white house rose garden. president obama: good morning, everybody. have a seat. five years ago, after nearly a century of talk, decades of trying, a year of bipartisan debate, we finally declared that in america, health care is not a privilege for a few but a right for all. over those five years, as we've worked to implement the affordable care act, there have been successes and setbacks. the setbacks, i remember clearly. [laughter] but as the dust has settled, there can be no doubt that this law is working. it has changed and in some cases saved american lives. it's set this country on a smarter, stronger course. and today, after more than 50 votes in congress to repeal or weaken this law, after a presidential election based in part on preserving or repealing this law, after multiple challenges to this law before the supreme court, the affordable care act is here to stay. this morni

health and human services secretary sylvia burwell is on capitol hill right now defending the health care law before senate republicans. testimony of the house ways and means committee comes after a crucial court ruling. >>> in 2016 news senator marco rubio and his finances resulted in a fundraising bonanza for his campaign. >>> and jeb bush in europe had tough words for vladimir putin but no word from his brother. mark murray senior editor. mark good to have you on. >> good to be here. >> let's talk about senator isakson regarding his health. >> very sad news tamron. you have senator isakson as the senior member of the senate delegation in georgia, the senior senator there, and just very sad news. >> he says he will continue and face this head on. but also let's transition to what's happening on capitol hill with secretary sylvia burwell, the headlines still the health care law and what could happen if the supreme court does not rule the way of the obama administration. >> this has become a big parlor game on what the united states supreme court does tamron. president obama on tuesd

that's president obama on the right, hugging health secretary, sylvia burwell. that's vice president biden on the left, hugging chief of staff, denis mcdonough, who's making a very funny face, but it kind of seems like he's always making a funny face. this is the moment, apparently, they heard the ruling came down. the hugs in the oval office. the other thing that happened here, beyond the immediate policy questions of what could have happened and how the law was strengthened today, i think the other thing that happened here, big picture, is that we now know, basically, for sure, about what is going to be a huge part of the legacy of the presidency of barack obama. we know a lot more about how consequential his presidency will be seen in the long run of history. and, yes, he is and always will be our nation's first african-american president. he is and always will be the president who had to catch the country mid-plummet into economic free fall and put us back on track. he will always be the president who got osama bin laden. he will always be the president who

burwell, a case challenging federal subsidies. next, texas senator ted cruz chairs a judiciary subcommittee hearing on the health care law. he criticized treasury department officials for not testifying before the subcommittee. this is an hour and 45 minutes. senator cruz: before we get to the substance of the hearing, i want to take just a few minutes to discuss the empty table before us. it's a symbol for how little regard the obama administration seems to have for the american people. two weeks ago, this committee sent a letter to three current employees of the u.s. treasury department. requesting their attendance here at this hearing. the talk about treasuries role in developing the obamacare exchange's subsidy rule, which is hurting millions of people across this country, and which is directly contrary to the statutory text of the underlying bill. specifically, this committee sent letters to mark mazer assistant secretary for tax policy and treasury, emily, the deputy assistant secretary, and serving as the acting assistant s

burwell, the court could rule that they are no longer eligible for financial assistance.4 million people could lose insurance, after seeing an average premium increase of nearly 300%. >> so this should be an easy case. frankly, it probably shouldn't have even been taken up. >> under the obamacare doomsday scenario health and human services secretary silvia burwell says there is no plan b. >> you're not going to answer the question are you? >> no the answer is the problem that gets created is subsidies aren't available. they aren't available for millions of americans. they lose their insurance. >> reporter: republicans in congress are in no mood to salvage the health care law. they want to scrap it. >> obamacare is just-flat busted. it just doesn't work. and no fix can change that fact. >> what's busted is not aca, it's your attacks on it. >> reporter: just as the court is nearing a decision the president is trying to spread the word that obamacare is working, sitting down with the syndicated tv show "extra." >> what we do here what the supreme court does what congress doe

relief today, following the historic united states supreme court decision in the case king versus burwellis one of 34 states that has not established an insurance exchange under the health care law, instead, relies on federally run marketplace exchanges. i'm joined now by the chair to have the democratic national committee, the congresswoman, debbie wasserman schultz, who represents a district in south florida. you must be thrilled by this decision. >> absolutely. we have 1.3 million people in florida, who get subsidies as part of their insurance coverage under obamacare, that their coverage would have been in jeopardy. and now they'll be able to maintain their affordable quality health care coverage. >> and you blame the governor rick scott, for the fact that florida is not one of those states that has a state exchange that could do this. >> both for the fact that we don't have a state exchange as well as his refusal to accept medicaid expansion, so that we could ensure another 800,000 people who go without coverage as a result of his intrancesceintrance. >> do you think he'll change his

the case king verse burwell had been decided by the supreme court and the justices announced that the stands. now what. will states that held back buy in or is one battle ends does another begin. is the fight over obama care really

burwell goes on the side of the plaintiff. accepting that has the administration had any discussion with governors of states who would be impacted by a hostile decision and with their personal staffs? >> well, john, what i think i would prefer you -- refer you to is what decisions have spoken about. the secretary of health and human services, sylvia burwell, where she indicated, if a -- some kind of reaction is necessary, in the unlikely event of an adverse ruling from the supreme court, that the pressure would be immediately on governors and state officials and congress to try to address the situation. and the fact is this is something hard to predict without seeing the ruling, but again if there were -- in the unlikely event there were an adverse ruling, we've indicated there is no simple, easy fix that can be made solely by the executive branch. but again we continue to have a lot of confidence in the strength of the legal arguments made before the supreme court in this matter. and we believe that it -- it is very clear wha

burwell and that they had ruled in the favor of the united states government 6-3. and so, the president was very pleased to learn of the decision. >> now, i know that the official position of the president and the white house is, the supreme court never should have taken the case and we were confident that we would -- that the correct decision would be reached. but you guys had to be sweating it. there had to have been meetings happening about what you were going to do, day one, if the subsidies were struck down. i mean, there must have been a certain amount of stress and actual labor being done to prepare for the other outcome. >> well, chris, i'll tell you that we believe strongly in the power of the legal arguments that we made before the supreme court. so there was a sense of confidence around here, but at the same time, there was a concern that if there had been an adverse ruling from the supreme court, that it would have thrown the entire health care system into chaos. and that would have had a really negative impact on millions of americans across the countr

the case king verse burwell had been decided by the supreme court and the justices announced that theaw stands. now what. will states that held back buy in, or is one battle ends, does another begin. is the fight over obama care really over? it's

you asked secretary burwell this week if the vote goes against obamacare whether the administration has a plan. >> if the court says we do not have the authority to give subsidies the critical decisions will sit with the congress and states and governors. >> question if the court does rule against obamacare, against these subsidies, says they're illegal to the federal exchanges, will republicans come up with a way, republicans in congress to make sure that those 6 million to 7 million people who intend on subsidyies in the 34 states are not left high and dry? >> we'll have an answer and solution. we don't want people to fall victim because of this bad law and want to give people freedom from obamacare, want to give people a bridge. not only do we want to make sure families don't suffer because of the failures of the law we want to give states the freedom to go their own direction and make it better. the law is failing collapsing. you still have a disaster on our hands if the court ruled for, double digit premium increases, people not getting what they want so we want to give people more