President Obama, in what some are declaring his crowning moment of glory, crowed in a Rose Garden speech at the White House Thursday over the just-released Supreme Court decision that upheld the subsidies in Obamacare as constitutional.
This is the second time the country's highest court has ruled in favor of his signature piece of legislation.
Obama's opening remarks underscored the importance of the 6-3 ruling, and the change it has brought to America.
"Five years ago, after nearly a century of talk, decades of trying, a year of bipartisan debate we finally declared in America, health care is not a privilege but a right for all," he said, at a nationally televised press conference a bit more than an hour after the decision was released.
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"After multiple challenges to this law before the Supreme Court, the Affordable Care Act is here to stay. This morning, the court held up a critical part of this law," Obama said of the decision.
Obama also touted what he called Obamacare's successes – keeping health care premiums affordable, allowing citizens to keep their doctors.
“For many, insurance would’ve become unaffordable again. Many would’ve become uninsured again,” Mr. Obama said. “America would’ve gone backwards. That’s not what we do. That’s not what America does. We move forward. Today is a victory for hardworking Americans all over this country whose lives will continue to become more secure in a changing economy because of this law.”
Obama repeatedly said the "law is working," calling on Republicans to work to improve a law that he said has now been "woven into the fabric of America."
"The point is this is not an abstract thing anymore," Obama said. "This is not a set of political talking points. This is reality. We can see how it is working. This law is working exactly as it's supposed to. In many ways, this law is working better than we expected it to."
Obama went on: "For all the talk of death panels ... this law is now helping tens of millions of Americans. And they've told me that it has changed their lives for the better.
And he concluded, and then walked away: "This is a good day for America. Let's get back to work."
House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have both released statements vowing to continue the fight to repeal or replace Obamacare, while Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders said he'd like to see the health-care plan go even further.
Obama, meanwhile, reached out to governors, calling on them to use the Supreme Court ruling as justification to "expand Medicaid and cover their citizens."
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