April 1 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. President Barack Obama speaks about the just over 7 million people that enrolled for insurance coverage under Obamacare.
This afternoon President Obama, with a grinning Vice President Biden behind him, announced in the White House Rose Garden that sign-ups for his signature health law had exceeded original projections.
Some 7.1 million Americans have signed up for Obamacare, the president said, by far exceeding the revised projection of 6 million insured after the disastrous roll out of the HealthCare.gov website in October.
The president was clearly enjoying delivering the news: "This law is doing what it's supposed to do," he said. "It's working. It's helping people from coast to coast." He seemed bemused by the continuing efforts of Republicans do undo the legislation. "Why are folks working so hard for people not to have health insurance? Why are they so mad about the idea of people having health insurance?"
Republicans were quick to jump on what a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner called Obama's "victory lap." "This law continues to harm the American people," said Boehner spokesman Michael Steel. "Every promise the president made has been broken: healthcare costs are rising, not falling. Americans are losing the doctors and plans that they like – especially seniors suffering under President Obama’s Medicare cuts. Small businesses are afraid to hire new workers, hobbling our economic growth. That’s why we must replace this fundamentally flawed law."
But Obama had already brushed off such criticisms.
"Many of the tall tales have been debunked. There are still no death panels. Armageddon has not arrived. Instead this law has helped millions of Americans. The debate over repealing this law is over. The Affordable Care Act is here to stay."
Here's what some reporters, supporters and critics were tweeting during his remarks:
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Twitter: @robinabcarian
Source: Top Stories - Google News - http://ift.tt/1pJlKdB
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