Democrats celebrated the 12th anniversary of former President Barack Obama signing the Affordable Care Act into law Wednesday, noting it survived repeated Republican vows to repeal the program.
Top Democrats all marked the occasion, beginning with President Joe Biden, who commemorated his role in the bill’s passage and said he “was proud to serve as vice president every day, but never more so than on that historic day.”
“Twelve years ago, I proudly stood beside President Barack Obama as he signed into law the most consequential expansion of health care in generations: the Affordable Care Act,” he tweeted from his presidential account.
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Obama himself marked the passing of his administration’s flagship legislation by highlighting the bill’s use during the COVID-19 pandemic.
.@POTUS’s American Rescue Plan helped strengthen the Affordable Care Act by lowering costs and encouraging a record 14.5 million people to sign up for coverage in 2022.
We’ll keep working to improve the ACA until every American has access to quality, affordable health coverage.
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) March 23, 2022
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi echoed the former president’s praise of federal healthcare throughout the last decade and attacked Republicans for opposing its further expansion.
“Last year, amid the darkness of the pandemic, Democrats took action to expand the promise of the Affordable Care Act to lower health costs even further for millions more families,” she said on Twitter. “Meanwhile, Republicans continue to promise to wage a shameful assault on the Affordable Care Act, threatening to rip away protections and coverage from millions of working families.”
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer released a statement lauding the program’s insurance coverage of over 30 million people and urging its protection in the future.
“Before 2010, our health care system was terribly broken, with tens of millions unable to afford insurance and nearly everyone else at risk of losing their coverage if they got sick,” Hoyer said. “Something had to change.”
Vice President Kamala Harris and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also celebrated the Affordable Care Act while urging its expansion.
Despite the celebration, many 2020 Democratic presidential candidates campaigned on the idea that the healthcare system was broken and advocated policies like Medicare covering people below the age of 65.
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Republicans have signaled that aspects of Obamacare may be on the chopping block if they regain majorities in November, though fervor for completely overturning it has cooled within the party in recent years.
Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson backtracked statements earlier this month that his party would try to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
“During the radio interview I used our failure to repeal and replace Obamacare as an example of how we need to be prepared to deliver on whatever agenda items we decide to run on,” he said. “I was not suggesting repealing and replacing Obamacare should be one of those priorities.”
