Joe Biden commends Supreme Court decision to uphold Affordable Care Act

For years since its establishment, Republicans have sought to dismantle the Affordable Care Act that was signed into law by President Barack Obama. President Joe Biden now commended the Supreme Court for ruling against the repeal of the program for the third time.

Biden issued a statement through the White House shortly after the news of the Supreme Court ruling to uphold the Affordable Care Act by a 7-2 vote in favor of, with only two justices opposing. Biden called the ruling a victory for millions of Americans who are unable to get insured due to pre-existing conditions and millions who are at risk of losing their health care coverage, especially during a pandemic. This is the third failed attempt by Republicans who sought to dismantle the law.

“After more than a decade of attacks on the Affordable Care Act through the Congress and the courts, today’s decision -- the third major challenge to the law that the US Supreme Court has rejected -- it is time to move forward and keep building on this landmark law,” said Biden in the statement.

“Today’s decision affirms that the Affordable Care Act is stronger than ever, delivers for the American people, and gets us closer to fulfilling our moral obligation to ensure that, here in America, health care is a right and not a privilege.”

Meanwhile, Biden, today, signed a bill declaring June 19, also known as “Juneteenth,” “Emancipation Day,” “Jubilee Day,” and “Liberation Day” as a national public holiday. Juneteenth commemorates the day that slavery ended in the United States back in 1865. The date refers to when enslaved African Americans in Texas were told they were free following the Civil War.

Juneteenth now marks the first new federal holiday since 1983, when President Ronald Reagan declared Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday in the US. The proposal to declare Juneteenth a holiday received overwhelming bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate. Only 14 Republicans in the House voted against the proposal as the Senate unanimously passed the bill.

To note, the majority of the states have already previously declared Juneteenth a holiday, including the District of Columbia.