Madam President, I cannot remember another day when so many Americans were waiting for the Supreme Court to rule, but today was one of those days all across America. Everyone understood that a decision just across the street this morning by the nine members of the Supreme Court was historic and politically significant. The Supreme Court handed down a decision, consisting of 193 pages, with all of the major opinions--dissenting and concurring opinions included--in the case of National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius. We knew this was a case to decide the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. That, of course, was one of President Obama's first major legislative undertakings when he was elected President. Many of us who were part of the Senate and the House during this debate will never forget it. I have been lucky enough to represent my great State of Illinois for quite some time, in both the House and Senate, but there has never been a more historic and exhausting debate than the one that preceded the final vote on the Affordable Care Act. The last vote in the Senate actually occurred on Christmas Eve, and then we hurried away from here to be with our families, knowing we had done something of great historic import. Behind this decision was my human experience that most every one of us has had at one time or another.…
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