Biden, Democratic lawmakers celebrate 14th anniversary of Affordable Care Act

by Lauren Irwin - 03/23/24 10:58 PM ET

In this March 23, 2010 file photo, President Barack Obama signs the Affordable Care Act in the East Room of the White House in Washington. When you vote in November 2012, you’ll be voting for more than a president; you’ll be casting a ballot for and against a checklist of policies that touch your life and shape the country you live in. It can be hard to see through the process that the election is a contest of actual ideas, but it is always so. A candidate’s words connect to deeds in office. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

President Biden and many other Democratic lawmakers posted online in celebration of the 14th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on Saturday.

“14 years later, the Affordable Care Act is still a very big deal. Today, more Americans have health insurance than under any other President,” Biden posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “I’m committed to building on the progress we’ve made by making lower premiums permanent for millions of families.”

Biden, who just clinched the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, is using the ACA’s anniversary to hammer former President Trump’s record on health care and capitalize on his threats to repeal the law. The Biden campaign released an ad Friday highlighting Trump’s threats to repeal the act if he were to win a second term.

In a separate post, Biden said that repealing the ACA “has been in virtually every Congressional Republican budget since the law passed.”

“There’s even cuts to it in the budget they put forward this week,” he posted, highlighting the government funding package he signed Saturday. “I’ve stopped them before and I’ll stop them again.”

The ACA, commonly called ObamaCare, was signed into law by former President Obama, who also highlighted the anniversary with a post.

Obama said after signing the act into law, “one Republican member of the House called the ACA the ‘most dangerous piece of legislation ever passed in Congress.’ Another predicted the country would ‘never recover from it.’ But then something else happened: it actually worked.”

In a series of posts, Obama highlighted the effects of the ACA and how it has “become part of our lives.” He warned that “some Republicans” are trying to take it away 14 years later.

In a post also targeting Republicans, Vice President Kamala Harris slammed Trump for wanting to “terminate” the ACA.

“If he’s successful, over 40 million people will lose their health coverage,” she warned. “Protecting access to health care is on the ballot in November.”

Speaker emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) posted online in celebration of the anniversary and the “outside mobilization” that came from grassroots efforts and the Democrats who passed it in 2010. She warned that it will need saving from Trump “and his MAGA minions.”

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) also warned about the GOP’s efforts to repeal the act and said the “fight isn’t over.”

“We won’t stop fighting to expand coverage, lower costs, and protect Medicare and Medicaid,” Schumer posted.

Several other Democratic lawmakers posted online celebrating the anniversary and the impacts the ACA has had in the last 14 years. Many warned of a second Trump term and what it could mean for the historic legislation.