8:58 a.m. | Updated A year after President Obama signed his health care law into effect, the two leading Republicans in Congress are making it clear that they do not intend to let up in their assault on the historic measure.
In a joint opinion article to be published in the Cincinnati Enquirer Wednesday morning, House Speaker John Boehner and Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, promise to continue pursuing “full repeal” of the law.
“The fog of controversy has now cleared, but contrary to the confident predictions of some, the contents of this law are even worse than anyone expected,” the pair write. “And that’s saying something.”
At the same time, Mr. Boehner is releasing a video describing the law as a series of “broken promises” to the public.
“In the coming weeks, you’ll see more votes and more hearings in the House to take this law apart, step by step,” Mr. Boehner promises in the short video. “That includes repealing the law’s mandatory spending slush funds. In short, we will do whatever we can to ensure ObamaCare is never fully implemented.”
Mr. Boehner does not acknowledge that, so far, the efforts in the House have been stymied by the Democrat-controlled Senate, or that Mr. Obama is unlikely to sign legislation undoing his own signature achievement.
And Democrats plan to mark the anniversary, too, with efforts of their own to tout the more popular parts of the legislation, including provisions that protect health care consumers from being denied coverage.
Organizing for America, an arm of the Democratic National Committee, is holding events across the nation this week to celebrate the law’s passage.
“Since being signed into law, the Affordable Care Act has protected Americans, both young and old, from the discriminatory practices of health insurance companies,” an O.F.A. statement said this week. “Young adults up to 26 are now able to stay on their parents’ insurance, children with preexisting conditions can no longer be denied coverage and senior citizens are receiving help to pay for prescription drugs and enjoying free preventive care and cancer screening.”
UPDATE: Mr. McConnell released his own video Wednesday morning:
UPDATE 2: A White House official emailed Wednesday morning to say they had posted a video as well, of Mr. Obama talking to a person who had benefitted from the health care law.