At midnight last night, for the first time in 17 years,

Republicans in Congress chose to shut down

the federal government.

Let me be more specific: One faction, of one party,

in one house of Congress, in one branch of government,

shut down major parts of the government --

all because they didn't like one law.

This Republican shutdown did not have to happen.

But I want every American to understand why it did happen.

Republicans in the House of Representatives refused

to fund the government unless we defunded or dismantled

the Affordable Care Act.

They've shut down the government over an ideological crusade

to deny affordable health insurance

to millions of Americans.

In other words, they demanded ransom just for doing their job.

And many representatives, including an increasing number

of Republicans, have made it clear that had they been allowed

by Speaker Boehner to take a simple up or down vote

on keeping the government open, with no partisan strings

attached, enough votes from both parties would have kept

the American people's government open and operating.

We may not know the full impact of this Republican shutdown

for some time.

It will depend on how long it lasts.

But we do know a couple of things.

We know that the last time Republicans shut down

the government in 1996, it hurt our economy.

And unlike 1996, our economy is still recovering

from the worst recession in generations.

We know that certain services and benefits that America's

seniors and veterans and business owners depend on

must be put on hold.

Certain offices,

along with every national park and monument,

must be closed.

And while last night, I signed legislation

to make sure our 1.4 million active-duty military

are paid through the shutdown,

hundreds of thousands of civilian workers --

many still on the job, many forced to stay home --

aren't being paid,

even if they have families to support

and local businesses that rely on them.

And we know that the longer this shutdown continues,

the worse the effects will be.

More families will be hurt.

More businesses will be harmed.

So, once again, I urge House Republicans

to reopen the government,

restart the services Americans depend on,

and allow the public servants who have been sent home

to return to work.

This is only going to happen when Republicans realize

they don't get to hold the entire economy hostage

over ideological demands.

As I've said repeatedly, I am prepared to work

with Democrats and Republicans

to do the things we need to do

to grow the economy and create jobs,

and get our fiscal house in order over the long run.

Although I should add this shutdown isn't about deficits,

or spending, or budgets.

After all, our deficits are falling

at the fastest pace in 50 years.

We've cut them in half since I took office.

In fact, many of the demands the Republicans are now making

would actually raise our deficits.

No, this shutdown is not about deficits,

it's not about budgets.

This shutdown is about rolling back our efforts

to provide health insurance to folks who don't have it.

It's all about rolling back the Affordable Care Act.

This, more than anything else,

seems to be what the Republican Party stands for these days.

I know it's strange that one party would make keeping people

uninsured the centerpiece of their agenda,

but that apparently is what it is.

And of course, what's stranger still is that shutting down

our government doesn't accomplish their stated goal.

The Affordable Care Act is a law that passed the House;

it passed the Senate.

The Supreme Court ruled it constitutional.

It was a central issue in last year's election.

It is settled, and it is here to stay.

And because of its funding sources,

it's not impacted by a government shutdown.

And these Americans are here with me today because,

even though the government is closed,

a big part of the Affordable Care Act

is now open for business.

And for them, and millions like them,

this is a historic day for a good reason.

It's been a long time coming, but today,

Americans who have been forced to go without insurance can now

visit healthcare.gov and enroll in affordable new plans

that offer quality coverage.

That starts today.

And people will have six months to sign up.

So over the next six months,

people are going to have the opportunity --

in many cases, for the first time in their lives --

to get affordable coverage that they desperately need.

Now, of course, if you're one of the 85 percent of Americans

who already have health insurance,

you don't need to do a thing.

You're already benefiting from new benefits and protections

that have been in place for some time under this law.

But for the 15 percent of Americans

who don't have health insurance,

this opportunity is life-changing.

Let me just tell folks a few stories

that are represented here today.

A few years ago, Amanda Barrett left her job in New York

to take care of her parents.

And for a while, she had temporary insurance

that covered her multiple sclerosis.

But when it expired,

many insurers wouldn't cover her because of her MS.

And she ended up paying $1,200 a month.

That's nowhere near affordable.

So starting today, she can get covered for much less,

because today's new plan can't use your medical history

to charge you more than anybody else.

Sky-high premiums once forced Nancy Beigel

to choose between paying her rent

or paying for health insurance.

She's been uninsured ever since.

So she pays all of her medical bills out of pocket,

puts some on her credit card, making them even harder to pay.

Nancy says, "They talk about those

who fall through the cracks.

I fell through the cracks 10 years ago

and I've been stuck there ever since."

Well, starting today, Nancy can get covered

just like everybody else.

Trinace Edwards was laid off from her job a year ago today.

Six months ago, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

She couldn't afford insurance on the individual market,

so she hasn't received treatment yet.

Her daughter Lenace, a student at the University of Maryland,

is considering dropping out of school

to help pay her mom's bills.

Well, starting today, thanks to the Affordable Care Act,

Trinace can get covered without forcing her daughter

to give up on her dreams.

So if these stories of hardworking Americans

sound familiar to you, well, starting today,

you and your friends and your family and your coworkers

can get covered, too.

Just visit healthcare.gov,

and there you can compare insurance plans, side by side,

the same way you'd shop for a plane ticket on Kayak

or a TV on Amazon.

You enter some basic information,

you'll be presented with a list of quality,

affordable plans that are available in your area,

with clear descriptions of what each plan covers,

and what it will cost.

You'll find more choices, more competition,

and in many cases, lower prices --

most uninsured Americans will find that they can get covered

for $100 or less.

And you don't have to take my word for it.

Go on the website, healthcare.gov,

check it out for yourself.

And then show it to your family and your friends

and help them get covered,

just like mayors and churches and community groups

and companies are already fanning out to do

across the country.

And there's a hotline where you can apply over the phone

and get help with the application,

or just get questions that you have answered by real people,

in 150 different languages.

So let me give you that number.

The number is 1-800-318-2596 --

1-800-318-2596.

Check out healthcare.gov.

Call that number.

Show your family and friends how to use it.

And we can get America covered, once and for all,

so that the struggles that these folks have gone through

and millions around the country have gone through for years

finally get addressed.

And let me just remind people

why I think this is so important.

I heard a striking statistic yesterday --

if you get cancer,

you are 70 percent more likely to live another five years

if you have insurance than if you don't.

Think about that.

That is what it means to have health insurance.

Set aside the issues of security and finances

and how you're impacted by that,

the stress involved in not knowing whether or not

you're going to have health care.

This is life-or-death stuff.

Tens of thousands of Americans die each year

just because they don't have health insurance.

Millions more live with the fear

that they'll go broke if they get sick.

And today, we begin to free millions

of our fellow Americans from that fear.

Already, millions of young adults have been able

to stay on their parents' plans until they turn 26.

Millions of seniors already have gotten a discount

on their prescription medicines.

Already millions of families have actually received rebates

from insurance companies that didn't spend enough

on their health care.

So this law means more choice, more competition,

lower costs for millions of Americans.

And this law doesn't just mean economic security

for our families.

It means we're finally addressing the biggest drivers

of our long-term deficits.

It means a stronger economy.

Remember most Republicans have made a whole bunch

of predictions about this law that haven't come true.

There are no "death panels."

Costs haven't skyrocketed;

they're growing at the slowest rate in 50 years.

The last three years

since I signed the Affordable Care Act into law

are the three slowest rates of health spending growth

on record.

And contrary to Republican claims,

this law hasn't "destroyed" our economy.

Over the past three and a half years,

our businesses have created 7.5 million new jobs.

Just today, we learned that our manufacturers are growing

at the fastest rate in two and a half years.

They have factored in the Affordable Care Act.

They don't think it's a problem.

What's weighing on the economy is not the Affordable Care Act,

but the constant series of crises and the unwillingness

to pass a reasonable budget by a faction of the Republican Party.

Now, like every new law, every new product rollout,

there are going to be some glitches in the signup process

along the way that we will fix.

I've been saying this from the start.

For example, we found out

that there have been times this morning

where the site has been running more slowly

than it normally will.

The reason is because more than one million people visited

healthcare.gov before 7:00 in the morning.

To put that in context, there were five times more users