WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama says congressional critics of the 3-year-old health care law known as Obamacare have become more irresponsible in their attempts to kill it the closer the law comes to full implementation.
Obama on Thursday set out to pitch the law known as Obamacare, five days before the start of a six-month sign-up period for millions of uninsured Americans.
House Republicans are inserting provisions that undermine the health care law into a short-term spending measure needed to avoid a government shutdown on Oct. 1 and into legislation that would increase the government's borrowing ability, which the Treasury says will hit its limit in mid-October.
Obama said, "That's not going to happen as long as I'm president." He says critics are "threatening steps that actually would hurt our entire economy."
The White House says Obama will explain Thursday how Americans can comparison shop for insurance that meets their needs.
A six-month enrollment period for the exchanges starts Tuesday. The Obama administration needs millions of Americans -- especially young, healthy people -- to sign up in order to keep costs low for everyone.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who wants the law repealed, dismissed Obama's planned speech as "happy talk." He said skeptical Americans were tuning Obama out.
