March 29, 2012

From WDBJ7: The nation's attention was focused on the Supreme Court this week, as the nine justices considered President Obama's health care overhaul. Wednesday, Sixth District Congressman Bob Goodlatte was in the courtroom as the oral arguments came to an end. Goodlatte said he has attended Supreme Court arguments before, but not in "quite a while." Wednesday, he said it was "a great experience" to hear the justices in person, as they peppered the attorneys with questions. Goodlatte spoke with reporters during a conference call Wednesday afternoon. "The time goes by very quickly because the justices don't hesitate to interrupt and you don't hear the attorneys making their arguments for more than a minute or two before the justices jump in and start asking questions," Goodlatte said. Goodlatte said he was able to attend after the Supreme Court reached out to Congress and offered members a handful of tickets. After months of debate and town hall meetings dominated by the issue, he said it was a rare opportunity he didn't want to miss. Goodlatte opposes the health care law, and said he is "cautiously optimistic" that major elements of the plan will be ruled unconstitutional.