JUDY WOODRUFF:

The president and his administration continued to defend and explain their approach to the health care law and its troubled website today.

President Obama met at the White House this afternoon with 16 senators on that subject, a dozen of them Democrats, and most facing competitive reelection contests in 2014.

Earlier, on Capitol Hill, the Cabinet secretary overseeing the new law ran into tough questions again.

NewsHour congressional correspondent Kwame Holman reports.

KATHLEEN SEBELIUS, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary: Now, some have asked, why not just delay implementation of the new law until all of the problems are fixed?