Boehner: Judge Congress on how many laws it repeals

Fredreka Schouten | USA TODAY

WASHINGTON -- House Speaker John Boehner says Congress "should not be judged on how many new laws we create" but on "how many laws ... we repeal."

The Ohio Republican's remarks were part of an interview that aired Sunday on CBS' Face the Nation in which he was asked why Congress had accomplished so little.

The country already has "more laws than the administration ever could enforce," Boehner said.

Boehner's comments came just days after the House voted to delay two key provisions of the 2010 health care law: the requirement that most individuals purchase health insurance and a mandate that larger employers provide insurance to their workers or face penalties.

The Obama administration had already taken action earlier this month to delay the employer mandate by one year.

Last week's actions brought to 39 the number of times the House has voted to kill or delay the law. Sunday, Boehner promised more efforts to derail the Affordable Care Act. "This is not good for the country, and we are going to stay on it," he said.

Boehner also acknowledged that Congress' actions may be unpopular.

"We are divided government. We are fighting for what we believe in," he said. "Sometimes the American people don't like this mess."

Contributing: The Associated Press