WASHINGTON --

President Barack Obama's weekend media message is about the troubled health care website and he's asking people to give it a chance as experts work to fix it.

Obama vowed that "in the coming weeks, we are going to get it working as smoothly as it's supposed to." He assured citizens that "everyone who wants insurance through the marketplace will get it."

The administration says the website should be running much better by the end of November.

For the Republicans, Michigan Rep. Fred Upton, the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, wondered whether the website's troubles are a harbinger of what's ahead for the entire health care law.

He also asked how the administration can "punish innocent Americans by forcing them to buy a product many cannot afford, from a system that does not work?

Hi, everybody. A few weeks ago, we launched an important new part of the Affordable Care Act.

Its called the Marketplace. And for Americans without health insurance, and Americans who buy insurance on their own because they cant get it at work, its a very big deal.

If youre one of those people, the Affordable Care Act makes you part of a big group plan for the first time. The Marketplace is where you can apply and shop for affordable new health insurance choices. It gathers insurers under one system to compete for your business. And that choice and competition have actually helped bring prices down.

Ultimately, the easiest way to buy insurance in this Marketplace will be a new website, HealthCare.gov. But as you may have heard, the site isnt working the way its supposed to yet. Thats frustrating for all of us who have worked so hard to make sure everyone who needs it gets health care. And its especially frustrating for the Americans whove been trying to get covered. The site has been visited more than 20 million times so far. Nearly 700,000 people have applied for coverage already. That proves just how much demand there is for these new quality, affordable health care choices. And thats why, in the coming weeks, we are going to get it working as smoothly as its supposed to. Weve got people working overtime, 24/7, to boost capacity and address these problems, every single day.

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GOP, Obama address poor performing health care website