BETHESDA, Md. (AP) — President Barack Obama is meeting with wounded service members from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

Obama traveled to the hospital outside Washington by helicopter a few hours after the Supreme Court ruled on his health care law.

The White House says the president met with 52 wounded troops and awarded one Purple Heart during his stay. It was Obama’s first visit to the hospital since early March.

Obama has occasionally visited service members wounded in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. He has touted his efforts to bring home U.S. combat troops from Iraq and wind down the conflict in Afghanistan while urging lawmakers to promote job opportunities for veterans.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)