Congress

One More Try? Why Obamacare Repeal Is on the Horizon Again

By Rob Garver

The effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, which many assumed was dead or at least in a state of suspended animation for the foreseeable future, may be showing some stirring of life...
Trump Takes on a Powerful Leader, but This Time It’s on Capitol Hill

By Rob Garver

President Trump was obviously angry. The target of his ire was a man who has been aggravating him for a long time by ignoring his demands, refusing to work through the president’s chosen...
Heads Up: Health Care Is Still in Trouble

By Rob Garver

The issue of the US health insurance system was taken off the front burner with the evident failure of the Republican effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. But while it may not be in...
Here’s How Trump Could Get Democrats’ Help on Tax Reform

By Rob Garver

The Trump administration has been reaching out to ‘Blue Dog’ Democrats to talk about possible areas of agreement on tax reform.
Congress Is Constructing a Wall, All Right. But It’s Built Around Trump

By Rob Garver

Like a body’s immune system trying to wall off an abscess, the institutions of the federal government seem to be coming together to block, or at least limit, the influence of the president on the...

The US Spends Billions on Cybersecurity — but No One Is Sure Exactly How Much

By Eric Pianin

There is no universally accepted definition of what cybersecurity actually means. Moreover, the public and even lawmakers don’t have a clue as to how much the government is actually spending overall...
How Could the VA Make $5.5 Billion in Improper Payments Last Year?

By Eric Pianin

Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri has been on a tear recently in going after government fraud and waste. The ranking Democrat on the Senate’s chief oversight committee and a former state auditor in...
Congress Just Handed Trump Bragging Rights on Expanded GI Education Benefits

By Eric Pianin

For a chief executive preparing to leave town on a 17-day summer vacation after suffering a humiliating setback on health care reform, President Trump will be able to claim some bragging rights when...
Top GOP Conservative: We Won’t Play Around With the Debt Ceiling

By Rob Garver

When it comes to the perennial fight to raise the federal debt ceiling, it’s usually best to assume that the struggle to give the Treasury Department clearance to actually pay the debts that the...
Why Republicans Are Going It Alone on Tax Cuts

By Eric Pianin

Republicans made it clear on Tuesday that despite their debacle in pressing for health care reform without any Democratic assistance, they would again go their own way in drafting and passing major...

Boehner Under Siege from Conservative Groups

By Eric Pianin

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) is under siege again from conservative Republican groups for failing to extract spending cuts or policy concessions from President Obama in return for passing...
Tax Reform is Dead Until a New President Is Elected

By Bruce Bartlett, The Fiscal Times

The Senate Finance Committee is generally considered to be the most powerful Senate committee. Its jurisdiction covers not only tax policy, but trade and entitlement programs such as Social Security...
Democrats Will Try to Force Vote on Minimum Wage Hike

By Rob Garver

Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives said on Thursday that they will use an obscure legislative gambit to try to force a floor vote on a measure to raise the federal minimum wage to $10...
The ‘New and Improved’ Ted Cruz Infuriates His Colleagues Again

By Eric Pianin

After battling with Senate Republicans for much of 2013, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) appeared to be getting along well with most of his GOP colleagues. But it was back to business as usual on Wednesday when...
CBO Has the Unusual History of Frustrating Presidents

By Rob Garver

Last week’s Congressional Budget Office report that put the administration on its heels over Obamacare creating disincentives to work wasn’t the first time the small agency has made big waves.

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