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 Makes U-Turn After Christie Tongue-Lashing

By David Lawder and Ian Simpson, Reuters

House Speaker John Boehner made a U-turn on Wednesday to clear the way for approval of $60 billion in Superstorm Sandy relief by mid-January after drawing withering fire from fellow Republicans,...
‘Doc Fix’ Will Cut Medicare Hospital Payments

By Mary Agnes Carey, Kaiser Health News

Legislation passed by Congress New Year’s Day to avert the dreaded “fiscal cliff” would stop a scheduled payment cut in Medicare physician payments. But hospitals, which have to bear a major part of...
Fractious GOP House Passes Senate Tax 'Cliff' Bill

By Josh Boak and Eric Pianin, The Fiscal Times

GOP civil war broke out on Capitol Hill during New Year’s Day as House Republicans initially spurned a Senate-passed fiscal cliff deal brokered by Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky...
Why Eight Senators Voted Against the ‘Cliff’ Deal

By Brianna Ehley, The Fiscal Times

Just eight Senators voted against the McConnell-Biden fiscal cliff package early Tuesday. Among the eight are three Democrats and five Republicans, all of whom were eager to say why the deal put...
Details of Senate Fiscal Cliff Tax Deal

By Eric Pianin

Here is a summary of the fiscal cliff agreement approved by the Senate early Tuesday morning by a vote of 89 to 8. The House is set to vote on the plan today, and this is not a slam dunk. Many house...

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