Tom Howell Jr.
Articles by Tom Howell Jr.
Mitch McConnell touts GOP progress, ignores Donald Trump
Barreling into a thorny election season, Republican leader Mitch McConnell said America's decision to entrust the Senate to his party in 2014 been a resounding success and should continue in the new year. Published September 29, 2016
Obama administration wants to use IRS to hawk Obamacare
The administration wants to use the IRS to hawk Obamacare, drawing fire from Republicans, who fear President Obama is turning the tax agency into part of his political operation by enlisting it in the health care effort. Published September 28, 2016
Senate passes bill to avert government shutdown
The Senate cleared its pre-election agenda Wednesday by passing a bill to stave off a government shutdown and combat the Zika virus, after leaders from both parties broke a stalemate over funds for the Flint, Michigan, water crisis. Published September 28, 2016
Senate blocks bill to avert government shutdown
Congress hurtled toward a government shutdown after Senate Democrats led a filibuster Tuesday, blocking a stopgap spending bill that funded the fight against Zika and addressed flooding in Louisiana, West Virginia and Maryland, but offered no money for Michigan residents affected by lead-tainted water. Published September 27, 2016
Flint water aid spending bill’s sticking point
Democrats who held out for a better deal on Zika spending are now demanding money for Michigan residents suffering from lead-tainted water, hoping to squeeze Republican leaders who are relying on Democratic cooperation to avoid a government shutdown after the fiscal year ends Friday. Published September 26, 2016
Postal Service unwittingly fuels opioid epidemic by delivering foreign drugs right to U.S. doorsteps
The new drug mules aren't gang members or down-and-out ex-cons or even children trying to make a quick buck. Published September 26, 2016
Harry Reid: Media, GOP not holding ‘racist’ Donald Trump to account
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid flatly called Donald Trump a "racist" from the Senate floor Monday and blasted the media and Republicans for not using the term in discussing the GOP presidential nominee. Published September 26, 2016
Government report: 500,000 girls in U.S. at risk of genital mutilation
More than half a million women and girls in the U.S. are at risk of genital mutilation, according to a government report Thursday that says federal agencies could do more to prevent or report the practice among immigrant communities. Published September 22, 2016
Senate GOP floats plan to avert government shutdown, but Dems vow to block
With negotiations stalling, Senate Republicans offered a plan Thursday to keep the government open on stopgap funding through Dec. 9 -- but Democrats said they'll oppose it, setting up yet another shutdown showdown next week. Published September 22, 2016
Maker of EpiPen defends price hikes
The CEO of Mylan Pharmaceuticals defended the rising cost of her company's lifesaving EpiPens to Congress on Wednesday, rejecting demands that she slash the price, though she insisted help is available for low-income patients and those with skimpy health care coverage. Published September 21, 2016
Health care failures drive talk of public option
Rejected during the 2009 Obamacare debate as too controversial and unnecessary, the public option -- in which the government offers insurance that competes directly with private and nonprofit plans -- has been resurrected this year by Democrats who say it's the only way to rescue President Obama's struggling health care law. Published September 20, 2016
EpiPen price hike siphoned millions from government: report
The skyrocketing cost of EpiPens is not just socking consumers, it's also siphoning more money from the government, which spent more than 10 times as much on the allergy treatment in 2014 than it did seven years prior, a nonpartisan analysis said Tuesday. Published September 20, 2016
Zika threat eliminated in ‘ground zero’ Florida neighborhood
Mosquitoes are no longer spreading Zika in the Miami neighborhood that had been "ground zero" for transmission in the continental U.S. this summer, officials said Monday, saying they conquered the disease with aggressive spraying and careful disease-tracking. Published September 19, 2016
Rick Scott, Florida governor: Miami neighborhood now Zika-free
The first neighborhood to see mosquito-borne Zika cases in the continental U.S. is no longer an active area of transmission, Florida Gov. Rick Scott said Monday, even as federal officials expand the zone of risk in nearby Miami Beach. Published September 19, 2016
California Democrats trying to circumvent Obamacare ban on illegal immigrants
California Democrats are testing the bounds of Obamacare's "innovation" waiver, pushing to bypass the 2010 law's ban on illegal immigrants' participation by letting them purchase insurance on the state's health care exchange. Published September 15, 2016
House Dems: Obamacare still beats pre-2010 marketplace
The Obama administration and its Democratic allies defended the 2010 health law's struggles Wednesday as the natural growing pains of an ambitious program, saying it remains a net plus compared to the pre-Obamacare era. Published September 14, 2016
Congress set to grill Mylan CEO over skyrocketing cost of EpiPens
Congress will ask the CEO of Mylan Pharmaceuticals next week to justify the company's decision to jack up the price of its life-saving EpiPens, saying American families deserve answers. Published September 14, 2016
Florida Republicans urge House to borrow $1 billion to fight Zika virus
Florida Republicans urged House colleagues Tuesday to wave the white flag and borrow more than $1 billion to combat the Zika virus, saying efforts to stave off birth defects tied to the disease outweigh election-year concerns about the deficit. Published September 13, 2016
Census: Uninsured rate dropped to 9.1 percent in 2015
Four million more Americans held health insurance in 2015 than in 2014, according to Census report Tuesday that found 29 million people were still not covered and that Hispanics lagged behind other race or ethnic groups in getting covered, despite widespread gains attributed to Obamacare. Published September 13, 2016
Hillary Clinton email server investigation leads to oversight subpoena of FBI
House GOP investigators probing Hillary Clinton's use of private email at the State Department accused the Obama administration Monday of operating like a "banana republic" by withholding or blacking out documents tied to the FBI's decision not to prosecute the Democratic presidential nominee. Published September 12, 2016
