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Tom Howell Jr.

Tom Howell Jr.

Tom Howell Jr. covers politics and the White House for The Washington Times. He can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.

Articles by Tom Howell Jr.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, Wisconsin Republican, listens during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 22, 2016, following a House Republican caucus meeting. (Associated Press) **FILE**

GOP tax plan would slash rates, simplify code

House Republicans called for a "fairer" and "flatter" tax code Friday, saying Americans should be split into fewer income brackets and file their returns on something as simple as a postcard. Published June 24, 2016

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nev. listens at left as Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 21, 2016, following their policy luncheon. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Zika funding bill may be doomed by impasse in Congress

A House-passed deal to combat the Zika virus might be doomed in the Senate, where Democrats say it is not enough to stem the mosquito-borne threat and help pregnant women whose unborn children might develop defects in the womb. Published June 23, 2016

In this image from video provided by House Television, House Speaker Paul Ryan stands at the podium as he brings the House into session Wednesday night, June 22, 2016, in Washington. Rebellious Democrats staged an extraordinary all-day sit-in on the House floor to demand votes on gun-control bills, shouting down Ryan when he attempted to restore order as their protest stretched into the night. The sit-in was well into its 10th hour, with Democrats camped out on the floor stopping legislative business in the House, when Ryan stepped to the podium to gavel the House into session and hold votes on routine business. Angry Democrats chanted No bill, no break! and waved pieces of paper with the names of gun victims, continuing their protest in the well of the House even as the House voted on a previously scheduled and unrelated measure to overturn an Obama veto. (House Television via AP)

Democrats end gun-control sit-in on House floor

House Democrats wrapped up a daylong sit-in Thursday without winning concessions on gun control, leaving town empty-handed after Republicans accused them of co-opting the chamber floor for a "publicity stunt" designed to fill party coffers. Published June 23, 2016

In this Monday, May 23, 2016 photo, an Aedes aegypti mosquito is kept in a glass tube at the Fiocruz institute which has been screening for mosquitos naturally infected with the Zika virus in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. For every 100 pregnancies involving women infected early in their pregnancy, 1 percent to 15 percent will develop severe birth defects, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Deal on Zika funding reached by congressional negotiators

Congressional negotiators agreed Wednesday to a package that posts $1.1 billion to combat the Zika virus, a mosquito-borne illness that can cause serious birth defect in infants born to infected mothers. Published June 22, 2016

Rio de Janierio Olympic officials are pressing on with preps for the Summer Games, saying that the Southern Hemisphere's winter months will allow time for instituting measures to head off Zika virus concerns. (Associated Press)

Rory McIlroy to forgo Rio Olympics as Zika fears hang over Summer Games

Olympic officials are forging ahead with the Summer Games in the country where the ominous Zika outbreak began, betting the Brazilian winter and months of prep work will triumph over disease-carrying insects and critics who say the event could scatter the virus across the globe. Published June 22, 2016

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan announces a Republican plan to repeal and replace President Obama's health care law. (Associated Press)

GOP formally unveils its long-awaited health care plan

House Republicans launched an uphill bid Wednesday to redo national health care reform amid withering criticism from the White House and Democrats, who said the GOP's long-awaited plan lacks details and that Obamacare already insures millions of people. Published June 22, 2016

Spearheaded by House Speaker Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, the proposal is an election-year blueprint rather than a bill. (Associated Press)

Republicans to unveil Obamacare alternative after six-year wait

House Republicans will unveil a health plan Wednesday that has been six years in the making, calling for an end to the heavy mandates and government-run exchanges of Obamacare in favor of incentives designed to entice customers into private-market plans. Published June 21, 2016

Carlos Franco looks at mosquitoes through a microscope to identify their genus and species at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven, Conn., on June 7, 2016. (Arnold Gold/New Haven Register via AP)

First Zika vaccine trials to begin within weeks

The first human trials for a vaccine against the Zika virus will begin within weeks, a pair of pharmaceutical companies said Monday, though a fully approved shot against the mosquito-borne disease could still be over a year away. Published June 20, 2016

House Speaker Paul Ryan, Wisconsin Republican, speaks at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington on June 9, 2016, to unveil the national security plank of the Republican agenda and discuss recommendations from their Congressional National Security Task Force. (Associated Press) **FILE**

House GOP: Congress must reclaim its powers

Congress has yielded too much power to a federal bureaucracy that is unaccountable to voters and enabled by deferential courts, House Republicans said Thursday in a plan that seeks to reclaim their power of the purse and force the executive branch to explain its actions. Published June 16, 2016

"This short-term funding resolution will keep the lights on in government and maintain current operations for a few days so Congress can complete and pass an agreement," said Rep. Harold Rogers, Kentucky Republican and chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. (Associated Press)

Zika funds cannot be added to deficit, GOP says

Congressional negotiators are crafting a deal that offers roughly a third to half of President Obama's $1.9 billion request to fight the mosquito-borne Zika virus, but the parties haven't agreed on whether to borrow the money or pay for it now with cuts elsewhere in the massive federal budget. Published June 15, 2016

In this photo taken Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014, Blue Bridge Benefits LLC agent Patricia Sarabia helps customers interested in Obama Care at a kiosk at Compare Foods in Winston-Salem, N.C. Such atypical approaches to selling health insurance policies are playing out across the country since the second round of open enrollment under the federal Affordable Care Act opened in mid-November. Insurance companies and some states are focusing heavily on signing up eligible Hispanics, a group that accounts for a large share of the nation's uninsured but largely avoided applying for coverage during the first full year the health care reform law was in effect. Hispanics accounted for just 11 percent of those who enrolled in the private policies sold during the initial sign-up period, which ended in March. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Rates projected to rise 10 percent on key Obamacare plans: Study

Obamacare premiums are projected to rise an average of 10 percent next year, according to a study of benchmark plans in more than a dozen cities, suggesting that the health care law's troubles will stretch well beyond President Obama's tenure. Published June 15, 2016

Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is calling for a $1.8 billion project to combat Aedes aegypti. (Associated Press) **FILE**

CDC chief begs Florida delegation for full Zika funding

The chief of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention begged Congress Wednesday to cough up funding to combat Zika virus, expressing clear frustration with a Florida Republican who accused the administration of failing to spend money it has wisely. Published June 15, 2016

Exterior of the U.S. Capitol (image from Architect of the Capitol) ** FILE **

Medical groups press Congress to move faster on Zika funding

The American Medical Association told Congress Tuesday to stop dragging its feet and post funds to combat the Zika virus, a mosquito-borne virus that causes birth defects and is threatening the U.S. mainland. Published June 14, 2016

House Speaker Paul Ryan, Wisconsin Republican, speaks at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington on June 9, 2016, to unveil the national security plank of the Republican agenda and discuss recommendations from their Congressional National Security Task Force. (Associated Press) **FILE**

House GOP: Scrap bad regulations, fine-tune good ones

Government regulations are important but often go too far, picking winners and losers in the economy and stifling innovation, the House GOP said Tuesday in an economic plan that promotes energy independence, an open internet and the end of taxpayer bailouts for Wall Street. Published June 14, 2016