Tom Howell Jr.
Articles by Tom Howell Jr.
Bernard Sanders spat with DNC over Hillary Clinton data breach stretches on
Sen. Bernard Sanders' bizarre spat with the Democratic National Committee stretched into a fourth day Sunday, with the grass-roots contender for the 2016 nomination tempering apologies for staff who breached his rival's campaign files with new swipes at the party's leaders, saying they've treated him unfairly. Published December 20, 2015
Paul Ryan, House speaker, defends massive spending deal, brushes off conservative critics
Paul Ryan said Sunday an end-of-year deal to fund the government and solidify hundreds of billions of dollars of tax relief was a "cake already baked" before he stepped into leadership. Published December 20, 2015
Bernie Sanders calls Donald Trump a ‘pathological liar,’ toggles between apology and gripes over DNC
Sen. Bernard Sanders on Sunday called GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump a "pathological liar" who is using minority groups as a scapegoat for America's problems. Published December 20, 2015
Donald Trump blasts Hillary Clinton on IS recruitment claim, defends embrace of Vladimir Putin
Donald Trump on Sunday said Hillary Rodham Clinton fabricated claims that the Islamic State is using his comments to recruit militants. Published December 20, 2015
Mitch McConnell, Senate majority leader, won’t hit back at Ted Cruz
Mitch McConnell said Sunday he is "tuning out" the 2016 presidential race that features a quartet of his own GOP troops, including a junior senator from Texas who frequently rails against his leadership. Published December 20, 2015
Rand Paul, Kentucky senator, hits GOP presidential rivals, says his campaign will ‘shock’ pollsters
Sen. Rand Paul questioned Donald Trump's commitment to limited government Sunday and said the business mogul's stature has been artificially inflated by "American Idol"-type polls that kick up a flurry of media exposure. Published December 20, 2015
HealthCare.gov grabs 6 million customers
Roughly 6 million people selected a health plan on HealthCare.gov in time to be covered on Jan. 1, the Obama administration said Friday, boasting of a "very strong start" to the Obamacare signup season that outpaces last year's effort to beat a crucial mid-December deadline. Published December 18, 2015
Mitch McConnell takes 2015 victory lap
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell closed out his first year in charge of the Senate with a victory lap Friday, saying bipartisan passage of a spending and tax-relief package caps a productive year in the upper chamber after years of gridlock. Published December 18, 2015
Congress passes $1 trillion spending bill, dodges shutdown crisis
Congress cleared a nearly $2 trillion package to fund the government and extend popular tax breaks while increasing the federal deficit by hundreds of billions, angering conservatives even as a host of Republicans linked arms with Democrats to usher the compromise to President Obama's desk and avert a Christmastime crisis. Published December 18, 2015
Puerto Rico bankruptcy plea raises Democrat argument on spending bill in Congress
Puerto Rico, an island U.S. territory facing a sea of red ink, has become an unlikely flashpoint in Congress' end-of-year scramble to fund the government for fiscal year 2016. Published December 17, 2015
House OKs more than $600B in tax cuts
The House approved a $620 billion deal Thursday that solidifies a laundry list of tax breaks for businesses and families while pausing Obamacare's tax on medical device sales, part of a one-two punch against the overhaul as Congress scrambles to finish its work before the year ends. Published December 17, 2015
Congress upsets Obamacare math, delays taxes needed to cover costs of generous new benefits
Congress is poised to take the first major bites out of Obamacare's finances this week when it postpones a series of taxes intended to pay for the hefty overhaul — defying President Obama's pleas to leave his signature domestic achievement alone. Published December 16, 2015
HealthCare.gov signups crest 4M as deadline nears
At least 4.1 million people have selected a 2016 health plan on HealthCare.gov, according to an Obamacare update released Wednesday that says more than 1 million people signed up in the last week alone. Published December 16, 2015
Lifting oil ban tops list of Democratic ‘concerns’ with spending bill
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday that lifting the decades-old ban on U.S. oil exports will cost jobs and is among a series of problems that Democrats have with a $1.1 trillion spending bill that Republicans posted in the dead of night. Published December 16, 2015
Congress closes in on budget deal to fund government
Congressional leaders agreed Tuesday to a sweeping deal that would fund the government through October, extend a package of popular tax breaks and lift the decades-old ban on U.S. oil exports -- a key policy win for GOP lawmakers who nonetheless said they didn't get everything they wanted out of the deal. Published December 15, 2015
Obamacare customers given two more days to sign up
The Obama administration late Tuesday said last-minute Obamacare customers would have two more days to select a plan on HealthCare.gov and be covered in time for the new year. Published December 15, 2015
Harry Reid: Lifting oil-export ban is last piece of funding puzzle
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday he's ready to strike a massive funding deal with Republicans that ends the ban on U.S. oil exports, so long as Democrats get something in return. Published December 15, 2015
White House touts Obamacare in year-end push
The administration on Monday told the uninsured to log onto HealthCare.gov and select a plan within 24 hours so they are covered by Jan. 1 and avoid a tax penalty under Obamacare. Published December 14, 2015
7 in 10 Kentuckians want to keep Medicaid expansion
More than 70 percent of Kentuckians don't want Gov.-elect Matt Bevin to scale back the state's Medicaid program, according to a survey released Friday that paints a complex portrait of Obamacare politics as the Republican takes charge. Published December 11, 2015
House passes funding bill to stave off shutdown, buy 5 days for deal
The House beat a midnight deadline Friday and passed a bill to fund the government for five more days, giving negotiators daylight to finalize a $1.1 trillion deal to fund federal agencies for one year and avert a holiday-season shutdown. Published December 11, 2015
