Tom Howell Jr.
Articles by Tom Howell Jr.
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
Congress rushes to pass spending extension to avert shutdown
The White House practically dared congressional Republicans Thursday to shut down the government over "ideologically motivated" proposals they want to attach to a must-pass government spending bill, even as President Obama's Democratic allies roiled the delicate talks by demanding an end to a ban on federal research into the causes of gun violence. Published December 10, 2015
Paul Ryan downplays hiccups in funding talks
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan insisted Thursday that an ever-slipping deadline to fund the government and avert a Christmastime shutdown is the byproduct of attempts to "get it right" before a looming holiday break. Published December 10, 2015
House leaders introduce short-term bill to keep government open as spending talks continue
House Republicans introduced a short-term spending bill Wednesday to fund the government through Wednesday next week, buying negotiators enough time to blow by a weekend deadline and avoid a federal shutdown as they hammer out a long-term deal. Published December 9, 2015
Obamacare co-op in Maine to suspend 2016 enrollment
An Obamacare co-op that offered one of the program's few success stories said Wednesday it will suspend enrollment for 2016, marking another black eye for nonprofit plans that were supposed to give consumers a leg up in the marketplace. Published December 9, 2015
Vincent Gray, former D.C. mayor, will face no charges after yearslong corruption probe
Former D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray will not face charges in a long-running corruption investigation into his successful 2010 campaign, federal prosecutors said Wednesday, ending a probe that uncovered years of financial malfeasance in city campaigns and resulted in a dozen criminal convictions. Published December 9, 2015
Senate passes rewrite of No Child Left Behind law
Congress approved a rewrite of the No Child Left Behind education law Wednesday as lawmakers from both sides of the aisle linked arms to retreat from expansive national tests and return to states the decisions on how students, teachers and schools will be judged. Published December 9, 2015
7.1 million would pay more in Obamacare, testing strength of ‘individual mandate’: report
Roughly 7 million Americans would have to pay more for the cheapest Obamacare plan available to them than to satisfy the sharply rising tax penalty for going uninsured in 2016, according to a new analysis that looked at the economic trade-offs of the administration's main tool to prod people into the new marketplace. Published December 9, 2015
Health official insists Obamacare exchanges are sustainable; GOP critics skeptical
The man closest to the implementation of Obamacare told Congress that the handful of states with their own Obamacare exchanges are self-sustaining and doing a slightly better job at cutting their ranks of uninsured than states that rely on the federal HealthCare.gov website. Published December 8, 2015
GOP leaders say they won’t meet Dec. 11 funding deadline
House Republican leaders said Tuesday that Congress must pass a stopgap funding bill this week to bypass Friday's deadline to fund the government and avert a federal shutdown. Published December 8, 2015
Sen. Harry Reid: Trump running on a ‘platform of hate’
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid unleashed on Donald Trump and his fellow Republican candidates for president Tuesday, saying the GOP front-runner is "saying out loud what other Republicans merely suggest." Published December 8, 2015
Paul Ryan says Congress may miss Friday funding deadline
House Speaker Paul Ryan warned Monday that Congress might not meet a Friday deadline to fund the government and approve a series of tax breaks for firms and individuals, meaning its lengthy to-do list could nudge up against Capitol Hill's holiday break. Published December 7, 2015
