Tom Howell Jr.
Articles by Tom Howell Jr.
House GOP blow off flimsy deadline for fast-track Obamacare repeal
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Tuesday Republicans will blow past a deadline this week to report ways they could leverage a fast-track budget tool to send an Obamacare repeal bill to the White House. Published July 21, 2015
Senate strikes deal for long-term highway bill
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and a top Democrat said Tuesday they've struck a deal to fund road projects for years to come, cuing up a fast-moving debate ahead of a July 31 deadline to infuse cash into the nation's highway trust fund. Published July 21, 2015
Obamacare fraudulent claims cost government $2 billion
More than 700,000 Obamacare customers claimed tax credits for buying health care but didn't bother to file their taxes, potentially jilting the government out of $2 billion in bogus payments, the Senate's senior lawmaker said Monday. Published July 20, 2015
Ted Cruz takes aim at Congress’ Obamacare ‘exemption’
Sen. Ted Cruz, a vocal conservative running for president, will push to expose and prevent fellow members of Congress from "exempting" themselves from Obamacare this week, adding sparks to an already-fraught debate over a highway bill that needs to pass by July 31. Published July 20, 2015
John Roberts, Anthony Kennedy lose Republican favor over recent Supreme Court rulings
Republicans are fed up with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, giving them terrible marks in a new poll that captures just how disappointed the GOP faithful is with the Supreme Court after several major rulings last month. Published July 19, 2015
John Roberts, Anthony Kennedy hit sour notes with GOP after Supreme Court rulings: poll
Supreme Court justices John G. Roberts Jr. and Anthony Kennedy are more likely to get a thumbs-up from Democrats than Republicans even though they were appointed by GOP presidents, according to polling that reflects the fallout from two major decisions in the latest term. Published July 17, 2015
Senate passes rewrite of No Child Left Behind
Both chambers of Congress have now voted to scrap much of the Bush-era No Child Left Behind education plan, meaning the government will continue to ship billions of dollars to states, but will cut or loosen many of the strings attached to the funding. Published July 16, 2015
Ron Wyden: No actual fraud in Obamacare fake-enrollee study
An undercover operation that snuck nearly a dozen fake Obamacare enrollees into taxpayer-subsidized plans is proof the administration will pad the law's numbers at any cost, Republicans charged Thursday, although a top Democrat argued the stark findings didn't amount to real fraud. Published July 16, 2015
House passes short-term highway fix; Congress’ plans still in flux before July 31 deadline
The House approved $8 billion in highway funding Wednesday to keep projects moving through December and buy enough time to negotiate the six-year roads bill that both parties actually want. Published July 15, 2015
Nearly a dozen fake HealthCare.gov enrollees kept plans in 2015: GAO report
Fake Obamacare enrollees were able to sign up for subsidized plans and to renew them for a second year, the government's top watchdog reported Wednesday, exposing embarrassing holes and potential fraud in President Obama's signature health care law. Published July 15, 2015
Ted Cruz and tea partyers: Let the Ex-Im Bank stay dead
Sen. Ted Cruz and other conservatives told GOP leaders Wednesday not to let Congress revive the federal Export-Import Bank, an agency that financed the sale of U.S. goods overseas for decades but is creeping toward a slow death, after lawmakers failed to renew its charter by the June 30 deadline. Published July 15, 2015
Ted Cruz defends ‘bold, brash’ Donald Trump ahead of sit-down
Sen. Ted Cruz defended fellow presidential candidate Donald Trump Wednesday ahead of his sit-down later in the day with the business mogul, saying the rest of the 2016 field simply is scared of his "bold, brash voice." Published July 15, 2015
House Republicans want 5-month highway funding extension
Key House Republicans have filed legislation to extend federal highway funding for five months, casting it as a way to keep road projects moving beyond a July 31 deadline while buying enough time to fund the six-year bill that both parties want. Published July 14, 2015
Federal appeals court refuses nuns’ plea for relief from birth-control mandate
A federal appeals court ruled against a group of nuns who objected to Obamacare's birth-control mandate Tuesday, disappointing advocates who say the administration is pushing around a religious charity, and who viewed the case as their best remaining shot to force a showdown before the Supreme Court. Published July 14, 2015
House GOP files short-term highway extension
Key House Republicans have posted legislation to extend federal highway funding for five months, casting it as a way to keep road projects moving beyond a July 31 deadline while buying enough time to fund the six-year bill that both parties want. Published July 14, 2015
Scott Walker campaign to repeal Obamacare begins
Led by Gov. Scott Walker, Wisconsin resisted a full embrace of Obamacare, settling instead on a novel approach that kicked some people off Medicaid while using the health subsidies as a way of making sure residents had some avenue to obtain coverage. Published July 13, 2015
Obama skirts Supreme Court Hobby Lobby birth-control ruling
The Obama administration on Friday tried to extinguish lingering concerns about Obamacare's birth-control mandate, issuing final rules on how closely held corporations and religious nonprofits can opt out. Published July 10, 2015
Paul Ryan: We’re ‘retooling’ use of budget process to attack Obamacare after Supreme Court ruling
House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan said Friday he still wants to use a fast-track budget process to repeal all or part of Obamacare, although a Supreme Court ruling that didn't go his way has forced Republicans to "retool" their approach. Published July 10, 2015
Paul Ryan says he’s working on an $8 billion short-term highway extension
House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan said Friday he is working on an $8 billion extension of a federal road-building fund to keep money flowing past a July 31 deadline and inch closer to the definitive, six-year highway bill that both parties want. Published July 10, 2015
House passes bill to speed up medical cures
The House passed a bill Friday to bolster medical discoveries and speed drugs from the lab to patients, easily overcoming ripples of opposition from both parties. Published July 10, 2015
