Tom Howell Jr.
Articles by Tom Howell Jr.
Obamacare repeal deadline set by GOP
Top GOP lawmakers in Congress have given themselves seven weeks to turn a powerful, if limited and unwieldy, budget tool into a long-sought bill to repeal Obamacare. Published June 7, 2015
Senate formally begins process to repeal Obamacare
The Senate Budget Committee sent formal instructions Friday to committees tasked with leveraging a fast-track budget tool to chalk up a major, if symbolic, GOP victory: the repeal of Obamacare. Published June 5, 2015
Ted Cruz: Empty witness table shows contempt for Americans
Sen. Ted Cruz blasted the Obama administration Thursday for refusing to let Treasury officials testify on how they interpreted the subsidy portion of Obamacare, a topic at the heart of a major Supreme Court decision due this month. Published June 4, 2015
GOP offers another Obamacare alternative
House conservatives unveiled another alternative to Obamacare Thursday, insisting market-oriented changes are better than the 2010 law's mandates and subsidies as Republicans try to coalesce around a permanent replacement. Published June 4, 2015
Marijuana votes signal growing support in Congress for legalized pot protections
Congress' openness toward marijuana use continues to grow, with the House voting Wednesday to prevent the Justice Department from meddling in states that allow medicinal use of the drug and signaling growing support for even broader protections of legalized pot. Published June 3, 2015
House votes to shield medical marijuana users from feds
The House voted Wednesday to ban federal drug agents from pursuing people who use medicinal marijuana where its legal, although a parallel and unprecedented effort to shield all state pot laws fell short by just 16 votes. Published June 3, 2015
Insurers seek hefty rate hikes ahead of Obamacare’s third year
Insurers are planning double-digit rate hikes ahead of Obamacare's third year, eliciting a told-you-so outcry from the law's opponents who said the health law is to blame for boosting the price of care and forcing those costs onto consumers. Published June 2, 2015
HHS: 10 million have paid Obamacare premiums
About 6.4 million people could lose their Obamacare subsidies if the Supreme Court rules against the administration later this month, according to an official update Tuesday that said more than 10 million Americans had effectuated their coverage by paying their premiums through the end of March. Published June 2, 2015
House panel votes to repeal Obamacare’s medical device tax
A powerful House committee approved a bill Tuesday to repeal Obamacare's medical device tax, a provision that's been criticized by members of both parties as a misguided way to pay for the health overhaul. Published June 2, 2015
Kevin McCarthy resists push to remove Dennis Hastert portrait from Capitol: ‘Premature’
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Monday addressed criminal charges against former Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, who was indicted by a grand jury this week on charges of hiding currency and lying to FBI officials about it. Published June 1, 2015
Kevin McCarthy to Senate: Just send our Patriot Act rewrite to Obama
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy told the Senate Monday to swiftly take up and pass a bipartisan rewrite of the Patriot Act that extends major snooping powers while curtailing its controversial record-collection provision, saying he has a "real concern for the safety of the U.S." after persistent roadblocks in the upper chamber allowed key anti-terror tools to expire. Published June 1, 2015
Supreme Court sides with Muslim teen over Abercrombie in headscarf case
The Supreme Court sided Monday with a Muslim teenager who couldn't get a job at Abercrombie and Fitch because her headscarf conflicted with the chain's dress policy, saying it is up to employers to accommodate religious practices even if candidates don't point out their needs. Published June 1, 2015
Federal judge skeptical of White House bid to toss John Boehner’s suit over Obamacare
A federal judge struggled Thursday with the administration's claim the House GOP is pushing an "abstract" lawsuit against Obamacare that should be tossed, signaling she'll take a hard look at Speaker John A. Boehner's controversial bid to highlight the separation of powers between Congress and the presidency -- and the judiciary's right to referee their disputes. Published May 28, 2015
Obamacare foes seek end to losing streak at Supreme Court
Obamacare opponents have been on a losing streak in federal courts over the past year, suffering setbacks as judges have ruled against them on challenges to the health care law's constitutionality and efforts to carve out protections from its birth control rules on faith-based employers. Published May 27, 2015
U.S. Capitol being evacuated
The U.S. Capitol was reopened Tuesday afternoon after having been evacuated for an hour in an apparent false fire alarm that sent hundreds of workers streaming from the seat of government. Published May 26, 2015
Florida Gov. Rick Scott decries Obama strong-arm tactics on health care funding
Florida lawmakers say they're closer to averting a government shutdown this summer after the Obama administration moved to defuse a health-funding standoff with Republican Gov. Rick Scott that has featured a lawsuit, comparisons to a TV mob family and personal pleas to Congress. Published May 24, 2015
Adam Schiff: Senate should fix its ‘catastrophe’ with House-backed security bill
Rep. Adam Schiff of California urged the Senate on Sunday to quickly resolve its standoff over the government's snooping powers by passing a bill that has sailed through the House in a bipartisan vote. Published May 24, 2015
Ohio Gov. John Kasich edges closer to 2016 run
Ohio Gov. John Kasich hinted Sunday that he is ready to jump into the GOP race for president, saying he's "very optimistic about where we're headed." Published May 24, 2015
Ohio Gov. John Kasich praises peaceful protests in Cleveland following cop acquittal
Ohio Gov. John Kasich praised Cleveland for its peaceful protests after a judge acquitted a white police offer of manslaughter in the shooting deaths of two unarmed black motorists. Published May 24, 2015
!["Airstrikes are effective, but neither they, nor really anything we do, can substitute for the Iraqi forces' will to fight. They're the ones who [need] that to beat ISIL and then keep them beaten," Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said. (Associated Press)](https://twt-thumbs.washtimes.com/media/image/2015/03/18/Congress_Defense.JPEG-0d4b0_c0-160-3000-1908_s652x380.jpg?9463278a9c6251a8bc8628f23092ced3e873cbc9)
Ashton Carter: Iraqi forces showed ‘no will to fight’ in Ramadi
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter accused Iraqi forces Sunday of showing "no will to fight" Islamic State guerrillas who seized a crucial city west of Baghdad, a blunt assessment that drew an immediate rebuke from Iraqi officials who think the U.S. is scapegoating their besieged nation to obscure its own failures in the region. Published May 24, 2015
