Tom Howell Jr.
Articles by Tom Howell Jr.
House panel OKs resolution to sue president for Obamacare delays
The Republican-led House is set to take up a measure next week that authorizes Speaker John A. Boehner to sue President Obama over how he implemented parts of Obamacare, adding to the many legal squabbles that surround the health care overhaul this summer. Published July 24, 2014
Insurers cough up refunds to subscribers under Obamacare ‘80-20 rule’
Obamacare's foes and supporters offered competing views Wednesday of how the law is affecting the average American's pocketbook, with Republicans saying the program plays fast and loose with taxpayer dollars while the Obama administration boasted the law has saved consumers billions. Published July 23, 2014
New Democratic caucus will pressure GOP governors to expand Medicaid
Nearly three dozen Democrats have forged a congressional caucus to call on Republican-led states to expand Medicaid under President Obama's health care law. Published July 23, 2014
GOP outraged Obamacare investigators able to get coverage with fake IDs
Republican lawmakers said Wednesday their suspicions about Obamacare's anti-fraud measures have been validated and it is "egregious" that 11 out of 12 government investigators were able to get subsidized Obamacare over the phone. Published July 23, 2014
Contrasting judgments on Obama’s health care hours apart; appeals court calls subsidies unlawful
Opponents of President Obama's health care law notched their biggest legal win to date Tuesday, when the second-most-powerful court in the country said the administration had unlawfully extended Obamacare subsidies to millions of Americans. Published July 23, 2014
Top federal judge uses pizza to explain complex Obamacare situation
Readers who made it to Page 42 of a lunchtime ruling on Obamacare's subsidies may have felt their stomach's grumble Tuesday, when a federal appeals judge resorted to pizza analogies to make his point. Published July 22, 2014
D.C. appeals panel deals big blow to Obamacare subsidies
Millions of Americans are not entitled to government health insurance subsidies under Obamacare because of the way the law is written, a divided three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday. Published July 22, 2014
Judge throws out Sen. Ron Johnson’s lawsuit over Obamacare exchanges
A Republican senator had no grounds to sue the Obama administration over how it interpreted the part of Obamacare that forces members of Congress to get their health care insurance through the law's new exchanges, a federal judge ruled Monday. Published July 21, 2014
Michael Lawson approved as nominee to U.N. aviation body
The Senate approved one of President Obama's fundraisers Monday to fill a vacancy on the United Nations body that investigates aviation incidents like the Malaysia Airlines crash that is roiling eastern Ukraine. But first, his nomination ruffled a political saga on U.S. soil. Published July 21, 2014
Harry Reid accuses GOP of holding up U.S. rep for aviation board investigating Ukraine plane crash
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid accused Republicans Monday of holding up President Obama's pick to serve on the global aviation board that is investigating the shocking crash of a Malaysian Airlines passenger flight over eastern Ukraine. Published July 21, 2014
Half of Colorado voters are OK with Hobby Lobby decision, poll shows
Exactly half of Colorado voters think the Supreme Court got it right when it said closely held corporations may opt out of an Obamacare rule that requires employers to include contraception in their health plans, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Monday. Published July 21, 2014
Issa questions involvement of trial lawyers in FDA rule change
House investigators suspect the Obama administration catered to trial lawyers in the run-up to a proposal that would allow generic drug makers at times to change their labels without FDA approval. Published July 20, 2014
Employers ordered to notify workers of cuts to birth-control coverage
The Obama administration ordered employers Thursday to notify their workers if they plan to cut birth-control coverage from their health plans in the wake of the Supreme Court's "Hobby Lobby" decision. Published July 17, 2014
Violence on the edge of Europe forces soccer officials to act
With tensions mounting on the fringes of Europe, officials decided this week to ban competitive soccer matches in Israel and to make sure teams from the Ukraine and Russia are not drawn to play each other in the continent's top club competitions. Published July 17, 2014
Five million Americans in for premium spikes if Obamacare challenge is successful
A Washington-based consultancy estimated Thursday that 5 million Americans would see their health premiums spike if the courts rule in favor of a lawsuit that seeks to cut off Obamacare subsidies to about two-thirds of the states. Published July 17, 2014
Democrats’ bill to reverse Supreme Court’s birth-control ruling can’t clear filibuster
Democrats' first effort to make political hay out of the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby decision fell short Wednesday, victim to a GOP filibuster that leaves the justices' ruling in place and likely shifts the issue to voters in November. Published July 16, 2014
Orrin Hatch blasts Democratic birth-control bill as ‘stupid politics’
Senate Republicans blasted a Democratic bill Wednesday to reverse the Supreme Court's "Hobby Lobby" ruling on birth control as "really stupid politics" that treads on religious liberty, cuing up a partisan fight over messaging to women voters ahead of the fall's midterms elections. Published July 16, 2014
Democrats use ‘Hobby Lobby’ ruling to rally base
Conservatives are playing defense on birth control even though the Supreme Court handed them a win in its "Hobby Lobby" ruling last month, as liberal foes highlight what the fallout could mean for women who want free contraception under Obamacare. Published July 15, 2014
Mitch McConnell fires back at Democrats: Obamacare harms women
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell pushed back Tuesday at Democrats' claims the GOP is harming women with their support of the Supreme Court's recent birth-control decision by highlighting the less popular aspects of Obamacare as a whole. Published July 15, 2014
Harry Reid: GOP’s Obamacare lawsuit is something out of ‘The People’s Court’
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid labeled House Republicans as hypocrites Monday for deciding to sue President Obama over his unilateral delays to Obamacare's "employer mandate" despite their own votes to delay the rule and other parts of the signature overhaul. Published July 14, 2014
