Tom Howell Jr.
Articles by Tom Howell Jr.
Medicare fund gets some breathing room, but still in trouble
The Obama administration took a victory lap after the latest Medicare numbers released Friday showed the program's solvency has been extended by two years — a development the president's aides said is a result of the health care law. Published May 31, 2013
House GOP drafts bill to revamp doctors’ pay under Medicare
House Republicans released a draft bill Tuesday to repeal the ill-defined way physicians are paid under Medicare in a bid to finally end the annual Capitol Hill scramble to find extra cash to pay the doctors. Published May 28, 2013
Appeals courts mull ‘Obamacare’ contraception mandate
Business owners who object to the contraception mandate in President Obama's health care law are pleading their cases in appeals courts across the country, a curtain raiser before a potential showdown in the Supreme Court. Published May 26, 2013
Answers on IRS only raise more questions and calls for a special investigation
Three days of hearings have shown that IRS scrutiny of conservative organizations extended beyond a few rogue employees in Cincinnati, that the agency staged its announcement of the bad news to try to limit the damage, and that the White House knew more, and knew it earlier, than it first admitted. Published May 23, 2013
Issa gives firmer indication he will recall high-ranking IRS official to testify
The top investigator in the House feels a high-ranking IRS official waived her Fifth Amendment rights and should have to testify about the targeting of conservative groups at the powerful agency from 2010 to 2012. Published May 23, 2013
Treasury official washes hands of IRS’ political targeting
Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Neal S. Wolin said Wednesday his department had no hand in the IRS' targeting of conservative groups from 2010 to 2012. Published May 22, 2013
Key IRS official speaks at House hearing — but not for long
Lois Lerner, an IRS official who reportedly tried to stop the targeting of conservative groups in July 2011 before it surfaced again, told House investigators she did nothing wrong but will not answer their questions on Wednesday. Published May 22, 2013
IRS head Lois Lerner, who invoked 5th Amendment, may be compelled to testify
The woman at the center of the IRS scandal refused to testify to Congress on Wednesday, but House Republicans said Lois Lerner botched her attempt to invoke her right against self-incrimination and said they likely will force her to come back and explain why the agency targeted conservative political groups. Published May 22, 2013
Former IRS commissioner says scrutiny was not his job as a political appointee
The man who led the Internal Revenue Service when it was inappropriately scrutinizing conservative groups' applications for tax-exempt status said Tuesday that he intentionally kept himself in the dark about those kinds of decisions because he thought, as a political appointee, he should keep his distance. Published May 21, 2013
IRS official to plead the Fifth
An attorney for the high-ranking IRS official who ignited the agency's political targeting scandal with a public apology this month plans to invoke her right to remain silent instead of answering questions from top House investigators on Wednesday. Published May 21, 2013
Parties divide over IRS scandal fallout
Democratic lawmakers on the Senate Finance Committee said Tuesday the IRS, while engaging in "unacceptable" targeting of conservative groups, may have been set up for failure by campaign finance law ambiguities that allowed tax-exempt groups to engage in partisan politics without disclosing their donors. Published May 21, 2013
Smith & Wesson tops list of Massachusetts’ 100 best companies
Gunmaker Smith & Wesson tops the list of best businesses in bright blue Massachusetts — after not making the list at all last year — a new report in the Boston Globe found. Published May 20, 2013
GOP eager to link IRS scandal to ‘Obamacare’ takedown efforts
As her fellow House Republicans took another symbolic vote Friday to repeal President Obama’s health care law, Rep. Diane Black, Tennessee Republican, filed a bill that prohibits the Internal Revenue Service from targeting political groups with any data obtained by carrying out the overhaul. Published May 17, 2013
House GOP rejoices in vote to repeal ‘Obamacare,’ Democrats see insanity
House Republicans cheered their vote on Thursday to repeal President Obama's health care law as the triumph of reason and public opinion over false promises from the White House. Democrats called them insane. Published May 16, 2013
Lawmakers see plenty of other places where IRS can find tax scofflaws
From pro athletes who waste money at their charitable foundations to federal employees who don't pay their taxes, legislators have a few suggestions for whom the IRS should have been scrutinizing instead of going after partisan organizations. Published May 15, 2013
Senate approves new Medicare/Medicaid chief
The Senate on Wednesday approved President Obama's pick to lead the nation's Medicare agency, sending it a permanent leader for the first time in several years as the nation inches closer to sweeping health care reforms. Marilyn B. Tavenner enjoyed bipartisan support at the committee level before the full chamber voted, 91-7, to confirm her as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Published May 15, 2013
Conservative lawmakers, governors at odds over expanding Medicaid
Time is running out for states to decide whether they will expand their Medicaid programs under President Obama's health law — a decision that pits governors who think it is too good of a deal to pass up against conservative lawmakers who see it as a budget-busting gamble. Published May 14, 2013
Senate leaders: It’s time to fix doctor Medicare payments
Top federal lawmakers say the time has come to overhaul the way physicians are paid under Medicare, a long-standing problem that encourages medical providers to offer more procedures instead of seeking to improve the quality of care. Published May 14, 2013
Obama administration asks court to block birth control order
The Obama administration on Monday asked an appeals panel to delay the enforcement of a federal judge's stern order to make emergency contraception available to women of all ages without a prescription. Published May 13, 2013
Judge slaps Obama administration again over birth control restrictions
A federal judge in New York rebuked the Obama administration on Friday and said the federal government will not get a reprieve from his order to make a form of emergency contraception available to all ages without a prescription. Published May 10, 2013
