Tom Howell Jr.
Articles by Tom Howell Jr.
Eleanor Holmes Norton seeks to protect city if feds shut down
The District's nonvoting member of Congress introduced a bill Thursday that would protect the city's operations in case the government shuts down amid partisan budget wrangling on Capitol Hill. Published March 14, 2013
Court exempts firm owned by Domino’s founder from ‘Obamacare’ mandate
The founder of Domino's Pizza does not have to insure contraception for his employees at an office park in Michigan — at least for now — as required by a provision in President Obama's health care law, a federal court said Thursday. Published March 14, 2013
Sen. Ted Cruz’s push to withhold ‘Obamacare’ funds ends in defeat
Senate Democrats on Wednesday defeated the latest Republican effort to repeal President Obama's health-care law, signaling that the 2012 elections did little to change the bitter political divisions over the 3-year-old policy. Published March 13, 2013
Paul Ryan introduces GOP budget, sees balance in decade
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan proposed a budget Tuesday that he said can cut $4.6 trillion and bring federal finances to balance in 10 years, calling the plan an "invitation" to find common ground with President Obama and congressional Democrats. Published March 12, 2013
Spending bill gives GOP opening to kill health law
This month's must-pass spending bill gives the GOP another opportunity to try to kill President Obama's health care law, but most Republican leaders are shying away from that, saying it's not worth going to the brink of a shutdown over the 3-year-old law. Published March 11, 2013
Rebellion in states to block broader Medicaid; governors face party opposition
Many Republican governors who said they plan to take Medicaid money under President Obama's health care law now find they're facing a revolt within their own state parties, where GOP legislatures are none-too-eager to approve signing up for what they call "Obamacare." Published March 7, 2013
GOP bill exempts religious nonprofits, business owners from contraception mandate
A trio of House Republicans introduced a bill Tuesday that protects religious nonprofits and devout business owners from a provision in President Obama's health care law that requires them to insure contraception for their employees, a mandate they view as an attack on the "bedrock principle" of religious freedom. Published March 5, 2013
Study adds fuel to fire in push for entitlement reform
The push to reform federal payments to doctors who treat Medicare patients picked up steam Monday when physicians released a study arguing that halting unneeded services could save hundreds of billions of dollars. Published March 4, 2013
States cook up own takes on Obamacare
States have scant precedent to rely on as they shape the twin pillars of President Obama's health care law, an uncertainty that has resulted in what one Iowa official described as 50 discrete "laboratories." Published March 4, 2013
Governors using Obamacare in Medicaid talks
Governors are increasingly embracing a key part of President Obama's health law by expanding their Medicaid programs — but they are using the law as a bargaining chip to try to win more flexibility for how they run their own state programs. Published February 28, 2013
House refuses Obama’s demand to rush immigration reform
The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee laid out a go-slow approach on immigration Wednesday, saying he doesn't think having President Obama write a bill and demand that Congress vote on it would be successful. Published February 27, 2013
Looking for budget cuts? GOP suggests checking out Obamacare
Republican lawmakers say the costs of implementing President Obama's health care law represent a ripe target for money-saving cuts, as Congress fights over the best way to avert an automatic and indiscriminate budget ax set to come down Friday. Published February 27, 2013
Obama, Hill leaders unveil Rosa Parks statue
President Obama and leaders of Congress dedicated a statue of civil-rights hero Rosa Parks on Wednesday in a moving ceremony at the U.S. Capitol, marking the first time a black woman has been honored with a place in National Statuary Hall. Published February 27, 2013
Republican attorneys general see Obama misuse of power
Top Republican legal officials say the Obama administration is reneging on key duties such as border security while overstepping its role through health care mandates and tight regulation of the energy industry, a trend that has led states to heighten their defenses against federal intrusion. Published February 26, 2013
Obama administration: Insurance hikes lower under new health law
The Obama administration argued in a new report Friday that the president's signature health care law has demonstrably reduced insurers' requests for double-digit rate increases in the individual market since 2010. Published February 22, 2013
Richard Shelby’s switch has Chuck Hagel on verge of confirmation
Republican Sen. Richard C. Shelby said Thursday he will support Chuck Hagel's bid to become secretary of defense, nudging the contentious pick to the verge of confirmation even as 15 Republicans senators were urging President Obama to abandon his pick to run the Pentagon. Published February 21, 2013
Fla. Gov. Scott will expand Fla. Medicaid program
Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday became the latest Republican to green-light the expansion of Medicaid under the President Obama's health-care law, a move that follows in the footsteps of other state leaders who opposed the president's reforms and then accepted federal dollars to insure more low-income residents. Published February 20, 2013
GOP lawmakers join legal fight against Obama contraception mandate
Eleven Republican members of Congress are challenging the contraception insurance mandate in President Obama's health care law by formally backing Hobby Lobby, the Oklahoma-based chain of crafts stores whose owners say they must choose between their Christian beliefs and insuring women's birth control and other preventative services. Published February 20, 2013
Nonprofits take contraception issue to court
Religious nonprofits have begun to respond in court to the plan the Obama administration offered this month to shelter them from a mandate requiring certain employers to insure contraception — and it's probably not what the White House wanted to hear. Published February 19, 2013
Obamacare and birth control: Religious ties split coverage
Religious employers battling the Obama administration in court over a mandate in the president's health care law requiring them to offer contraceptive and birth control insurance to their employees could summarize their arguments neatly by pointing to the founder of Domino's Pizza. Published February 18, 2013
