Congress

One More Try? Why Obamacare Repeal Is on the Horizon Again

By Rob Garver

The effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, which many assumed was dead or at least in a state of suspended animation for the foreseeable future, may be showing some stirring of life...
Trump Takes on a Powerful Leader, but This Time It’s on Capitol Hill

By Rob Garver

President Trump was obviously angry. The target of his ire was a man who has been aggravating him for a long time by ignoring his demands, refusing to work through the president’s chosen...
Heads Up: Health Care Is Still in Trouble

By Rob Garver

The issue of the US health insurance system was taken off the front burner with the evident failure of the Republican effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. But while it may not be in...
Here’s How Trump Could Get Democrats’ Help on Tax Reform

By Rob Garver

The Trump administration has been reaching out to ‘Blue Dog’ Democrats to talk about possible areas of agreement on tax reform.
Congress Is Constructing a Wall, All Right. But It’s Built Around Trump

By Rob Garver

Like a body’s immune system trying to wall off an abscess, the institutions of the federal government seem to be coming together to block, or at least limit, the influence of the president on the...

The US Spends Billions on Cybersecurity — but No One Is Sure Exactly How Much

By Eric Pianin

There is no universally accepted definition of what cybersecurity actually means. Moreover, the public and even lawmakers don’t have a clue as to how much the government is actually spending overall...
How Could the VA Make $5.5 Billion in Improper Payments Last Year?

By Eric Pianin

Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri has been on a tear recently in going after government fraud and waste. The ranking Democrat on the Senate’s chief oversight committee and a former state auditor in...
Congress Just Handed Trump Bragging Rights on Expanded GI Education Benefits

By Eric Pianin

For a chief executive preparing to leave town on a 17-day summer vacation after suffering a humiliating setback on health care reform, President Trump will be able to claim some bragging rights when...
Top GOP Conservative: We Won’t Play Around With the Debt Ceiling

By Rob Garver

When it comes to the perennial fight to raise the federal debt ceiling, it’s usually best to assume that the struggle to give the Treasury Department clearance to actually pay the debts that the...
Why Republicans Are Going It Alone on Tax Cuts

By Eric Pianin

Republicans made it clear on Tuesday that despite their debacle in pressing for health care reform without any Democratic assistance, they would again go their own way in drafting and passing major...

A GOP Senator Just Delivered a Serious Blow to the New Health Care Bill

By Rob Garver

If Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had any big weekend plans, the announcement by Nevada Republican Sen. Dean Heller on Friday afternoon that he is not on board with Senate leadership’s health...
7 Huge Tax Breaks in the Senate GOP Health Care Plan

By Eric Pianin

The Senate legislation would cut hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicaid programs while repealing hundreds of billions of dollars of taxes on wealthier Americans and businesses.
The Missing Detail That Could Kill the Senate Republican Health Care Plan

By Rob Garver

The Senate version of Republicans’ plan to get rid of the Affordable Care Act actually incorporates a whole lot of the law it’s supposedly meant to repeal, but there is one element missing that could...
Why Are Republicans in the House Blocking New Russia Sanctions?

By Rob Garver

A bill containing language meant to toughen sanctions on Russia has run into a roadblock in the House of Representatives. Democrats charge that the GOP is simply giving cover to the Trump...
Can Mitch McConnell Avert a Health Care Disaster for the GOP?

By Rob Garver and Eric Pianin

It may be too late for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to rally support for the upper chamber’s version of the American Health Care Act.

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