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...

How Tuesday’s Primaries Will Affect Who Controls the Senate Next Year

By Martin Matishak

In addition to the presidential contenders at the top of Tuesday's ballots, Democratic voters will weigh in on three Senate primary races that could decide which party controls the upper chamber of...
Study Finds Sanders, Cruz to Be the Senate’s Most Partisan Members

By Rob Garver

The Index analyzed more than 20 years of data and determined that the two most recent Congresses, the 112th and 113th were the most partisan in recent history. The first session of the 114th,...
In the Trump v. GOP Divorce Case, Who Gets to Keep the House?

By Rob Garver

In the end, Trump has effectively forced a choice on the Republican Party. The choice isn’t about whether or not the 2016 election will splinter the party – that’s already happened. The only real...
How Obama Is Hoping to Crack the GOP’s Supreme Court Blockade

By Martin Matishak

President Obama on Wednesday showed he won’t be backed into a corner by Senate Republican leaders who have vowed to ignore his nominee to fill the Supreme Court vacancy, teasing the idea of naming a...
Will Senate Republicans Chose Flight or Fight Over the Supreme Court?

By Martin Matishak

Senate Republicans will convene this week for the first time with the hope of all getting on the same page about how best to handle the Supreme Court vacancy left after the unexpected death of...

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