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...

Bernanke Says Forced Defense Cuts Are Bad Economics

By Rob Garver

When Congress returns next month, one of the pressing issues it will face is how to deal with the looming sequester — the automatic cuts to defense and non-defense spending put in place as part of...
Here Are 5 Democrats Who Could Scuttle the Iran Deal

By Martin Matishak

This weekend’s announcement that Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) won’t back the Iran nuclear deal robs the Obama administration, for now, of the symbolic victory of saying the agreement has bipartisan support...
Budget Talks Could Be More Like the Hunger Games This Time Around

By Martin Matishak

Whether Republicans and Democrats can come together and craft a budget compromise that staves off potentially devastating federal spending cuts remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: the talks...
Where in the World Is Congress Spending Its Summer Vacation?

By Martin Matishak

An annual rite of summer, Congress recesses for five weeks every August to give members a break from legislative sausage-making and allow them to spend an extended period of time back in the home...
Two-Thirds of Americans Believe Social Security Is in a Crisis State

By Eric Pianin

On the 80 th anniversary of the creation of Social Security, Americans who have been buffeted by repeated warnings about long term funding problems overwhelmingly believe that the nation’s premier...

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