Tom Howell Jr.

Sens. Rob Portman and Dick Durbin disagree on much, but think deal is reachable

Sen. Rob Portman said Sunday the "greatest act of bipartisanship" over the last few decades has been both parties "over-promising and overspending."

October 13, 2013

IMF chief: U.S. dance with the debt limit is ‘very, very concerning’

The chief of the International Monetary Fund says the U.S. government's stalemate over spending and its debt limit is "very, very concerning" and could roll back economic progress around the world.

October 13, 2013

GOP senator: Sebelius should quit over Obamacare flaws

Problems associated with the rollout of the new health care law have led at least one Republican lawmaker to call for the resignation of President Obama's top health official.

October 11, 2013

Louisiana love: Sen. Landrieu goes to bat for the District of Columbia during shutdown

Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana went to bat for city officials in the nation's capital on Friday, saying that despite a lack of representation in Congress the District of Columbia has been hamstrung by the government shutdown.

October 11, 2013

Lawmakers can’t find abortion-free health care exchanges, push transparency bill

Rep. Christopher H. Smith and a bipartisan pro-life coalition in Congress say the Obama administration is obfuscating consumers about the health care law by not making it clear which exchange plans cover abortion and which don't.

October 9, 2013

House GOP wants to know if ex-prisoners benefit from Medicaid expansion

Top House Republicans now want to know whether the new health care law's expansion of the Medicaid program will include prisoners, adding a wrinkle to GOP complaints that President Obama's health overhaul is unfit for implementation.

October 9, 2013

Lawmakers can’t find abortion-free health care exchanges, push transparency bill

Rep. Christopher H. Smith and a bipartisan pro-life coalition in Congress say the Obama administration is obfuscating consumers about the health care law by not making it clear which exchange plans cover abortion and which don't.

October 9, 2013

Reid to D.C. mayor: ‘I’m on your side, don’t screw it up’

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid wants the District of Columbia to know he's not looking to make things hard for the heavily Democratic city during the government shutdown.

October 9, 2013

Some Americans sick and tired of Obamacare enrollment process

The Obama administration has said there is plenty of time to cure what ails the Obamacare portals because open enrollment lasts until March 31. But patience is wearing thin among some.

October 8, 2013

Schumer: Boehner will ‘break with tea party’ on shutdown

A top Senate Democrat said Monday he thinks House Speaker John A. Boehner will eventually concede and put a "clean bill" on the chamber floor to fund federal operations and end the government shutdown.

October 7, 2013

Cruz: Democrats’ attacks show Republicans are ‘winning’

Outspoken Sen. Ted Cruz says "inflammatory" Democratic attacks on the shutdown impasse lead him to believe the Republicans are "winning" in the hearts and minds of the American public, as the GOP attempts to negotiate cutbacks to Obamacare in exchange for funding the government and extending the nation's borrowing authority.

October 7, 2013

Miriam Carey’s family criticizes police actions during D.C. chase

Family members of the 34-year-old woman who led police on a chase through downtown Washington before being shot dead said Monday the police should not have fired on her car.

October 7, 2013

Lew says health exchange rollout glitches typical for new software

After a week of ongoing glitches, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on Sunday defended the online rollout of Obamacare's health insurance exchanges and promised the bugs would be worked out.

October 6, 2013

White House sees Obamacare working — but won’t release figures yet

For the fourth day in a row, the Obama administration on Friday declined to release figures on how many Americans have purchased health insurance through the just-opened online markets tied to the new health care law.

October 4, 2013

Kentucky health exchange: Early Obamacare interest is genuine

Millions of people are checking out websites that allow people get health insurance under Obamacare, a surge of curiosity that's slowed down the sites and led to glitches during the plan's first week of open enrollment.

October 4, 2013

Overloads arise with 34 states using one health exchange site

The Obama administration's health care rollout may have been rockier than expected this week because so many states refused to cooperate, leaving the federal government to run far more exchanges than initially planned, according to analysts studying the Affordable Care Act.

October 3, 2013

Day 2 of Obamacare rollout: After rocky start, Obama admin. launches awareness campaign

The Obama administration preached patience Wednesday as it tried to rebound from the wobbly debut of online insurance markets tied to the health care reform law, saying technical flubs on the websites designed to help uninsured Americans find coverage were caused by heavy traffic and not design flaws.

October 2, 2013

Buzz about Obamacare exposes bugs in the system

The debut of Obamacare was so successful Tuesday that the program didn't work very well.

October 1, 2013

Obamacare drama: Political winds shift with health care law

Battered and bruised by politics and its own glitches, the centerpiece of President Obama's health care law is set to begin Tuesday, a highly anticipated date that will set into motion the Democrats' winding reforms and shape decisions at the ballot box for years to come.

September 30, 2013

House Republicans pass test vote to defund Obamacare; shutdown edges closer

House Republicans survived a key test vote Thursday on their plan to keep the government running while trying to halt the health care law, defying a veto threat from President Obama and inching closer to a shutdown showdown with Senate Democrats.

September 19, 2013