Tom Howell Jr.

Obama’s Medicare, Medicaid nominee basks in bipartisan praise

Free birth control rules to be finalized

President Obama's top health official said Monday the administration will finalize its new rules granting free birth control, saying the controversial policy will go into effect in August.

Judge strikes down age restrictions on ‘morning-after’ pill

A federal judge ordered the Food and Drug Administration on Friday to make a morning-after birth control pill available without a prescription for girls younger than 17 within 30 days — a blunt opinion that rebuked decisions by the Obama administration as politically motivated.

GOP walks a fine line on taking federal money for Medicaid; must weigh stigma vs. practicality

The stigma of "Obamacare" is so potent in many red states that some Republican leaders are walking a linguistic tightrope, trying to avoid being seen as joining the massive new health care entitlement but still hoping to get a piece of the money being offered.

Taxes heat up battle against ‘Obamacare’; focus turns to partial repeals

A tax on everything from X-ray machines to oxygen tanks took effect at the beginning of this year — one of about 20 taxes and fees included in President Obama's health care law — and has emerged as the central battleground in the fight by the law's opponents to repeal parts of the president's overhaul.

Advantage plans under Medicare to get payment boost

The Obama administration reversed course Monday and said it now anticipates boosting rather than cutting payments to insurers who offer Medicare Advantage plans — the private health plans that the president had at one time deemed wasteful.

FDA: No warning required for nicotine gum, patches

The Food and Drug Administration said Monday that manufacturers of products designed to help people quit smoking can alter or remove previously required safety warnings that may be discouraging people from trying to kick the habit.

Gun groups promise fight as U.N. inches toward override of Second Amendment

American gun rights advocates said Thursday that they remain determined to block a far-reaching U.S. agreement on international arms sales, warning that the pact could lead to a national firearms registry and disrupt the U.S. gun market, even as the accord ran into an unexpected last-minute snag in negotiations in New York.

Pelosi ‘optimistic’ DOMA will be struck down

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi says she is "very optimistic" the Supreme Court will strike down a 1996 law that defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman for all federal purposes, leading a chorus of Democratic lawmakers asking the judges to do so.

Obama administration under fire in gay marriage arguments

Gay marriage is on trial but it was the Obama administration facing the heat as the Supreme Court began the second of two days of landmark oral arguments on the constitutionality of gay marriage.

S.D. Sen. Johnson retires for family, health reasons

Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson said Tuesday it is time to "close a circle that began 36 years ago" and leave the upper chamber in Washington when his term expires in 2014.

Both sides optimistic, uncertain as gay marriage arguments end

Attorneys who are challenging and defending California's ban on gay marriage before the Supreme Court struck an optimistic tone as they emerged from arguments on Tuesday, even if they conceded they have no idea how the justices will rule about three months from now.

Key justice: ‘Immediate injury’ in gay marriage ban

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, often pegged as a key swing-vote between the court's conservative and liberal blocs, has signaled that children of same-sex couples suffer an "immediate legal injury" from California's ban on gay marriage, according to an account of the high court's oral arguments provided by Bloomberg News.

Republicans gather steam to take the Senate with Tim Johnson’s retirement

Bookended by a pair of standing ovations, Sen. Tim Johnson, South Dakota Democrat, announced Tuesday that it is time to "close a circle" of service than began more than 30 years ago and leave the upper chamber in Washington when his term expires in 2014.

Corporation rights drive divergent rulings on contraception

A federal judge has rejected a Michigan company's urgent plea for protection from the contraception mandate in President Obama's health-care law, noting that a corporation's rights are not always the same as an individual's.

Mississippi lawmaker dead in an apparent suicide

Mississippi officials are reacting with sadness to reports of a 53-year-old Republican lawmaker's death in an apparent suicide.

Ex-RNC head Michael Steele knocks down Christie criticism

Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele said Monday that conservatives' decision to ostracize popular New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for embracing President Obama in a time of crisis was "nothing short of moronic."

Sen. Bob Casey reveals ‘substantial shift’ on gun laws after deadly Newtown school shooting

Sen. Bob Casey Jr. of Pennsylvania says the Connecticut school shootings in December caused a significant change in his position on gun laws and now favors limits on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.

Donald Trump warns of ‘dangerous precedent’ in Cyprus bank skimming

Real estate tycoon and political gadfly Donald Trump said Monday a proposal to skim funds from bank accounts in Cyprus is a "very dangerous precedent" for other nations struggling with debt.

Senate narrowly passes first budget in four years

Saturday's razor-thin, predawn approval of a spending plan in the Senate is being called a victory by Democrats — but Republicans emerged from the all-nighter with momentum on two key issues: deficit reduction and the Keystone XL pipeline.