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Articles by Tom Howell Jr.

President Barack Obama speaks about the Affordable Care Act, Thursday, March 3, 2016, at the United Community Center in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Obama: 20M gained coverage under health law

President Obama took a victory lap Thursday in Milwaukee to celebrate his health overhaul's gains there and announce that 20 million Americans have gained coverage under his signature law.

March 3, 2016
This Nov. 11, 2014, file photo shows the U.S. Capitol Building illuminated by the setting sun on the National Mall in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

D.C. appeals court grapples with Congress’ ‘Obamacare exemption’

A D.C. appeals court struggled Wednesday to see how a city resident was directly harmed by Congress' decision to label itself a small business so that lawmakers and staff could comply with Obamacare and still keep employer subsidies that make their coverage affordable.

March 2, 2016
The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act would help states monitor prescribing practices, expand the number of sites where parents can dispose of unneeded painkillers and distribute more naloxone — a treatment that can reverse the effects of an overdose. (Associated Press)

Senate drug epidemic bill snared in funding debate

The Senate voted Monday to take up legislation to fight the opioid and heroin epidemic that is ravaging communities across the nation, though the bipartisan bill could turn into an election-year football.

February 29, 2016
Caio Julio Vasconcelos who was born with microcephaly undergoes physical therapy at the Institute for the Blind in Joao Pessoa, Brazil, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016. Researchers from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention continue to fan out across one of Brazil's poorest states in search of mothers and infants for a study aimed at determining whether the Zika virus is causing babies to be born with unusually small heads. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

GOP to U.N.: Don’t use Zika outbreak to loosen abortion laws

The Zika virus isn't transmitting within the U.S., but pregnant women who contracted the virus elsewhere had abortions or miscarriages upon their return, scientists reported Friday, signaling the virus is striking close to home even as congressional Republicans warned the United Nations not to let "opportunistic" advocates roll back abortion laws abroad.

February 26, 2016
FILE - In this Wednesday, July 29, file 2015 photo, the Puerto Rican flag flies in front of Puerto Rico’s Capitol as in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Legislators in Puerto Rico have approved on Monday, Feb. 15, 2016, a last-minute bill needed to finalize a deal to restructure the U.S. territory's heavily indebted public power company. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo, File)

Puerto Rico fiscal crisis requires a two-step solution, Treasury Dept. says

Congress should let Puerto Rico restructure its crippling debt but should impose strict new federal oversight to make sure the island territory doesn't backslide on its budget cuts, the Obama administration said Thursday, trying to figure a way out of a thorny political impasse.

February 25, 2016
Sen. David Vitter, R-La., speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington, in this Aug. 3, 2010, file photo. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

David Vitter holds OPM nominee as part of Obamacare probe

Sen. David Vitter followed through Thursday on his threat to hold up President Obama's pick to lead the government's personnel office, saying he still doesn't understand why Congress was granted small-business status that "exempted" it from Obamacare, even though it employs thousands.

February 25, 2016
FILE - In this Oct. 6, 2015, file photo, the HealthCare.gov website, where people can buy health insurance, is displayed on a laptop screen in Washington. Congressional investigators say the Obama administration has taken a "passive" approach to identifying potential fraud involving the president’s health care law. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

HHS: We’re cracking down on offseason Obamacare signups

The Obama administration said Wednesday it is taking steps to prevent misuse and abuse of special enrollment periods that allow Obamacare customers in 38 states to get covered on HealthCare.gov outside of the traditional signup period.

February 24, 2016
Janine Santos holds her 3-month-old son Shayde Henrique who was born with microcephaly while health workers visit her home in Joao Pessoa, Brazil, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016. U.S. and Brazilian health workers knocked on doors in the poorest neighborhoods of one of Brazil's poorest states Tuesday in a bid to enroll mothers in a study aimed at determining whether the Zika virus is really causing a surge in birth defects. The teams started in Joao Pessoa, the capital of Paraiba state which is one of the epicenters of Brazil's tandem Zika and microcephaly outbreaks. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)

Senators lobby for proactive stance against global health scares

The Ebola outbreak's aftermath and the creeping threat of Zika virus underscore the need to fund basic research and gird for epidemics before they hit, members of Congress said Wednesday, signaling they are weary of emergency funding requests to deal with global health scares.

February 24, 2016
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky. walks to a closed-door GOP policy lunch on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016. Senate Republicans, most vocally Senator McConnell, are facing a high-stakes political showdown with President Barack Obama sparked by the recent death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Republicans controlling the Senate — which must confirm any Obama appointee before the individual is seated on the court — say that the decision is too important to be determined by a lame-duck president. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Mitch McConnell: No hearings on Obama’s Supreme Court pick

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday there is no way that Republicans will take up President Obama's pick to fill the Supreme Court, citing an election that's already underway and Vice President Joseph Biden's decades-old protest against campaign season nominees.

February 23, 2016
Sen. Chris Coons, Delaware Democrat, is seen in Wilmington, Del., on Nov. 6, 2012. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Chris Coons: Supreme Court pick is chance to heal Senate

Sen. Chris Coons said Tuesday the battle over replacing late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is a chance to reverse the steady creep of partisan acrimony in the august chamber, one day after Republicans made the man he replaced -- Vice President Joseph P. Biden -- an unwitting guide for how the Senate should approach nominations in a pivotal election year.

February 23, 2016