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Articles by Tom Howell Jr.

FILE - In this Oct. 28, 2015 file photo, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis. speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. The White House accused new House Speaker Paul Ryan on Monday of “pandering to the extreme right wing" of his party on immigration. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Ryan's recent comments on immigration reform are "preposterous" and disappointing. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

GOP digs into Obamacare’s co-op headache

Obamacare's co-op plans were "learning how to sail in a hurricane" when they set out to compete with larger, more-established insurers on Web exchanges set up to offer subsidized coverage in January 2014, a state regulator told Congress on Thursday.

November 5, 2015
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bill Shuster, Pennsylvania Republican, takes his seat on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 2, 2015. (Associated Press) **FILE**

House approves $325 billion roads bill

The House advanced a $325 billion highway bill Thursday that funds infrastructure projects for three years -- setting the stage for Congress's first long-term roads deal in a decade -- though the White House says America's crumbling infrastructure will need even more money.

November 5, 2015
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. The government's insurance website is faster and easier to use, but as a third sign-up season gets underway, President Barack Obama's health care law is approaching limits. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

Obama kicks off media blitz for health law

President Obama kicked off a media campaign in support of his signature health law Wednesday by cheering on "navigator" groups tasked with rooting out the millions of Americans who failed to sign up during the first two rounds.

November 4, 2015
President Barack Obama shares a humorous moment with a group of doctors from around the country in the Oval Office, Oct. 5, 2009, prior to a health insurance reform event at the White House. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

More than half of Obamacare co-ops go belly up

More than half of Obamacare's nonprofit co-op plans have failed, with Michigan becoming the latest to announce it will not offer plans for next year, prompting Republicans to label the program a disastrous waste of taxpayer money.

November 3, 2015
President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden in the Oval Office during the President's Daily Economic Briefing on July 30, 2009. (White House)

GOP piles on after nearly half of Obamacare’s co-ops fail

Leading Senate Republicans pressed the administration Monday to explain how it plans to recoup $2.4 billion in loans to Obamacare's flailing co-op program and whether consumers will be able to get new coverage without significant hiccups.

November 2, 2015
FILE - In this Oct. 23, 2015 file photo, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis. walks from his office on Capitol Hill in Washington. The honeymoon might be over before it even begins for House Speaker-in-waiting Paul Ryan when he is elevated to the top job this week. The Wisconsin Republican, on track to prevail in secret-ballot GOP elections Wednesday and in a full House vote Thursday, would take over the speaker’s chair at a moment of chaos notable even for a Congress where crisis has become routine. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

Paul Ryan nominated for speaker by Republicans

House Republicans nominated Rep. Paul Ryan Wednesday to be their next speaker, surfacing from a turbulent month of party soul-searching to rally behind the rising star from Wisconsin and place him second in line to the presidency.

October 28, 2015
"It's a solid agreement, and I told my colleagues there isn't any reason why any member should vote against this," House Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, said after making a plea — likely his last as speaker — for support for another controversial measure. (Associated Press)

Budget deal: Social Security fixes give Republicans small victory

The budget deal that Republican and Democratic leaders reached this week makes the biggest changes to Social Security in decades, giving Republicans a small victory as they try to sell the agreement to skeptical advocacy groups in Washington and voters back home.

October 27, 2015
Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

Ex-Im Bank reauthorized by House

The House voted Tuesday to revive the federal Export-Import Bank, capping an unusual end-run around GOP leaders and vexing conservatives who say the lapsed credit agency corrupted the free market and should fade away.

October 27, 2015
In this photo taken Oct. 6, 2015, the HealthCare.gov website, where people can buy health insurance, is displayed on a laptop screen in Washington. The Obama administration says it’s strengthening privacy protections for consumers on the government’s health insurance website ahead of a new sign-up season starting Nov. 1. In a blog Friday, HealthCare.gov CEO Kevin Counihan says the web page will have a new ‘privacy manager’ that lets consumers opt out of embedded connections to third-party advertising, analytics and social media sites. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Obamacare premiums to increase 7.5 percent on midrange plans

Consumers seeking 2016 coverage on the federal Obamacare exchange will see an average premium increase of 7.5 percent on vital mid-tier plans, the administration said Monday in an enrollment-season preview that shows a bigger bump in prices than last year, as insurers get a feel for the new marketplace.

October 26, 2015
President Barack Obama shares a humorous moment with a group of doctors from around the country in the Oval Office, Oct. 5, 2009, prior to a health insurance reform event at the White House. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Another Obamacare suit wends its way to Supreme Court

Obamacare opponents are asking the Supreme Court, once again, to invalidate the massive health overhaul, pushing an appeal that says Congress violated the Constitution's "origination clause" requiring the House to kickstart revenue-raising bills.

October 26, 2015
Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

Republican hard-liners circumvent GOP leadership on Ex-Im bank

Many of the same centrist Republicans who complained about conservatives stabbing the GOP in the back on congressional procedures are behind the effort to circumvent their own leaders and force a vote on the divisive Export-Import Bank.

October 25, 2015