Barack Obama News
Read news, analysis, and commentary on Barack Obama, his administration’s legacy, and his continuing impact on national debates.
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opinion
Why Delaying Obamacare Repeal Is Hurting the American People
When President Donald Trump took office, repeal of Obamacare seemed like a guarantee—and then the timeline started slipping. All the elements are in place: A Republican-controlled Congress and a Republican president, all elected after promising to repeal Obamacare. But once the celebration and ceremonies died away, Congress started to do what it does best. Nothing…. -
news
Conservatives Push to Separate Obamacare’s Repeal From Replacement
A trio of conservatives said they want to see Congress move faster with their efforts to repeal Obamacare and are worried that adding the law’s replacement to the repeal bill could drag down their dismantling of the health care law. During a breakfast with reporters held Wednesday at The Heritage Foundation, Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah,… -
opinion
Why Congress Is Right to Undo Obama-Era Education Rules
Last week, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce took an important step toward rescinding some of the most burdensome regulations levied under the Every Student Succeeds Act (the replacement for the No Child Left Behind Act) by the Obama administration Department of Education. Reps. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., and Todd Rokita, R-Ind., formally introduced… -
opinion
Polls Show Personal Experience With Obamacare Increases Opposition
As Congress comes closer to repealing Obamacare, proponents of the law have mounted a vocal defense of it, touting both its necessity and popularity among those it has helped. But public opinion polls tell a different story. Obamacare was passed in 2010 amid controversy, and has not done very well since. Because some of its… -
news
Conservatives Offer Solution to Repeal Obamacare, Defund Planned Parenthood: Pass 2015 Bill Again
Two prominent House conservatives are calling on Republican leadership to bring a 2015 bill repealing major parts of Obamacare before members for a vote “as soon as possible.” In a statement Thursday, Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Mark Meadows of North Carolina pushed GOP leaders to bring the legislation unwinding major provisions of the… -
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New Obamacare Report Shows Rising Costs and Fewer Options for 2017
A new report shows that Obamacare enrollees could pay more money and end up with fewer options in 2017. The study from Avalere Health, a health care consulting firm, showed rising premiums, deductibles, and out-of-pocket costs for many customers, a shrinking amount of insurance options in the exchange market, and a drastically lower number of… -
news
Nebraska Woman Loses Health Insurance for Fourth Time Under Obamacare
Pamela Weldin’s experiences with Obamacare can be boiled down to just a few numbers. Since the health care law’s implementation three years ago, Weldin, 60, has lost her insurance four different times. And the Nebraska woman is currently enrolled in her fifth new insurance policy in four years. “Yet again, and through no fault of… -
news
Former House Freedom Caucus Chairman on Obamacare: ‘Let’s Repeal It as Quickly as We Can’
Several Republican congressmen from the House Freedom Caucus say they want a full repeal and replacement of Obamacare, despite private talk from some GOP lawmakers about a partial repeal. Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla.; Mark Meadows, R-N.C.; Raul Labrador, R-Idaho; Scott Perry, R-Pa.; Mark Sanford, R-S.C.; and Jim Jordan, R-Ohio; were all present at the January… -
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Republicans Express Doubts Over Obamacare ‘Repeal and Replace’ Plan
Some Republican lawmakers are beginning to have doubts about the GOP’s plans to repeal and replace Obamacare, they revealed in a closed-door gathering Thursday in Philadelphia. But those lawmakers find themselves at odds with conservatives who have for years pushed for repeal of the Affordable Care Act—as well as the top Republican in the House…. -
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Conservatives, GOP Committee Chairs Back Away From Bill Allowing States That Like Obamacare to Keep Obamacare
PHILADELPHIA–Republican leaders in Congress appear to be backing away from a plan supported by four GOP senators that would’ve kept Obamacare in place for states that like the law. According to a senior Republican aide, GOP committee chairmen, as well as conservative lawmakers, are moving against the bill introduced earlier this week by Republican Sens…. -
opinion
Congressional Delay Threatens Obamacare Repeal
The effort to repeal Obamacare may be headed in the wrong direction. That it could be so was unthinkable just a few short weeks ago when the GOP triumphantly returned to our nation’s capital with majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate and control of the presidency for the first time since the… -
news
House Speaker Paul Ryan Slates Obamacare Repeal for Spring
PHILADELPHIA—House Speaker Paul Ryan told House and Senate Republicans that lawmakers likely won’t repeal and replace Obamacare until March or April. Speaking in the first major session of GOP lawmakers’ joint retreat in the City of Brotherly Love, Ryan said Wednesday that the health care law wouldn’t be repealed and subsequently replaced until spring. “What… -
opinion
How to Talk About Repeal and Replace of Obamacare
It’s no secret that conservatives love numbers. Numbers are often cited as reasons one, two, and three to change an existing law or introduce a new initiative. Numbers matter. Numbers should be used to defend whatever policy position you take. But Americans don’t care about numbers unless they know how those numbers affect them and… -
news
A Look at 4 of the GOP’s Obamacare Replacement Plans
As Republicans debate their strategy for repealing and replacing Obamacare, GOP lawmakers have been accused of failing to put forth a replacement plan for the health care law. But since President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law in 2010, Republicans in both the House and Senate have unveiled a number of proposals… -
opinion
8 Reasons Why Obamacare Should Be Repealed
As the debate over repealing Obamacare intensifies, it’s important to remember the law’s most glaring failures. Here are eight: 1) Costs Despite repeated promises of premium reductions, Obamacare has delivered major increases. In the employer-sponsored market, costs continue to increase. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, average family premiums for employer-sponsored plans have increased almost… -
opinion
Obama’s Nuclear Legacy Leaves America and Allies Less Safe
In his Jan. 11 remarks on nuclear weapons policy, the outgoing Vice President Joe Biden praised former President Barack Obama’s nuclear weapons policy. In reality, there are very few grounds for congratulations when it comes to Obama’s legacy. Take, for example, the Iran deal. Biden argued that the administration got the deal through a combination… -
news
Victim’s Son Decries Obama’s Commutation of Puerto Rico Terrorist Group Leader
Joe Connor celebrated his ninth birthday four days before his father was killed in a bombing at New York’s landmark Fraunces Tavern in 1975. The bombing was the most notorious act of violence committed by Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional, or FALN, a terrorist group that in the 1970s and early ’80s waged an unsuccessful,… -
opinion
Obama’s Legacy Is a Weaker and More Divided America
Americans voted in November for seismic change, but our outgoing president is still as clueless as ever about the nation he governed. In his farewell speech-cum-lecture earlier this month, President Barack Obama proclaimed that he made America better by “almost every measure.” The statement goes far beyond optimism, and lands squarely in the realm of… -
news
Amid Republican Criticism, Obama Defends Chelsea Manning Commutation
President Barack Obama used his final press conference to defend his decision to commute the sentence of former Army Pfc. Chelsea Manning, formerly known as Bradley Manning. “Chelsea Manning has served a tough prison sentence, so the notion that the average person who was thinking about disclosing vital classified information would think that it goes… -
opinion
Obama’s Commutation of Manning Sentence Sends a Horrible Message to Service Personnel
Exercising his authority under Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, President Barack Obama commuted the court-martial sentence of convicted felon Chelsea Manning, formerly known as Bradley Manning. Although there is no dispute that Obama had the legal authority to commute the former Army private first class’ sentence, the president and his advisers had…