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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news
Obama Administration Wants to Use Taxpayer Money to Settle Health Insurer Lawsuits. Here’s How a Republican Would Stop It.
Republican Rep. Chris Stewart of Utah has mounted a campaign urging House Speaker Paul Ryan to initiate a lawsuit against the Obama administration over the potential use of a fund the Treasury Department oversees to pay federal legal claims to settle with insurance companies suing the government. Stewart is circulating a letter to his Republican… -
news
Meet the Senator Opposing Obama’s Mandate for Transgender Bathrooms in Schools
Sen. James Lankford, a Republican from Oklahoma, is known for his conservative values. So when he decided to take on the Obama administration over its mandate to schools on transgender bathrooms, it came as no surprise to those familiar with the reserved, red-headed senator. But instead of attacking the Obama administration on the policy itself,… -
opinion
Obama Fair Housing Rules Open Door to Unintended Consequences
The Obama administration is pulling on both ends of the rope in the tug-of-war over housing regulation. Heritage Foundation calculations found that the typical American household spends an extra $1,700 a year due to land use regulation. Households on both coasts pay much more. Joining Heritage on one end of the tug-of-war, the administration released… -
news
Obama, With Co-Star DiCaprio, Says Climate Change Skeptics Should ‘Pay Penalty’
President Barack Obama, joined by actor Leonardo DiCaprio at the White House, warned Monday night that the world is running out of time to counter climate change and the U.S. government must make laggards “pay a penalty.” “It takes time to ramp up these new energy sources, and we are in a battle against time,”… -
opinion
When Bureaucrats Edit the Facts of Islamist Terrorism to Fit Obama’s Narrative
In the early morning hours of June 12, an armed terrorist named Omar Mateen opened fire in a nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The next morning, Americans awoke to the news that 49 people had been murdered—the largest such massacre in American history. This heinous act left Americans, as well as the Orlando community, grieving and searching… -
news
What Top Senators Want to Know About Obama’s Push to OK New Citizens to Vote
The branch manager for the Houston office of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services seemed clear about the reason and timing for asking staff to work overtime to push through more citizenship applications. “The field office due to the election year needs to process as many of their N-400 cases as possible between now and FY… -
news
Obama Administration Promotes Student Aid as College Costs Remain High
President Barack Obama greatly increased financial assistance for college students since 2008, but the cost of higher education and student debt still climbs and graduation rates have remained flat. In the 2007-2008 academic year, the average combined tuition and fees for public four-year colleges and universities were $15,530, according to the College Board, a higher… -
opinion
Obama’s New Death Tax Threatens Family Farms and Businesses
We all knew President Barack Obama’s lame-duck presidency would be bad, but for the millions of Americans who work at family farms and businesses, it’s about to get a lot worse. As Heritage Foundation tax expert Curtis Dubay wrote at The Daily Signal, Obama is trying to sneak in a tax hike in his twilight… -
news
Obama Could Be First Modern President to Serve 2 Terms and Have Only 1 Veto Overridden
President Barack Obama could likely face his first veto override of his presidency this week—which will probably also be the last given his pending exit in January 2017. The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, generally referred to as the 9/11 bill, will return to the Senate Wednesday and to the House as early as… -
opinion
Utahns Fear Obama Will Heed Environmentalists, Not Them, on National Monument Designation
This past Monday marked the 20th anniversary of President Bill Clinton using the Antiquities Act to create the 1.5 million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah. For most Utahns, this date is not a cause for celebration. It’s a source of anger toward what many see as an out-of-touch and overbearing federal government Infamously,… -
opinion
What Obama’s Education Secretary Got Wrong About Homeschoolers
Homeschooling has been growing in popularity in recent years, and now accounts for about 3.4 percent of the school-age population. That’s more than double the percentage (1.7 percent) of homeschooling families in 1999. That’s great news for families who have chosen to give a customized, tailor-made education to their children, and for the millions of… -
news
Conservatives Aim to Block Obama’s Plan for More Refugees
As President Barack Obama used his final address before the United Nations General Assembly to urge world leaders to help protect refugees, Republicans in Congress threatened to use their budget powers to restrict who is admitted into the U.S. While refugee resettlement has enjoyed bipartisan support in Congress historically, some Republicans want confirmation from U.S. intelligence leaders that… -
opinion
Obama’s Absurd Double Standard on Defense Spending
This week we learned that the Obama administration has requested $2.6 billion in emergency funding for Louisiana flood relief. While the specifics of the Louisiana flood relief request should be thoughtfully considered, the very nature of this request highlights the Obama administration’s absurd double standard on budget issues. Back in July, President Barack Obama announced… -
news
3 International Commitments Obama Wants to Tie the US to Before Leaving Office
Before leaving office, President Barack Obama could commit the United States to two actions affecting its nuclear arsenal, and a third on much smaller weapons. “We will continue to review … steps to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in our security strategy,” @StateDept says. Ahead of Obama’s final trip to the United Nations General… -
news
US Has Duty to Ensure Internet Freedom, Cruz Says at Hearing on Obama Plan
The internet, an “oasis of freedom,” could become much less free if the United States doesn’t keep guardianship over it, Sen. Ted Cruz said Wednesday during a hearing on Capitol Hill. “The internet is one of the most revolutionary forces ever unleashed on the world,” Cruz, R-Texas, said during the Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing. “People… -
news
How Hispanics, Blacks Have Fared in Obama Economy
President Barack Obama will be speaking this week for the last time during his presidency to annual dinners for black and Hispanic members of Congress, even as his record for the two largest minority groups in the country is at best questionable, based on government numbers. A Census Bureau report this week found wages have climbed… -
news
Meet Native Americans Fighting Obama’s Push to Conserve Public Land
The latest front in a debate over the reach of U.S. control of federal land is a 1.9 million-acre retreat of mesas and canyons located in Utah’s poorest county. The stakes are large for this remote land, which President Barack Obama is considering designating as a national monument, in his continued pursuit of being the… -
opinion
Obama’s Parting Gift to Planned Parenthood
What do you give to a cash-flush abortion business and political ally that has everything? More taxpayer dollars, of course. In his remaining few months in the Oval Office, President Barack Obama has found a new way to direct more taxpayer money to his friends at Planned Parenthood. The Department of Health and Human Services… -
opinion
The Disturbing Steady Drip of Revelations About Obama’s Iran Cash Deal
Allegations that President Barack Obama’s administration doled out ransom payments to Iran in exchange for prisoners have been fueled by new revelations about additional cash payments beyond the initial $400 million transfer that the administration already admitted. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Obama administration, which had transferred $400 million in European currencies to… -
opinion
Back Again: This Time Obama Administration Wants a Taxpayer Bailout for Puerto Rico
Less than two months after Congress passed a package aimed to provide financial relief for Puerto Rico, the Obama administration is already at it again—this time seeking an outright taxpayer bailout for the U.S. territory through additional Medicaid funds and access to the earned income tax credit. Why does Puerto Rico need help? After decades…