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
As Obamacare Premiums Continue to Rise, Time to Look at Real Health Care Solutions
Obamacare has wreaked havoc on America’s individual and small group health insurance markets. For the last four years, while lavish taxpayer subsidies insulated low-income people from soaring premiums and deductibles, millions of middle-class Americans in the individual Affordable Care Act coverage markets felt both blasts. At the same time, they lost their old plans and… -
opinion
Obama Was Wrong on Oil. We Did ‘Drill Our Way Out of the Problem.’
When gas prices topped $4 per gallon in May 2011, President Barack Obama said, “We can’t just drill our way out of the problem.” Throughout his presidency, Obama stated some version of that sentiment every time he wanted to push to subsidize alternative energy sources. More than seven years later, human ingenuity, technological innovation, and… -
opinion
The Daily Signal Podcast: A Faith-Based Alternative to Obamacare
Obamacare’s heavy requirements have hit businesses hard. They’ve also burdened the consciences of religious Americans who cannot in good faith pay for certain drugs and products. It’s no surprise, then, that thousands of Americans are turning to an alternative to mainstream insurance called Liberty HealthShare. We sit down with the founder and chairman of the… -
news
EPA Moves to Scrap Obama Mandates for Power Plant Emissions
The Environmental Protection Agency accelerated the Trump administration’s deregulatory agenda Tuesday by announcing a proposed rule to replace the Obama administration’s “Clean Power Plan” with guidelines that give states more flexibility to determine how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants. The proposed Affordable Clean Energy Rule rejects what acting EPA Administrator Andrew… -
news
Former Obama Supporter Explains Why She Chose to #WalkAway
A former Obama supporter says she joined the “#WalkAway Campaign,” a movement that highlights stories of why people walk away from leftist ideology, because she could no longer subscribe to what the Democrat Party aligned itself to. “I did vote for our current president and I will vote for him again in 2020, and just… -
news
EPA Reverses Course, Will Now Enforce Obama-Era Regulations on Used Trucks
The Environmental Protection Agency withdrew a “no action assurance” notice that delayed enforcement of an Obama administration-era regulation the agency is working to repeal, The Daily Caller News Foundation has learned. Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler decided current regulations limiting the sale of glider kits—refurbished truck engines placed into new bodies—did not warrant a delay in… -
opinion
Betsy DeVos to Nix Obama Rule That Hurt Proprietary Colleges and Students
Another damaging Obama regulation is heading for the ash heap, which is great news for students. The New York Times and Wall Street Journal are reporting that the Department of Education is planning to fully rescind the “gainful employment” regulations promulgated by the Obama administration. Those regulations largely target proprietary or “for-profit” institutions of higher… -
news
Trump’s EPA Outpaces Obama in Cleaning Up Hazardous Waste Sites
President Donald Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency has cleaned up more polluted or contaminated sites in less time and at a faster pace than the Obama administration did in all of 2015 and 2016, according to an analysis of government records by The Daily SIgnal. Wednesday marks the one-year anniversary of the EPA’s Superfund Task Force… -
opinion
Betsy DeVos Should Get Feds Out of School Discipline Policy, Withdraw Obama-Era Guidance
Sometimes in a compromise, both sides walk away unhappy. That’s exactly what would happen if the Trump administration accepts a compromise measure on school discipline policy proposed by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute. The proposal is a non-starter, particularly for those who value local control over federal overreach. Here’s what’s at stake. In 2014, the… -
news
Boomers Hail Reagan While Millennials Choose Obama as Best President of Their Lifetime
Four in 10 baby boomers and Americans from the silent generation chose former President Ronald Reagan as the best president of their lifetime, while 62 percent of millennials hailed former President Barack Obama as either the best or second best of their lifetime, according to a poll from the Pew Research Center on Wednesday. The… -
opinion
How Congress Can Reduce Obamacare Premiums
In 2019, Obamacare premiums are poised to become even more expensive. New York, Washington state, and Maryland are requesting to raise their rates for the individual market by an average of 24 percent, 19 percent, and 30 percent respectively. Nationwide, the Congressional Budget Office predicts premiums will increase an average of 15 percent for the… -
news
In 2015, Judge Demanded Obama Release Children, Mothers Detained in ‘Deplorable Conditions’
A California federal judge ruled in 2015 that hundreds of mothers and their children held for illegally crossing the border must be released immediately, finding their detention a serious violation of a long-standing court settlement and the conditions of their facilities grossly inadequate. Judge Dolly M. Gee of the Federal District Court for the Central… -
news
Conservatives Tout ‘Choices’ Health Plan as Alternative to Obamacare
Conservative governors and activists are touting a new health care proposal for Congress that they say is a consensus plan to discard Obamacare by lowering costs and improving choices for Americans. “We know why we are here, [and that is] because there is not a single Republican, I’ll say, who has run for federal office… -
opinion
Once Again, Obamacare’s Constitutionality Comes Into Question
Readers might recall that, in 2012, the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, colloquially known as Obamacare, by a 5-4 vote in a case captioned NFIB v. Sebelius. Last year, Congress revised Obamacare. In the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, Congress eliminated… -
news
11 More States Win Court Injunctions Against Obama’s Water Rules
A federal judge has granted preliminary injunctions to 11 more states against former President Barack Obama’s Waters of the United States rule. The wave of injunctions issued Friday by U.S. District Court Judge Lisa Godbey Wood of Georgia’s Southern District, symbolizes growing opposition to the rule, Politico reported. A federal judge in North Dakota had exempted 13 other… -
opinion
3 Problems With the Left’s New Favorite Study on Obamacare Rates
A recent study by the Center for American Progress predicts average annual Obamacare premiums will rise by more than $1,013 next year as a result of recent actions by Congress and the Trump administration. CAP blames two public policies for the increase: repeal of the tax penalty on the uninsured, and a Trump administration regulation… -
news
Pruitt Is Overhauling EPA ‘Cost-Benefit’ Analysis That Obama Used to Justify Costly Regulations
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt is overhauling the way his department calculates the costs and benefits of new regulations, the EPA announced Thursday. The EPA issued an advance notice that it will be collecting input from the public on how to restructure the cost-benefit analysis process within the agency. Pruitt held up former President Barack… -
news
Obamacare Threatens to Drive Insurance Rates Higher for Individuals
Health insurers in multiple states could increase rates sharply on the Obamacare exchanges for 2019, with premiums in Maryland's individual market set to jump as much as 91 percent. Insurers seek to charge higher Obamacare insurance premiums, proposing average increases in the individual market of 30 percent in Maryland, 24 percent in New York, and… -
opinion
Time for Trump’s Choice, Not Obama’s, to Head America’s Global Broadcast Operations
If war is the continuation of diplomacy by other means, public diplomacy is a theater where states use ideas instead of ordnance. But in this important battlefield, the U.S. is not currently fighting with generals chosen by the commander in chief elected by the American people in 2016. The ideas are still being shaped by… -
opinion
Podcast: How Obama Administration Policies Made Bullying Worse
The Daily Signal’s Kelsey Harkness joins us today to discuss how Obama-era policies on school discipline affected children from one Baltimore family, with one son suicidal and a daughter dealing with sexual harassment. Plus: The Parkland teens announce a nationwide tour to promote gun control. Watch Harkness’ full documentary on the Landers family experience: