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
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: -
opinion
8 Reasons to Still Hate Obamacare
Remember Obamacare? The fight is far from over on the future of the Obama-era health insurance overhaul. Republicans are making a list-ditch effort this year to turn the program and the money over to the state. This isn’t full Obamacare repeal, but would make a world of sense because states would be free to experiment… -
news
After Collecting $16 Million in Grants From Housing Department in Obama Era, Liberal Group Sues Agency Now
A liberal advocacy group that has received more than $16 million in federal grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development is now suing the agency after HUD Secretary Ben Carson last month scaled back a regulation it supports. HUD has given the liberal National Fair Housing Alliance $16.1 million in grants since 2009,… -
news
Their Son Is Suicidal Because of Bullying. They Blame an Obama-Era School Discipline Policy.
PARKVILLE, Md.—Nicole Landers found a note written by her 9-year-old son, Jared. “Kill me. I mean nothing. I have issues,” it read. Her son’s April 16 note, Landers said, was the culmination of months of bullying Jared endured in the classroom. That bullying included being struck in the face and thrown in the mud by… -
news
New Jersey Imposes State Obamacare-Style Individual Mandate
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has signed into law a measure that preserved the Obamacare mandate requiring state residents to buy health insurance. Starting next year, the bill will require all uninsured residents of the Garden State to buy health insurance or face a tax penalty, which would be deposited into a New Jersey Health… -
news
‘This Is a Job-Killing Regulation That Will Put Our Company Out of Business’: Some Push EPA to Reverse Obama-Era Regulation
Trucking industry interests successfully lobbied the Environmental Protection Agency to impose “job-killing” regulations on remanufactured vehicles known as gliders that are cheaper to purchase than new trucks, an energy policy analyst and a maker of the vehicles say. Gliders range in size from medium to heavy trucks. They are constructed from “glider kits” that include new truck parts, such… -
opinion
Podcast: Former Obama Voter Antonia Okafor Explains Why She’s Now Conservative
Antonia Okafor is now a gun rights supporter and political commentator. But in college, she found her political beliefs shifting from left to right. She explains what happened. Plus: A new study indicates that political correctness may have helped President Donald Trump win the election. -
opinion
Obamacare Is Shrinking the Individual Health Insurance Market
New data from insurance company regulatory filings show that enrollment in the individual health insurance market declined significantly last year—by 10 percent, or 1.8 million people. Over the three years prior to the implementation of Obamacare (2011 through 2013), enrollment in the individual market was basically stable—fluctuating narrowly between 11.8 million and 12 million persons…. -
news
Democrats Work to Reinstate Obama-Era Net Neutrality Rules
Democrats are expected to vote this week to re-establish internet rules, commonly known as net neutrality, promulgated by President Barack Obama’s Federal Communications Commission. “This move by the Democrats threatens American ingenuity and the countless good-paying jobs created by internet startups,” Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., said in a statement provided to The Daily Signal. “Some… -
opinion
The Obama Legacy Deserves to Be Destroyed
It’s strange that a president who had such a transformative effect on our national discourse will leave such a negligible policy legacy. But Barack Obama, whose imperial term changed the way Americans interact and in some ways paved the way for the Trump presidency, is now watching his much-celebrated and mythologized two-term legacy be systematically… -
opinion
Reports Show Obama-Era Policies May Have Eroded School Safety in Broward County
The discipline policies that allowed the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter to fall through the cracks may be coming to your community. In 2013, Broward County, Florida, adopted school discipline policies aimed at ending the “school-to-prison pipeline” as well as racial disparities in punishment. The Obama administration recommended these policies as official guidance to… -
news
Obama Interior Secretaries Spent More Than Ryan Zinke on Chartered Flights
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has spent far fewer taxpayer dollars on chartered flights than his two predecessors in the Obama administration, public records show. The Daily Signal’s examination of travel records found that on average Zinke’s two predecessors spent more annually on such noncommercial flights, despite media reports critical of Zinke’s spending on travel. The… -
news
What Bush, Obama Deployments of National Guard at Border Suggest About Trump’s Operation
California Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, drew surprising praise from President Donald Trump regarding plans to send the state’s National Guard troops to the southern border. However, Brown seems to be placing many restrictions, according to an Associated Press report Monday. The report says the anonymous federal officials told the AP that California will not…