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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‘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…Kevin Mooney -
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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.Katrina Trinko -
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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….Edmund Haislmaier -
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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…Rachel del Guidice -
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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…David Harsanyi -
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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…Jarrett Stepman -
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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…Kevin Mooney -
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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…Fred Lucas -
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Bush, Obama Education Chiefs Differ Sharply From Betsy DeVos on Limiting Federal Government’s Role
Four former U.S. education secretaries implicitly criticized the approach taken to failing public schools by President Donald Trump and his education secretary, Betsy DeVos, during a summit in Washington. The Education Department secretaries under Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush implied during a panel discussion Thursday at the Reagan Institute Summit on Education that…Rachel del Guidice -
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Americans Are Backing Away From Obamacare
Roughly 400,000 fewer people signed up for Obamacare in 2018, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma announced Tuesday afternoon. “11.8 million consumers enrolled for 2018 Exchange coverage nationwide. Great job @CMSGov on the most cost-effective and successful open enrollment to date,” Verma tweeted Tuesday afternoon. 11.8 million consumers enrolled for 2018 Exchange coverage nationwide….Robert Donachie -
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EPA to Rework ‘Coercive’ Obama Fuel Standards, Scott Pruitt Says
Obama administration regulations on fuel efficiency for automobiles were both unrealistic and coercive, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt said Tuesday. “Oftentimes this agency has been used to try to be coercive and to try to pick winners and losers and advance certain outcomes in the marketplace,” @EPAScottPruitt says. “Oftentimes this agency has been used…Fred Lucas -
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EPA Revision of Obama-Era Fuel Standards Will Make New Cars More Affordable
In a victory for American families and consumer choice, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt has announced the agency will be revising aggressive fuel economy standards set in place by the Obama administration. Working with the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the EPA will revise efficiency standards for cars and light-duty trucks…Nicolas Loris -
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EPA Begins Revision of Obama Climate Regulations for Cars, Trucks
EPA chief Scott Pruitt said Monday that the Obama administration’s fuel economy regulations aren't appropriate and his agency will help revise them. Pruitt, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, said the EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration would begin crafting new greenhouse gas emission and mileage standards for vehicles built in 2022 through 2025….Michael Bastasch -
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Obama Judges Rule Cross Monument Must Go, Showing Elections Do Have Consequences
When Republican congressional leaders went to the White House on Jan. 23, 2009—just three days into Barack Obama’s presidency—to discuss legislation, he helpfully reminded them that his policy preferences necessarily had to prevail because “elections have consequences, and at the end of the day, I won.” Obama is out of office now, but the regrettable consequences of…Peter Parisi -
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Congress Should Get Past Obamacare, Forget Bailouts, and Embrace Real Health Reform
This week, congressional leaders withdrew legislative language that would have bailed out Obamacare’s health insurance companies as part of the $1.3 trillion, 2,232-page omnibus spending bill. Most American taxpayers are opposed these Obamacare bailouts, but they have every reason to be nervous as long as Congress is in session. The reason: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell,…Robert Moffit -
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Podcast: The Upcoming Obamacare Bailout
Why is a GOP-controlled Congress about to spend billions of taxpayer dollars propping up Obamacare? The Heritage Foundation’s Marie Fishpaw joins us to discuss. Plus: We talk about Hillary Clinton’s Facebook message claiming we all misunderstood her comments last weekend.Katrina Trinko -
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Congress Should Provide Obamacare Opt-Outs, Not Bailouts
This month could mark a turning point in national health policy. Big insurance companies have been pressuring Congress for a bailout—in the form of more taxpayer subsidies—to “stabilize” Obamacare. Congress must decide whether to maintain Obamacare on artificial life support, with yet another infusion of billions in taxpayer dollars, or tackle the tough task of…Edmund Haislmaier -
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Americans Don’t Want Obamacare Bailouts
The Republican Congress that was elected to repeal Obamacare is now considering bailing it out. It shouldn’t. Earlier this month, America’s Health Insurance Plans, the lobbying arm of the health insurance industry, sent a letter to the Republican leadership demanding billions of dollars in new subsidies for Obamacare insurance policies. The letter did not mention…Sen. Mike Lee -
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States Win Another Major Case Against Obamacare
In a decision that has gotten almost no media attention, six states led by Texas have won another round against the Obama administration implementation of Obamacare. Judge Reed O’Connor, a federal judge in Texas, threw out the Obama administration’s imposition of a federal fee or tax on states as a condition of continuing to receive…Hans von Spakovsky