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
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… -
news
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…. -
news
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… -
opinion
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… -
news
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…. -
opinion
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… -
opinion
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,… -
opinion
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. -
opinion
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… -
opinion
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… -
opinion
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… -
news
Idaho Tried to Solve Obamacare Price Hikes. Here’s What Happened
The Trump administration has rejected a health insurance initiative by Idaho that some saw as an affordable model for challenging the dominance of Obamacare. “Taking no action is a time bomb,” @LtGovBradLittle says. Idaho leaders traveled to Washington this week to meet with Trump administration officials and make their case for the policy. Idaho sought… -
opinion
Obamacare Bailouts Will Not Save Money and Lower Premiums, Despite Contrary Claims
Congress appears poised to bail out Obamacare with new federal money in the omnibus package next week. Advocates of this bailout say it’s a good idea that will lower premiums and either “pay for itself” or “lower spending.” These claims are based on estimates that rely on questionable assumptions. Lawmakers should not be fooled into… -
opinion
Senate May Fund Obamacare Subsidies With This Sneaky Move
Republicans campaigned for roughly a decade, promising voters they would dismantle former President Barack Obama’s landmark health care legislation; but one of their own senators is trying to keep it alive through the 2018 election cycle. Leadership has nine days to whip representatives and senators behind an appropriations bill that will keep the government funded… -
opinion
Without the Individual Mandate’s Tax, Obamacare Should Fall Apart in Court
When Congress enacted President Donald Trump’s landmark tax reform plan in December, one media outlet proclaimed: “The GOP Tax Bill Kills Obamacare’s Individual Mandate.” Turns out, the headline was wrong. The individual mandate—the unconstitutional requirement that most Americans buy health insurance—remains in the law. The headline should have proclaimed that the tax bill repealed the… -
news
5 Ways Obama’s Discipline Policy Made Schools Less Effective and Safe
As is typical with so many other policies, federal meddling in what should be a local matter leads to poor results. This is the conclusion reached Monday by a Heritage Foundation panel about a school discipline initiative, launched by the Obama administration, that suddenly became the subject of national debate after the Feb. 14 massacre… -
opinion
3 Questions Congress Should Answer Before Bailing Out Obamacare
Having failed last year to pass legislation undoing Obamacare’s damage, congressional Republicans now are reportedly looking to spend billions of additional tax dollars bailing out insurers offering Obamacare coverage, rather than dealing with the real problems that are driving up costs. The money would be added to a government funding bill that Congress plans to take… -
opinion
Congress Should Ditch Obama’s ‘Clean Water Rule’
Congress last year utilized the Congressional Review Act to get rid of many federal agency rules, most of which were prime examples of agency overreach. Congress now needs to use the “power of the purse” in the upcoming omnibus appropriations bill to continue its efforts to rein in agencies and reassert its lawmaking power. One… -
opinion
More Taxpayer Bailouts Will Only Paper Over Obamacare’s Many Failures
It appears that Congress, backed by powerful special interests in the health care industry, is getting ready to bail out, once again, Obamacare’s failing health insurance program. Here’s the back story. Last year, President Donald Trump canceled the cost-sharing reduction subsidies for people buying coverage in the Obamacare exchanges. These taxpayer subsidies offset the out-of-pocket… -
opinion
Obama-Era Policies Helped Keep Parkland Shooter Under the Radar. Here’s What Went Wrong.
One of the most heartbreaking and perhaps infuriating aspects of the Florida school shooting that took 17 lives is just how many red flags there were surrounding the shooter. The national debate following the shooting has mostly revolved around guns. Much ink has also (rightly) been spilled about the failed leadership of the Broward County…