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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Senate to Add Obamacare Repeal to Tax Bill, and Some House Members Support, Too
As Congress works to pass tax reform by the end of the year, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced that a repeal of Obamacare’s individual health care mandate would be added to the Senate version of the tax bill. “We’re optimistic that inserting the individual mandate repeal would be helpful,” McConnell said Tuesday, speaking…Rachel del Guidice -
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Senate Makes Bold Move, Includes Repeal of Obamacare’s Individual Mandate in Tax Bill
News broke on Tuesday that the Senate will include repeal of Obamacare’s individual mandate in its final tax bill. This is something President Donald Trump has called for, and it’s exactly the right move. It’s critical that Congress take every opportunity to undo Obamacare’s damage. Repealing the individual mandate is a great place to begin…Whitney Jones -
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Obama’s EPA Spent $1.5 Million So Employees Could Hurt Air Quality Driving to Work
President Barack Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency paid $1.5 million for employee parking spaces, many of which went to the highly-paid upper management or were unused, a government watchdog reported Wednesday. The EPA spent $840,000 subsidizing parking spaces and another $690,000 on empty spaces, the agency’s inspector general found. Meanwhile, federal law has sought to discourage employees…Ethan Barton -
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GOP’s Top Tax Writer Says Obamacare Mandate Could Be Repealed in Tax Plan
The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee says Republican’s tax plan unveiled Thursday could potentially include a repeal of the individual health care mandate in Obamacare. “The president feels very strongly about including this at some step before the final process and he’s told me that twice by phone and once in person,”…Rachel del Guidice -
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Why the New Obamacare ‘Fix’ Is a Dud, and Why the Narrative Justifying It Is Wrong
While President Donald Trump’s response to the bipartisan health care proposal on Capitol Hill has slid from optimistic to negative, and then back to optimistic, he would be right to move away from this deal. Despite its advocates’ claims, this proposal isn’t needed to help low-income Americans or stabilize the insurance markets—and is a major…Jarrett Stepman -
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School Named After Jefferson Davis Will Be Renamed After Obama
A predominantly black public school in Mississippi named after Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States in the 1860s, will be renamed after former President Barrack Obama, according to a report released Wednesday. Stakeholders in the school voted earlier this month at the Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees meeting to change the elementary school’s…Henry Rodgers -
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House Conservative Leader Calls Obamacare Bailout Bill ‘Unacceptable’
The latest attempt at a legislative fix to Obamacare was met with a mixture of hesitance and outright opposition by Republicans who have repeatedly vowed to pass a comprehensive repeal and replace bill. A bipartisan bill, which was introduced Tuesday by Sens. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Patty Murray, D-Wash., would temporarily reinstate the federal payments…Jack Crowe -
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Conservatives Eye Obamacare Repeal in 2018
Despite Republicans’ inability to repeal Obamacare, President Donald Trump and some conservative leaders have not given up on calling for renewed efforts to repeal or reform the law. “There appears to be widespread agreement among congressional Republicans that moving on from Obamacare is bad policy and bad politics,” said Dan Holler, vice president for Heritage…Rachel del Guidice -
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Universal Coverage? My Fourth Health Care Plan Just Died Thanks to Obamacare
Cue the funeral bagpipes. My fourth health insurance plan is dead. Two weeks ago, my husband and I received yet another cancellation notice for our private, individual health insurance coverage. It’s our fourth Obamacare-induced obituary in four years. Our first death notice, from Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, arrived in the fall of 2013….Michelle Malkin -
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Rolling Back Obama EPA Rule Could Save $33 Billion
Reversing an Obama administration energy regulation will save energy companies $33 billion in compliance costs through 2030—costs that would have otherwise been borne by consumers, senior Trump administration officials said in providing details about scrapping the plan. The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday proposed to repeal the Clean Power Plan, placing the proposed repeal in…Fred Lucas -
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Obama’s Climate Plan Was a Failure on All Accounts
The Trump administration is dismantling President Barack Obama’s climate legacy piece by piece, and this week it’s taking an axe to arguably the biggest piece. In an expected move, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt officially began the process of rolling back the incorrectly named Clean Power Plan. If the Trump administration is intent on…Nicolas Loris -
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Failure to Repeal Obamacare Not Bad Omen for Tax Reform, Key GOP Lawmaker Says
The chairman of the largest Republican caucus in the House of Representatives said Americans should be confident tax reform will pass, even though a repeal of Obamacare didn’t. “We are not going to give up,” Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., told The Daily Signal in a Facebook Live interview, referring to repealing Obamacare. “The House is…Rachel del Guidice -
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Problematic Women: Michelle Obama’s Hypocrisy
Speaking at a marketing conference on Wednesday, former first lady Michelle Obama suggested that women who voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 election voted “against their own voice.” “Any woman who voted against Hillary Clinton voted against their own voice,” she said, according to video from the Inbound 2017 conference in Boston. “What does…Kelsey Bolar -
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Obamacare Repeal Isn’t Dead, House Conservatives Insist
Despite “fake news” claims that Republicans’ chance to repeal and replace Obamacare ends Saturday, that isn’t necessarily true, a conservative House member said Tuesday. Obamacare repeal plan is “not dead on September 30th,” @RepThomasMassie says. “Go back and look at the name of the Obamacare reconciliation vehicle in 2010,” Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., told reporters…Ian Snively -
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Think Obamacare Is Bad? ‘Medicare for All’ Would Make Things Even Worse.
As Republican senators look to scrape together the votes for a deal on health care, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is pushing his own proposal. He calls it “Medicare for All,” and it has already garnered support from 16 Democratic senators. As nice as Medicare for All may sound, Sanders’ proposal is a classic example of…Deane Waldman -
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We Hear You: Why Republicans Haven’t Kept Their Promise to Repeal Obamacare
Editors's note: With the Senate once again on the brink of a vote to partially repeal and replace Obamacare through the Graham-Cassidy bill, it's a good time to share more emails from some in The Daily Signal's audience who don't like what they see, especially in Republicans' actions. You can join in by writing [email protected]—Ken…Ken McIntyre -
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Jimmy Kimmel Knows Comedy, Not What Ails Obamacare, Conservatives Say
Jimmy Kimmel may be a funny man, but he doesn’t understand Obamacare, according to a U.S. senator who the late-night TV host slammed this week as dishonest in describing a Republican alternative to the health care law. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., one of the chief authors of legislation to partially repeal Obamacare, sought to make…Rachel del Guidice -
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Obama’s ‘Julia’ Will Have Better Life Because of Tax Reform
Julia and her husband, James, are worried about their future. James lost his job and can’t find work. Julia has not received a raise in many years and is unhappy at her job. They are struggling just to make ends meet and provide for their children. Every year, the government takes more of their hard-earned…Daily Signal Staff -
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The GOP’s Last-Ditch Effort to Partially Repeal Obamacare
Republican senators are pitching one last-ditch effort to repeal Obamacare regulations before a Sept. 30 deadline. A bill, drafted by Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Dean Heller of Nevada, and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, along with former Republican Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, would repeal both Obamacare’s individual and employer…Rachel del Guidice -
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Likely Next Solicitor General Fought for Nuns, Against Disputed Obama Appointees
After racking up victories against the Obama administration before the Supreme Court, Noel Francisco is expected to be confirmed by the Senate to manage the Trump administration’s cases there. “If you asked any conservative attorney in this town, they would put Noel in the top five legal minds,” @Curt_Levey says. >>> Update: The Senate confirmed…Fred Lucas