Daily news coverage of politics, policy, and issues shaping the nation.
It’s that time of year: HealthCare.gov is officially open for business. More than a year after HealthCare.gov experienced a glitch-filled rollout, the health insurance marketplace opened once again, though with much less fanfare compared to last October’s implementation. The Obamacare rollout last year saw a flood of 2.5 million Americans attempting to sign up for…
Bill Flores could be one of the friendliest faces in Congress. True to his Aggie roots, his Capitol Hill office parades pride for both his country and home state of Texas. Talk to Flores for five minutes, and you’ll feel a special allegiance to the Lone Star state. Flores touts himself as a congressman who…
Not that he always doesn’t, but Rep. Mick Mulvaney especially enjoyed coming to work last Wednesday. Fresh off months of campaigning for the cause, Mulvaney, R-S.C., returned to Capitol Hill knowing that Republicans will assume control of the Senate and tighten their hold on the House of Representatives in January. He also came confident in…
Louie Gohmert has Texas running through his veins. Born in Pittsburg — that’s Pittsburg, Texas — he wears cowboy boots on the House floor. (He even offered them to Sen. Rand Paul during the Kentucky Republican’s 2013 filibuster.) He is known for his legendary ribs. Covering the walls of his Capitol Hill office are odes…
In an attempt to distance himself from Jonathan Gruber, President Obama is downplaying the Obamacare architect’s role in the crafting of his signature health care law. During a press conference at the G20 summit in Brisbane, Australia, Obama said Gruber was “some adviser who never worked on our staff.” Over the last week, six videos have…
Is your city transportation-friendly? A new interactive scorecard, created by the R Street Institute, grades 50 cities on their regulatory openness toward car services. The report seeks to identify whether cities encourage competition in the transportation market. Andrew Moylan, senior fellow at the R Street Institute, said the scorecard provides a snapshot of the current regulatory…
It was 50 years ago this month that then-Sen. Barry Goldwater, R-Ariz., suffered one of the most lopsided defeats in the history of presidential elections. He carried just six states and received only 38 percent of the popular vote. Not only had Democrats worked against him, but many in his own party disavowed him because…
Making defense operations more efficient is a natural common cause for Congress and the Pentagon. Increased efficiency would save money—freeing up dollars that the Pentagon could plow back into rebuilding the capacity and capabilities needed to defend the country. Sadly, talk about how to do this always starts in the wrong place. Some want to…
China’s agreement to reduce coal emissions isn’t worth the paper it was printed on, an energy research group says. Noting that Beijing made no binding promises, the Institute for Energy Research said President Obama “got swindled” during his appearance with Chinese leaders Wednesday. The swindle ultimately hits the American taxpayer, according to the group. “The…
Ohio’s public pension plans have so much debt that paying it off today would cost each resident $25,080. According to a new report, “Promises Made, Promises Broken 2014,” by the nonprofit State Budget Solutions, the amount of unfunded pension obligations in Ohio has grown to nearly $290 billion, fifth highest in the nation. That’s despite…
Two federal agencies have agreed to investigate the controversial government program known as Operation Choke Point, which critics say targets businesses that are out of favor with the Obama administration. The Justice Department and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. agreed to the investigation after more than 30 members of Congress, led by Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer,…
Chris Picco unexpectedly lost his wife Ashley–and just days later, he also lost their son, Lennon, who was born in an emergency c-section. According to Lifestyle Magazine, “during Ashley's pregnancy, she'd feel Lennon moving to music, so she asked her husband to bring his guitar to the hospital and play for him when he was…
A video from Vermont shows Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber mocking a Vermonter who expressed concern about single-payer health care. In the 2011 video shot by TrueNorthReports.com and released on Thursday, Gruber appears before the Vermont House Health Care Committee to present recommendations for a universal, publicly financed health care program. The recommendations were part of…
One of a trio of Republican congressmen will take over a conservative caucus in the U.S. House with a 40-year history that some members see as compromised. Although a front-runner has emerged, insiders warn a bump in support for a candidate favored by House leadership could affect the outcome. Next Tuesday, three lawmakers seek the chairmanship…
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Fossil lovers now have one more way to link up and talk about dinosaurs, thanks to a mammoth-sized federal grant. Critics call it more buried treasure. The University of Florida broke ground earlier this year on a taxpayer-supported initiative purporting to connect amateur fossil enthusiasts across the country with each other and…
A school board in Maryland this week voted to remove the names of Christian, Jewish and Muslim holidays from its school calendar. According to the Washington Times, the Montgomery County Public Schools “still will be closed on the holidays, but the board voted 7-1 to move the religious references from the calendar.” The newspaper reports the Montgomery County Board…
President Obama is expected to act alone to overhaul the nation’s immigration system as soon as next week, protecting up to 5 million illegal immigrants from deportation and providing many of them with work permits. Obama has flaunted the prospect of executive action for months, and multiple media outlets now report details of the president’s…
Government contractors from around Washington, D.C., held a one-day strike Thursday to urge President Obama to raise the minimum wage to $15 for federal employees. Fearing the Republican-controlled Congress won’t act, the workers pressed Obama to move forward on his own with an executive order. In February, Obama used his executive authority to boost the minimum wage for contract…
It’s no secret that kids love snow days. They even have rituals they hope will bring one that vary from wearing their pajamas inside out and backward to flushing ice cubes down the toilet. But soon, snow days might become a thing of the past. Lynn Grewing, principal of St. Cloud Cathedral High School in Minnesota, told…
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said today she doesn’t know Jonathan Gruber, the man credited with helping congressional Democrats draft Obamacare. “I don’t know who he is. He didn’t help write our bill … let’s put him aside,” said Pelosi. But shortly after making the claim, video of then-Speaker Pelosi surfaced, in which he…