Government shutdown was avoided this time around when President Trump signed two spending bills that will fund the federal government until September 2020, the rest of the fiscal year. The $1.4 trillion budget deal included wins and compromises for both parties, policy changes wanted by both parties, and the inevitable odd tidbits slipped in to … [Read more...]
Obamacare Survived Legal Challenges, Repeal Attempts and Trump’s Sabotage. Can It Survive One More Lawsuit?
After Democrats passed the Affordable Care Act in 2010, conservative lawyers immediately launched multiple legal challenges. The ACA – also known as “Obamacare” - survived all of those challenges, winning over the conservative majority on the Supreme Court. When Donald Trump took office in 2017, he was backed up by Republican majorities in both … [Read more...]
Trump’s Health Care Agenda Outlined for 2020
A Guide to the President’s Proposed (and Politicized) Health Care Plans President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump meet with survivors, families, hospital staff, and first responders, Wednesday, August 7, 2019, at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo Credit: Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks, Public Domain) … [Read more...]
What Policy Positions Will Stand Out in The September 12 Democratic Debate?
Former Vice President of the United States Joe Biden speaking with attendees at the Presidential Gun Sense Forum hosted by Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore, CC 2.0) When 10 Democratic candidates take the stage at Texas Southern University in Houston on … [Read more...]
Kamala Harris Supports Medicare for All During ‘Meet the Press’ Interview
Kamala Harris poses with a young child at event. (Photo Credit: Public Domain) Senator Kamala Harris of California told Meet the Press’ Chuck Todd on Sunday that she supports the estimated $2.5 trillion Medicare for All proposal in which Medicare would be expanded to include all Americans and many of the deductibles and co-pays would be … [Read more...]
Democratic 2020 Candidates Ready to Argue Policy at Debates
On Tuesday and Wednesday the second round of Democrat debates will air on CNN. The key question Democrats are confronted with is whether to overhaul the nation's healthcare system. The healthcare system makes up around 18% of the American economy. The battle lines are being drawn on healthcare reform. No element of the intense … [Read more...]
Conservative Legal Scholars Warn Obamacare Lawsuit Threatens Severability Principle
President Barack Obama talks with staff at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Mass., April 18, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) Three judges – two of them appointed by Republican presidents – from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on July 9 in Texas v. Azar, a case brought by Republican attorneys … [Read more...]
Will Chief Justice John Roberts Protect Abortion Precedent?
Event Description: The Supreme Court held a special sitting on November 8, 2018, for the formal investiture ceremony of Associate Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh. President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump attended as guests of the Court. Photo Caption: Associate Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh (left) and Chief Justice John G. Roberts, … [Read more...]
House Democrats Move on Sweeping Legislation to Reform American Elections
When Democrats won their smashing victory in the 2018 midterms, they did so in the face of a wave of GOP-led voter suppression efforts. Those schemes certainly weren't new – Republicans across the country have fought to restrict access to the ballot for years, knowing that it's often their easiest path to remaining in power. Democrats, however, … [Read more...]
Trump Outlines Watered-Down Health Insurance Plans
President Skirting Obamacare with Skimpy State Plans Sold by Suspect Carriers The Trump Administration, intent on crippling The Affordable Care Act’s value-added and cost-effective healthcare mechanism, outlined new “guidance” in November that loosens ACA state waiver restrictions, allowing states and insurance carriers to offer the same … [Read more...]
