December 20, 2015 Republicans shift to chipping away at ObamaCare with vote this week on keeping health plans After failing to derail ObamaCare during the partial government shutdown, congressional Republicans have found new life in attacking President Obama’s signature health care law.
December 20, 2015 House approves bill to speed up drilling for oil and natural gas The measure was one of three energy measures the House was considering this week as Republicans controlling the chamber push to expand an oil and gas boom that's lowered prices and led the U.S. to produce more oil last month than it imported from abroad.
December 20, 2015 House passes bill to cut bonuses at Dept. of Veterans Affairs The VA currently pays $400 million in bonuses to its workers each year, but the bill caps total annual bonus payments at $345 million through fiscal year 2018.
December 20, 2015 Republican lobbying groups step up push on House to pass immigration reform The issue has the potential to divide GOP lawmakers again after public in-party fighting over the recent budget negotiations.
December 20, 2015 Teachers' unions fight bill that would bar sex offenders from schools The measure would require school systems to check state and federal criminal records for employees with unsupervised access to elementary and secondary school students, and for people seeking those jobs.
December 20, 2015 Speaker Boehner hopeful of immigration action this year Speaker John Boehner expressed optimism on Wednesday about House action by year's end on stalled efforts to overhaul immigration as Republicans discussed possible limited steps to deal with the contentious issue.
December 20, 2015 Gabby Giffords attends first gun show since shooting Former Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has made her first visit to a gun show since surviving a 2011 assassination attempt.
December 20, 2015 Conservative activists turn up heat on Republicans in budget fight Conservative activists gathered at the Values Voter Summit are calling on Republicans to embrace the Tea Party-backed refusal to support spending measures that fund ObamaCare, even as GOP lawmakers appeared to be scaling back some of their demands for ending the budget impasse.
December 20, 2015 The Hitchhiker’s Guide to where we stand with the government shutdown, debt ceiling This is to put into context where things stand late Thursday and what went on in the White House meeting earlier in the afternoon between House Republicans and President Obama.
December 20, 2015 Democrats say House vote for back pay shows GOP wants government to stay closed The Republican-led House passed a bill Saturday to give thousands of furloughed federal workers back pay when the government reopens, but Democrats promptly characterized it as a signal the GOP doesn’t want the partial shutdown to end.
