Tamara Lytle

Biography: Tammy Lytle has covered the White House, Congress, politics and breaking news in the nation’s capital for 23 years. She is the former Washington bureau chief of the Orlando Sentinel and her work has appeared in newspapers magazines and websites.

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Tamara Lytle 'sPosts

What’s the Reaction to Obama’s Social Security Proposal?

Posted on 04/10/2013 by Tamara Lytle | Washington Watch | Comments

Bulletin Today | PoliticsWe knew it was coming. Still, now here, it’s causing quite a stir. President Obama’s new budget proposes a change in the formula for Social Security cost-of-living adjustments. Many Democrats are saying they disagree with their president. Many Republicans are saying they like the idea and want it implemented quickly. And advocates for older Americans are saying, “No way.” The proposed change, called the chained CPI, is a twist on the consumer price index, the formula that helps Social Security, veterans …

9 Things to Look for in the President’s Budget

Posted on 04/9/2013 by Tamara Lytle | Washington Watch | Comments

PoliticsThe GOP-controlled House of Representatives approved a budget proposal first. Then came a very different document from the Democratic-controlled Senate. Now thousands more pages of numbers will land with a thud on Capitol Hill on April 10. It’s the president’s annual budget proposal. Unless you’re an underemployed CPA or an incurable policy wonk, you probably won’t want to wade through all that. So here’s a short checklist of what you should watch for in the budget: A chained CPI. This twist on …

She Runs the Biggest Federal Agency — and Now May Land the Job

Posted on 04/8/2013 by Tamara Lytle | Washington Watch | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal Health | PoliticsPresident Obama first nominated Marilyn Tavenner to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) almost 2-1/2 years ago. She’s been running the agency, the federal government’s largest, as acting administrator for more than a year. CMS has a $820 billion budget, oversees health insurance for 100 million Americans and is charged with implementing the health care law. Related: Sequester Fallout: Where Will Medicare Patients Get Chemo? On April 9, the Senate Finance Committee will hold her confirmation hearing. …

Sequester Fallout: Where Will Medicare Patients Get Chemo?

Posted on 04/4/2013 by Tamara Lytle | Washington Watch | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal HealthWith Medicare cuts from the sequester kicking in this week, cancer doctors warn that they may be forced to stop offering chemotherapy in their offices and clinics. A survey of 331 oncology practices by the Community Oncology Alliance found that 72 percent planned drastic measures like not taking new Medicare patients, not seeing any Medicare patients without supplemental insurance or sending away everyone in the program who needs chemotherapy. “I hate the idea of people battling cancer worrying about anything,” said …

Obama Ready to Propose Big Changes in Medicare, Social Security?

Posted on 04/3/2013 by Tamara Lytle | Washington Watch | Comments

Bulletin Today | PoliticsWhen President Obama’s budget arrives on Capitol Hill on April 10, lawmakers in the opposition party — in keeping with a time-honored Washington custom — are certain to immediately brand it “Dead on Arrival.” This year, however, Obama’s fellow Democrats may not be far behind. Obama is reportedly ready to propose some big changes in Medicare and Social Security — two programs that Democrats have traditionally gone to the mat to protect. As Salon’s Joan Walsh reports: “White House sources …

Generation by Generation, Where Voters Stand on Same-Sex Marriage

Posted on 03/27/2013 by Tamara Lytle | Washington Watch | Comments

Bulletin Today | Politics | RelationshipsAs the U.S. Supreme Court took up two seminal cases on same-sex marriage, the media speculated about whether the justices were in step with public opinion. But what is the public’s opinion? When you look at the issue by generation, there’s a wide divide. More members of Generation X (born 1965-1980) and Millennials (born after 1980) favor marriage equality than oppose it, according to a Pew Research Center poll in March. Not so for the Silent Generation (born 1928-1945) or boomers …