John Boehner

Is Congress Trying to Sneak Out of Obamacare? Don’t Bet on It

Posted on 04/29/2013 by | Washington Watch | Comments

Bulletin Today | PoliticsFew things rile some people as much as the new health care law and the benefits that Capitol Hill lawmakers give themselves. So it’s not at all surprising that the idea of Congress exempting itself from Obamacare would make political commentators’ tongues wag and an angry public Tweet like mad—real mad. But is it much ado about nothing? John Breshnahan and Jake Sherman of Politico touched off the venting with their report that lawmakers are worried that Obamacare could raise …

Over the Fiscal Cliff: What Kind of Landing?

Posted on 12/26/2012 by | General News | Comments

Bulletin Today | PoliticsBy Connie Cass of The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Efforts to save the nation from going over a year-end “fiscal cliff” were in disarray as lawmakers fled the Capitol for their Christmas break. “God only knows” how a deal can be reached now, House Speaker John Boehner declared. President Barack Obama, on his way out of town himself, insisted a bargain could still be struck before Dec. 31. “Call me a hopeless optimist,” he said. A look at why …

Tell Washington Not to Cut Social Security for Current Recipients

Posted on 12/19/2012 by | Grassroots Advocacy | Comments

Money & Savings | PoliticsPresident Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner are deep into negotiations on a fiscal cliff deal — and unfortunately, the hard-earned Social Security benefits of current retirees, veterans and workers with disabilities are on the table. The chained CPI proposal is positioned as a ‘slight tweak’ to the Social Security cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA). The problem is that for people who have paid into Social Security for decades, many of whom are barely scraping by with an average monthly income of under $1,300, …

‘If I’d Had to Wait Until 67 for Medicare, I’d Be Dead’

Posted on 12/19/2012 by | Health | Comments

Bulletin Today | Personal Health | PoliticsBy Russ Mitchell for Kaiser Health News Sam Lewis turned 65 in the nick of time. For a year, he’d been broke. His Brentwood, Calif., general contracting business had gone bust. He couldn’t make payments on his home, and lost it. He couldn’t make payments on his health insurance, so he let it lapse. The day after his birthday in October, when he qualified for Medicare, Lewis got a checkup. Days later, he went under the knife: open-heart surgery, a …

‘Fiscal Cliff’ Talks: What’s on the Table

Posted on 12/18/2012 by | General News | Comments

Bulletin Today | PoliticsThe Associated Press An update on the latest offers on the table in negotiations to avert a year-end avalanche of federal tax increases and spending cuts known as the “fiscal cliff“: ___ INCOME TAXES House Speaker John Boehner would allow income tax rates to rise for people making more than $1 million per year and would hold rates where they are for everyone making less. The top rate on income exceeding $1 million would go from 35 percent to 39.6 …

Obama Backs Off Hard Lines in Search of Compromise

Posted on 12/18/2012 by | General News | Comments

Bulletin Today | PoliticsBy Jim Kuhnhenn of The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Narrowing a “fiscal cliff” negotiating gap, President Barack Obama is backing off what had once been ironclad positions. A new proposal handed to House Speaker John Boehner on Monday drops Obama’s long-held insistence that taxes rise on individuals earning more than $200,000 and families making more than $250,000. He is now offering a new threshold of $400,000 and lowering his 10-year tax revenue goals from the $1.6 trillion he had …

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