Texts: Anti-abortion congressman urged woman get an abortion

Rep. Tim Murphy, a Pennsylvania Republican with a staunchly anti-abortion voting record, urged a woman he was having an affair with to get an abortion, according to messages obtained by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Murphy admitted to the affair in September, and texts reported on by the Post-Gazette showed the woman accused Murphy of hypocrisy in January after an anti-abortion message was posted to his Facebook account.

GOP crafting new health care plan for retired unionized miners

Coal companies say a new Republican plan to extend retiree health benefits is fair, but unionized miners worry it will siphon federal resources they believe should be used for their pensions . The measure, which hasn't yet been introduced, shifts the cost of retiree health insurance from coal companies to the federal government.

Protesters’ ‘town hall’ demands are straight from a handbook guiding disrupters

Lee Anne Sgro writes to complain that people are unable to get through by telephone to Sen. Pat Toomey and Rep. Tim Murphy and that they have not attended "town hall meetings organized by their constituents" . Let's stop the pretense.

Law insuring 1 million Pennsylvanians faces uncertain futureabout 2 hours ago

About 1 million people in Pennsylvania are receiving government-subsidized health insurance under Democrats' 2010 health care law that is facing an uncertain future as Republican President-elect Donald Trump takes office next month with a pledge to repeal it. Leaders of the Republican-controlled Congress that Trump will share power with also say they are also intent on abolishing President Barack Obama's signature law.

Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pa., embraces Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., during a…

A sprawling health bill expected to pass the Senate, gain President Obama's signature and become law before the end of the year is a grab bag for industries, academic institutions and patient groups that spent oodles of time and money lobbying to advance their interests. The law would likely save drug and device companies billions of dollars when it comes to bringing products to market by giving the Food and Drug Administration more discretion in the kinds of studies required to evaluate new devices and medicines for approval.

TPP Vote Count Doesn’t Add Up

A ranking Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee and at least 10 House Republicans who had voted for "fast track" trade promotion authority for the Trans-Pacific Partnership have announced their opposition to the trade deal, joining many Democrats who have already opposed the deal. Rep. Richard Neal "will not vote in favor of TPP as it stands today."

Americans have many reasons to be horrified

Outrage and horror were on every news program Friday morning over the shootings in Dallas. But the outrage and horror are misplaced unless directed at legislators at all levels who refuse to compromise on any issue, who are wedded to extreme positions rather than those supported by the middle majority, who continuously oppose legislation simply because it is proposed by members of the opposition or who refuse to accept proposals because they might upset their largest contributors.

House GOP plan to hold gun vote faces resistance from conservatives

House Republican leaders' plan to hold a vote on a gun-control proposal this week is on hold amid objections from conservatives concerned with the legislation and a broader package of counterterrorism measures. GOP leaders announced late last week that they would hold a vote as soon as Wednesday on legislation that, among other provisions, would prevent suspected terrorists from purchasing firearms if the government can prove within three business days that there is probable cause to believe an individual has terrorist ties or sympathies.