House bill targeting employees’ genetics, medical history progresses

The bill - H.R. 1313 , called the Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act - would allow employers to seek the genetic and family health information of their employees and would allow employers to penalize employees who keep their information private, according to Stat , a health-oriented news site produced by Boston Globe Media. The measure was approved by the Education and Workforce Committee with a 22-17 vote as a part of two other proposals.

Writers to Talk Back differ over Sessions’ recusal move

Jeff Sessions lied before Congress during questioning of his contact with Russians as a member of the Donald Trump campaign and now he wants to keep his job by recusing himself from a probe of Russian influence in the 2016 election. Under oath and on live TV, he was asked by Sen. Al Franken, "if there is any evidence that anyone affiliated with the Trump campaign communicated with the Russian government in the course of this campaign, what will you do?" And he answered, "I did not have communications with the Russians."

GOP plan less generous than Obamacare for older Americans

" Republicans hate "Obamacare," so House GOP leaders freak out whenever their health care bill is compared to President Barack Obama's law. But one reason some conservatives are branding the bill "Obamacare Lite" comes down to the tax credits to help consumers buy insurance.

Democratic AGs mount fight against Trump travel ban

In stepping up legal challenges to President Donald Trump's revised travel ban, Democratic attorneys general are trying to use the court system to thwart the executive branch in the same way their GOP counterparts did under President Barack Obama . Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson said Thursday he was asking a federal judge to find that his order last month halting the old travel ban applies to the new one, too.

Rules be damned: Republicans in the Senate want to forego rules to repeal Obamacare

Vice President Mike Pence, center, smiles as he joins Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., right, and Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., left, to speak with reporters about the Republican plan to replace Obamacare, Tuesday, March 7, 2017, on Capitol Hill in Washington. () The outright repeal of Obamacare was always going to be a grind , legislatively speaking.

Ellison: ‘I don’t think the truth is going to be forthcoming’ on Russia probe

Rep. Keith Ellison on Friday pressed FBI Director James Comey to shed more light about the agency's probe of President Trump's team's connections to Russia, saying he doubts the truth "is going to be forthcoming" from Trump's administration. "How come not only ... [Michael] Flynn and, too now, [Attorney General Jeff] Sessions have been found saying things, denying that they were in contact with Russian diplomats when in fact they demonstrably were?" Ellison said in an interview with CNN.

American Health Care Act: Considerations for Employers

On Monday March 6, 2017, the House Republican leadership in the Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means Committees unveiled their signature bill to "repeal and replace" the Affordable Care Act . The "American Health Care Act" is an effort to make good on President Trump's promise to dismantle the ACA.

Trump’s First Test Could Define TermBy Matt Laslo

Trump's first test takes him out of his comfort zone and into the front lines of the messy, complicated legislative process. While the White House is already trying to distance Trump from the House Republican bill to "fix" Obamacare , they're quietly working behind the scenes to help him deliver on the GOP 's main campaign promise from the past three election cycles.

Jordan meets Trump, criticizes GOP Obamacare plan

After meeting with President Donald Trump on Thursday, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said he does not believe the House proposal to repeal and replace Obamacare has enough votes to pass. In an interview with Erin Burnett on CNN's "OutFront," the Congressman urged his colleagues to go back to the drawing board and "do the right thing."

Male Illinois rep asks why men should have to pay for prenatal coverage

In the 27 hours the House Energy and Commerce Committee spent debating Republicans ' Affordable Care Act revision plan, a handful of moments stand out. At the start, Democratic Rep. Mike Doyle was talking with Republican Rep. John Shimkus about his objections to the Affordable Care Act's requirements for health-insurance plans.

Government ethics office a concerneda over White House decision not to discipline Kellyanne Conway

The director of the Office of Government Ethics said he is "concerned" over the White House's decision not to discipline Kellyanne Conway for promoting Ivanka Trump's brand in a television appearance. In a letter to White House deputy counsel Stefan Passantino, OGE director Walter Shaub said the White House failed to discipline Conway despite conduct that may have violated a federal ethics rule prohibiting "using one's official position to endorse any product or service."

Federal ethics chief criticizes White House for decision not to discipline Conway

The federal government's top ethics official on Thursday chastised the White House for declining to discipline President Trump's senior adviser Kellyanne Conway for her on-air endorsement of Ivanka Trump's clothing line. Walter M. Shaub Jr., director of the Office of Government Ethics, had urged officials last month to reprimand Conway after she told Fox News viewers to "go buy Ivanka's stuff," appearing to violate a federal rule banning public officials from using their position to endorse products or services.

The political lexicon of a billionaire populist

President Trump, trailed by senior counselor Stephen K. Bannon, boards Air Force One to return to Washington after spending the weekend at the Mar-a-Lago Club. From the start of his presidential campaign, Donald Trump pledged "total change," delivering his promises with a scorched-earth political vocabulary - "Lyin' Ted," "Crooked Hillary," "drain the swamp," "lock her up."