Congress, Politics, Books
and American History

Former U.S. Solicitor Generals Neal Katyal and Paul Clement faced off for the second time on the new health care reform law at an event at the National Press Club. They previewed next month’s Supreme Court oral argument focusing on the individual mandate and if it’s constitutional for the federal government to mandate that Americans buy health insurance. 

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Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testified before the Senate Finance Committee on the President’s 2013 budget request. The request includes $76.4 billion for the department. That’s a $300 million increase over 2012. Despite the increase, Secretary Sebelius says

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Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) chaired this Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing that examines the medical costs and barriers to the treatment of chronic pain.

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Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner was on Capitol Hill to defend the Administration’s 2013 budget request. In testimony before the Senate Finance Committee, Secretary Geithner said the President’s $3.8 trillion package will reduce deficits significantly over time and get the nation back on a sustainable budget path.

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At the National Press Club, State Attorneys General Martha Coakley of Massachusetts and Ken Cuccinelli of Virginia debated the Affordable Healthcare Act as a prelude to the Supreme Court’s March consideration of the law.

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Students from Catholic University and other local campuses came together at the National Press Club to discuss the regulations recently proposed by the Department of Health and Human Services for birth control coverage without co-pay or deductible.  The event came in response to the subsequent outcry from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

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The Immigration Policy and Enforcement Subcommittee of House Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing Thursday morning on the current agriculture guestworker program and proposed new programs.

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Senate Democrats defended the Obama Administration's contraception rule during a press briefing on Capitol Hill.  Senate Republicans met earlier and said the contraception mandate violates religious liberty.

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A House Energy Subcmte. questioned businesses about their efforts to protect communications networks from cyber threats Wednesday morning. Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) chaired the hearing. 

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Senior tax executives from FedEx and Time Warner said they would favor eliminating all special tax benefits in exchange for lowering the corporate rate down to around 25%. They testified on a panel before the House Ways and Means Committee, the chief tax-writing committee in Congress. All of the witnesses described a U.S. tax code that poses challenges to businesses because of its complexity and uncertainty.

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