Latest Politics Headlines
All the headlines from our Politics Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Texas Senate Passes Texting While Driving Ban
May 22 2017 // The Texas Senate on May 19 passed a measure banning texting while driving statewide. HB 62 by Midland Rep. Tom Craddick previously was approved by the House. While more than 100 cities in the state have texting and driving...
Democratic Attorneys General Move to Defend Obamacare Insurer Subsidies
May 19 2017 // More than a dozen Democratic attorneys general on Thursday sought to intervene to defend a key part of the Obamacare healthcare law — subsidy payments to insurance companies — which is under threat in a court...
Bill Setting Statewide Rules for Ridesharing Companies Passes Texas Senate
May 18 2017 // A bill that would preempt local regulations for ridesharing companies in Texas and replace them statewide standards has passed the Texas Senate. It now heads to the desk of Gov. Greg Abbott for his signature. HB 100,...
Republican Governors Have Own Ideas for Healthcare Reforms
May 18 2017 // A group of about a dozen Republican governors is pushing for its own set of national healthcare reforms, flexing its considerable muscle in the national debate over the future of Obamacare as the U.S. Senate begins writing...
Texas Senate Committee Again Looks at Texting Ban
May 16 2017 // Another bill that would ban texting and driving has been taken up by the Senate State Affairs committee. The committee approved the Senate version, SB 31 by Laredo Sen. Judith Zaffirini in March, but the measure never made...
Berkshire’s Buffett Says Republican Health Plan Is Tax Cut for Wealthy
May 8 2017 // Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Chairman Warren Buffett on Saturday fumed that healthcare costs are eating away at the U.S. economy like “tapeworm” and said the Republican approach to overhaul Obamacare is a tax cut...
House Passes Obamacare Repeal, 217-213; Senate Support in Doubt
May 4 2017 // House Republicans mustered just enough votes to pass their health-care bill Thursday, salvaging what at times appeared to be a doomed mission to repeal and partially replace Obamacare under intense pressure from President...
Louisiana GOP Seeks to Divert $190M in Flood Aid to Protection Project
May 4 2017 // House Republican lawmakers are proposing to divert $190 million of Louisiana’s congressional disaster-recovery money to a flood-protection project, a move that would shrink aid earmarked for homeowners struggling to...
Republicans Schedule Health Insurance Vote for Today
May 4 2017 // House Republicans plan to vote Thursday on their long-stalled Obamacare repeal measure, setting up a high-stakes test given the continuing doubts about whether they have enough votes to guarantee...
Republicans Not Ready to Vote on Obamacare Replacement Bill
Apr 28 2017 // House GOP leaders aren’t ready to hold a vote this week on their stalled healthcare bill, despite intense pressure from the White House to deliver on a long-promised repeal of Obamacare. “We’ve been...
Senate Bill Would Extend National Flood Insurance Program for 10 Years
Apr 28 2017 // U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Kristen Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) have released draft legislation to reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) for 10 years. The NFIP is currently set to expire on Sept. 30,...
Florida House Advances Bill Targeting Claims Abuse, But Senate Battle Looms
Apr 27 2017 // A bill aimed at decreasing insurance claims abuse in Florida has made it through the Florida House, and the industry’s hope for assignment of benefits reform now officially rests with the state Senate. The Florida...
House Republicans Report Progress on Another Health Plan to Replace Obamacare
Apr 26 2017 // The conservative House Freedom Caucus that helped derail the GOP’s effort last month to repeal Obamacare has formally endorsed a revised measure, potentiality giving it a new lease on life. “While the revised...
Texas ‘Hailstorm’ Bill Passed by Senate Committee
Apr 20 2017 // Texas’ so-called “hailstorm” bill has passed out of the Texas Senate Business & Commerce Committee, its author reports. Senate Bill 10 by committee Chairman Kelly Hancock, R-North Richland Hills, is...
Iowa GOP’s Workers’ Comp Bill Signed by Governor
Apr 17 2017 // Iowa Gov. Gov. Terry Branstad has signed a controversial workers’ compensation bill that reduces benefits for injured workers, notably benefits for shoulder injuries, and decreases coverage for injuries tied to a...
Missouri Senate Passes Statewide Ride Hailing Regulation Bill
Apr 13 2017 // Missouri Senators has passed a bill that would expand regulations for transportation companies such as Uber and Lyft — a measure that legislative leadership and Gov. Eric Greitens have called a job creator and an...
Trump May Withhold Insurers’ Funds to Force Democrats to Negotiate Healthcare
Apr 13 2017 // U.S. President Donald Trump told The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday that he might consider withholding billions of dollars of Obamacare payments to health insurers to force Democrats back to the negotiating table on...
Trump Administration to Delay Fiduciary Rule by 60 Days
Apr 6 2017 // The U.S. Labor Department will delay implementation of its “fiduciary” rule by 60 days while it undertakes a review on whether the rule may hinder Americans’ ability to get access to retirement investment...
Republicans Now Eye Insurer Low-Income Subsidies They Sued to Halt
Apr 3 2017 // Republican lawmakers are seeking a way to guarantee that health insurers get $7 billion promised to them to help low-income people afford the out-of-pocket costs of Obamacare plans, in an effort to keep more companies from...
Michigan Senate OKs $5M Loan for Sinkhole; Allots Federal Aid for Flint
Mar 31 2017 // The Michigan Senate has approved a $5 million interest-free state loan to help repair a large sinkhole in suburban Detroit, narrowly rejecting a call to stick with a House plan that would instead give Macomb County a $3...
