Politics & Government

Obamacare Fight Leads Sen. Roberts To Turn Against Old Friend Sebelius

1:28pm October 18, 2013

by Don Gonyea

Despite their failure to defund the health care law, Republicans still detest it — and now there's a movement underway to oust Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. What's unexpected is that the effort is being led by Sen. Pat Roberts, a fellow Kansan she has long had close ties to.

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Declining Gas Prices Pump Up A Shaky Economy

12:34pm October 18, 2013

by Marilyn Geewax

The federal shutdown had economists worried, but consumers have had something to smile about. Gasoline prices are the lowest in three years — under $3 a gallon in some places. Analysts credit greater supplies, lower demand, the easing of Middle East tensions and even a slow hurricane season.

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After Shutdown Dust Clears, Where Does Boehner Stand?

12:23pm October 18, 2013

Weeks after vowing that House Republicans would not capitulate to President Obama's demands for "clean" bills reopening the government and raising the debt ceiling, Speaker John Boehner led his caucus in doing exactly that. Only about a third of Republicans voted "yes" on the bill with Boehner, but Boehner's standing among Tea Party conservatives in his caucus may have actually improved.

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Budget Process Isn't Over. Are More Shutdowns Ahead?

10:23am October 17, 2013

by David Welna

By wide margins in both the House and the Senate, Congress voted Wednesday night to end a 16-day partial government shutdown. The measure also delays the debt ceiling deadline until early February. House and Senate Budget committees have until Dec. 13 to reconcile competing budgets.

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Government Workers Must Get The Wheel Turning Again

10:23am October 17, 2013

by Brian Naylor

President Obama has signed legislation that ends the partial government shutdown and raises the U.S. debt ceiling. The Office of Management and Budget says federal employees should report to work Thursday. But it will take some time until all the agencies are back up to speed.

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How The Debt Limit Became 'A Nuclear-Tipped Leverage Point'

6:14pm October 16, 2013

by David Welna

Since Congress first passed a law that set a cap on how much debt the Treasury could accrue, it has had to raise that limit more than 100 times. And 40 of those times, lawmakers have tried to tie strings to the vote. But veterans of past fights say they have gotten more intense in recent years.

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Politics & Government

Senate Expected To Announce Deal To Raise Debt Limit

12:13pm October 16, 2013

Senate leaders are expected to announce that they have reached an agreement to reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling.

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Debt Ceiling Deal Depends On U.S. Senate

8:00am October 16, 2013

The Senate has been working on a bipartisan deal to reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling. But House conservatives have signaled they might not go along with a Senate deal. Steve Inskeep talks to Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss of Georgia about how he thinks the impasse can be resolved.

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Why A Medical Device Tax Became Part Of The Fiscal Fight

6:12pm October 15, 2013

by Peter Overby

A sales tax on medical devices was passed to help pay for the Affordable Care Act. Manufacturers have been waging a persistent campaign to get rid of it. Now it's one of the bargaining chips being tossed around in the budget crisis on Capitol Hill.

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Politics & Government

Some In Congress Have Behaved Badly From The Start

9:59am October 15, 2013

The shutdown of the U.S. government has sparked lots of finger-pointing and name-calling in Congress. But A.J. Jacobs, editor at large at Esquire Magazine, tells host Scott Simon that this is hardly the nastiest dispute in the history of our democracy.

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