WASHINGTON — Cost estimates for a key portion of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul law have ballooned by $111 billion from last year’s budget, and a senior Republican lawmaker on Friday demanded an explanation.
WASHINGTON — Good news for seniors: The government says Medicare’s basic monthly premium will rise less than expected next year, by $3.50 for most. It could be good, too, for President Barack Obama and Democrats struggling for older Americans’ votes in a close election.
House Republicans dealt defeat to their own proposal for a $2.4 trillion increase in the nation’s debt limit Tuesday, a political gambit designed to reinforce a demand for spending cuts to accompany any increase in government borrowing.