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CONGRESS

Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 13, 2013
Senate opens talks on end to shutdown
Senate leaders began negotiations Saturday aimed at reopening federal agencies and avoiding a government default after every other effort to end Congress' impasse crumbled in the previous 48 hours.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 10, 2013
Republican options tapering to 'surrender'
As the government shutdown and the threat of a federal debt default begin to merge into a singular Washington crisis, the only way out for House Speaker John Boehner may be something he disparaged earlier this week as "unconditional surrender."
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 6, 2013
Deep political divisions at root of U.S. shutdown
The government shutdown did not happen by accident. It is the latest manifestation — an extreme one by any measure — of divisions long in the making and now deeply embedded in the country's politics.
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 5, 2013
'Obamacare' exchanges have trouble with success
"We're building a complicated piece of technology," U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius said on the first day of the new Affordable Care Act — or "Obamacare," as it is otherwise known — "and hopefully you'll give us the same slack you give Apple."
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 2, 2013
Federal budget deadlock could stretch into debt-limit fight
Washington begins bracing for a prolonged government shutdown on Tuesday, with signs on Capitol Hill that Republicans — knowing that blame almost certainly will fall most heavily on them — beginning to look for ways to lift some of the pressure.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 2, 2013
Founding Fathers having big say — with a little help
Early last Wednesday, Republican Sen. Mike Lee rose in the Senate to recite a quotation from George Washington. It was, Lee said, Washington's own account of his last day as president in 1797.
WORLD / Politics
Oct 2, 2013
GOP disappoints big-business backers
In 2010 and again in 2012, companies on Main Street and Wall Street did just about everything they could to help Republicans win elected office in Washington.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 2, 2013
Democrats find rare unity in budget fight
Shortly before the government shut down, House Republicans crafted their final spending offer, including two health care provisions designed to scare red-state Senate Democrats facing re-election battles: one to delay the Affordable Care Act's unpopular individual mandate and another removing subsidies...
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 2, 2013
New U.S. health care law exchanges see much interest, some glitches
Millions of Americans flooded government websites Tuesday to get a long-awaited look at insurance options available under the Affordable Care Act, but the high traffic contributed to widespread computer problems on what President Barack Obama hailed as a historic day.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Oct 2, 2013
U.S. shutdown damages political system, but Republicans seen at greater risk
There will be plenty of collateral damage from the government shutdown that began early Tuesday — from federal workers to ordinary citizens — but the most serious effects are likely to be felt inside a Republican Party that appears divided and in need of leadership.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Oct 1, 2013
World perplexed by U.S. shutdown
As the U.S. government creaked toward a shutdown Monday, the world looked on with a little anxiety and a lot of dismay, and some people had trouble suppressing smirks.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 1, 2013
'Not-so-conservative' Republicans may be key to solving U.S. fiscal drama
The most conservative tea party-backed members of the House GOP have been the center of attention in the ongoing fiscal drama, but the key to a solution in the coming days may be a different Republican bloc altogether.
WORLD / Science & Health / FOCUS
Sep 30, 2013
Law may lead to disparities
Half a century ago, the creation of Medicare and Medicaid was a triumph of American egalitarianism. Within a decade, the United States went from a country where 1 in 3 people lacked health insurance to a nation where just 1 in 10 went without coverage.
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 30, 2013
Slow start expected for system
The White House is downplaying expectations for the first day of the Affordable Care Act's insurance marketplaces.
WORLD / Science & Health
Sep 30, 2013
Glitches, logistical problems plague exchanges
Buying health insurance will be as easy as purchasing a plane ticket or shopping on Amazon, President Barack Obama has promised.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 29, 2013
Shutdown quandary shows Washington's breakdown
Washington once again stands at a moment of crisis — only this time, Democrats and Republicans are not negotiating a way to avoid it. They are not even speaking to one another.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 29, 2013
Looking to 2016, Rubio and Paul rush to join Cruz
Sen. Ted Cruz might have alienated the Republican establishment with his all-night polemic against the Affordable Care Act. But that doesn't mean the caustic Texan didn't win any friends in Washington. As Cruz's 21-hour speech dragged on, GOP Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Rand Paul of Kentucky were...
BUSINESS
Sep 27, 2013
Obama draws line in sand on health law, debt ceiling
To the chagrin of many in his own party, President Barack Obama has almost always been willing to negotiate — on taxes, on spending, even on the social safety net.
BUSINESS
Sep 27, 2013
Republican hard-liners block plan to avoid U.S. defaulting on debt
The Republican Party's right wing on Thursday blocked a strategy by House Speaker John Boehner for navigating a series of deadlines to keep the government funded and avoid a first-ever U.S. debt default.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Sep 25, 2013
Cruz, party tangle over U.S. shutdown
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz escalated his conflict with fellow Republicans Tuesday when he stepped up his attacks on President Barack Obama's signature health care law, complicating House GOP efforts to pass a funding bill that would avert a government shutdown next week.

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