Healthcare

Democrats in the House and Senate are looking to stop what they say are deceptive advertising practices by anti-abortion health clinics that imply they offer abortion services, but instead encourage birth and promote adoption.

The legislation is aimed at crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs), which are clinics often set up by a church or other anti-abortion groups. Democrats in Congress and other pro-abortion groups say these clinics are known to indicate they can perform abortions in order to attract pregnant women patients, and then try to convince them to carry their babies to term.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) introduced a bill Thursday that would prohibit the Treasury Secretary and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from enforcing ObamaCare.

Cornyn introduced the Keep the IRS Off Your Health Care Act, S. 983, on Thursday. Lawmakers have been calling for investigations and limitations on the IRS since it admitted to applying extra scrutiny to conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status.

“I do not support ObamaCare, and after the events of last week, I cannot support giving the IRS any more responsibility or taxpayer dollars to implement a broken law,” Cornyn said.

Only two Democrats sided with Republicans in the party-line 229-195 vote.

Legislation to repeal ObamaCare passed a procedural test in the House on Thursday afternoon, which will allow members to approve the bill later in the day.

Members voted 226-192 in favor of the rule for the legislation, which calls for two hours of debate before the final vote. Every Republican voted for the rule, along with two Democrats — Reps. Jim Matheson (Utah), Mike McIntyre (N.C.).

House Republicans have introduced separate bills aimed at scaling back the Internal Revenue Service's involvement with implementation of ObamaCare.

Reps. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) and Tom Price (R-Ga.) said their bills are needed in the wake of the IRS's confirmation that it applied extra scrutiny to conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status. Forbes called that a form of "bullying" by the IRS, and said it's a reason why Congress should approve his bill, which would prohibit the hiring of any new IRS officials to implement ObamaCare.

The Senate confirmed President Obama’s nominee to head the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

On Wednesday, the Senate voted 91-7 for Marilyn Tavenner to lead CMS, which hasn’t had a Senate-confirmed administrator in seven years.

The CBO refused to provide a new estimate, but said scrapping the law's taxes and spending cuts would outweigh the reforms' costs.

House Republicans have "truly lost their minds," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Wednesday.

Democrats in the House and Senate are looking to expand a federal law that requires companies to give nursing mothers time and a private space to express breast milk at work.

Under current law, companies with more than 50 employees are already required under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to provide nursing moms with a reasonable break time and a private, non-bathroom place to express breast milk. That provision — created by the 2010 ObamaCare law — applies only to hourly workers.

Three House Republicans have introduced a resolution calling for a congressional and state review of public policies that have led to illegal abortion practices.

The resolution from Reps. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Stephen Fincher (R-Tenn.), and Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.) is a reaction to the Kermit Gosnell trial, in which Gosnell is accused of illegal abortions and unsafe practices that led to the death of one woman.