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House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa baited the White House into a Twitter fight Thursday afternoon ahead of a scheduled vote to repeal the president's signature healthcare law.

The California Republican urged supporters to use the hashtag "#ObamaCareInThreeWords" to describe how they felt about the Affordable Care Act.

Hey folks, #ObamaCareInThreeWords -- go!

— Darrell Issa (@DarrellIssa) May 16, 2013

The Obama administration wants higher standards for federally funded child care.

A proposed rule from the Department of Health and Human Services issued on Thursday would strengthen standards for the 1.6 million children who are served by providers that get money from the Child Care and Development Fund, a federal program to aid low-income children under the age of 13.

The administration claims that current regulations resemble a patchwork of regulations for child care centers, with state laws varying on whether providers need background checks or first aid and CPR training. One in 10 children who are served by the program are cared for in totally unregulated facilities, the department asserts in the proposal, which "can leave children in unsafe conditions, even as their care is being funded with public dollars."

The Obama administration is taking steps to codify looser regulations on "smart pills" that transmit messages from inside a patient's stomach.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is formally classifying the miniature medical device in a way that relaxes the government's control over the technology. The device can be attached to pills and send time-stamped messages about how drugs are being ingested.

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A congressman who underwent gastric bypass surgery around the same time that Chris Christie (R) had lap band surgery is cheering on the New Jersey governor.

Rep. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) disclosed last week that he has shed 60 pounds since his February surgery. The lawmaker, 41, told ITK that his doctor said it would add 20 years to his life.

Like Christie, Reed is also a dad. “Governor Christie’s decision to undergo surgery for the sake of his family is one I can certainly relate to, and one I applaud him for,” Reed told ITK in an email.

In a Tuesday interview with NBC News, Christie said his wife and four children were a big part of his decision to have the surgery: “I really just felt like for Mary Pat and for the kids that I needed to take a more, a more significant step to try to get my weight under control so that I could have a really active next half of my life.”

ON THE MEND: Rep. George Miller’s office says the California Democrat is fully recovered after recently undergoing cataract surgery. Read more...

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New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Tuesday said his decision to undergo weight-loss surgery was “nobody’s business,” calling it a personal decision not motivated by his career plans.

Republicans on Capitol Hill are criticizing the Obama administration for preparing to issue waivers under welfare reform starting four years ago.

Leading GOP lawmakers on Tuesday released an internal memo from the Health and Human Services Department (HHS) laying the legal groundwork for its waivers policy.

The memo, dated December 2009, reveals an early desire for an "executive branch power grab," said Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) in a statement. 

Christie said the surgery had nothing to do with his political ambitions.