Rules to require equal coverage for mental illnesses
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration on Friday will complete a generation-long effort to require insurers to cover care for mental health and addiction just like physical illnesses when it issues long-awaited regulations defining parity in benefits and treatment.
Obama administration to delay health law requirement until 2015
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration announced Tuesday that it would delay for a year, until 2015, the Affordable Care Act mandate that employers provide coverage for their workers or pay penalties, responding to business complaints and postponing the effective date beyond next year’s midterm elections.
Watching Obama for pre-speech signs of change
WASHINGTON — On Tuesday night, the president will address the nation and Congress on the state of the union. But many will watch as well for signs of the state of Barack Obama.
Obama hands Congress a five-point economic to-do list
WASHINGTON — With a polarized Congress already on the defensive, President Barack Obama on Tuesday will outline a five-point “to do” list for lawmakers that packages job creation and mortgage relief ideas he has proposed before, administration officials say.
Obama imposes freeze on Iran property in US
WASHINGTON — The White House moved to tighten sanctions against Iran on Monday because of the country’s suspect nuclear program, freezing all property of the Central Bank of Iran, other Iranian financial institutions and the Iranian government in the United States.
Obama sidestepped the deficit committee debacle
WASHINGTON — In remaining aloof from the special deficit committee in Congress even as it collapsed on Monday, President Barack Obama showed his calculation more clearly than ever before: Republicans will never agree to raise taxes on the wealthy to balance any spending cuts, so let the voters decide.
Obama taps jobs expert as top economic adviser
WASHINGTON — In tapping Alan B. Krueger on Monday to chair the Council of Economic Advisers, President Barack Obama has picked an economist well known for his studies of labor markets just as the president is about to announce a renewed push for job-creation policies as early as next week.
Political divide on deficit likely to grow after midterm election
WASHINGTON — A midterm campaign that has turned heavily on the issue of the mounting federal debt is likely to yield a government even more split over what to do about it, people in both parties say, with diminished Democrats and reinforced Republicans confronting internal divisions even as they dig in against the other side.
Obama submits a budget of ‘hard choices’
<i>WASHINGTON </i>— President Barack Obama declared in presenting his new 10-year budget proposal on Monday that “our fiscal situation remains unacceptable,” but he insisted that the country pursue his ambitious domestic agenda despite facing swollen budget deficits for the foreseeable future.
Rising Criticism for Both Deficit and Solutions
Advocates of more aggressive steps to address the national debt failed on Tuesday in their effort to create a bipartisan commission to press for tax increases and spending cuts, but President Barack Obama now plans to establish a similar panel by executive order in his State of the Union address on Wednesday.
Shorts (left)
President Barack Obama on Tuesday stepped into the middle of a fierce lobbying battle by reinforcing his support for an independent agency to protect consumers against lending abuses that contributed to the financial crisis. The president’s move also signaled a tougher line and a more direct role as Congress weighs an overhaul of banking regulation.
A Focus on Jobs, But No Promises Of a Turnaround
After months of focusing on Afghanistan and health care, President Barack Obama turned his attention on Thursday to the high level of joblessness, but offered no promise that he could do much to bring unemployment down quickly even as he comes under pressure from his own party to do more.
As Job Losses Rise, Obama Aides Act to Fix Safety Net
With unemployment expected to rise well into next year even as the economy slowly recovers, the Obama administration and Democratic leaders in Congress are discussing extending several safety net programs as well as proposing new tax incentives for businesses to renew hiring.
Obama Seeking to Cut Foreign Taxation Havens
President Barack Obama on Monday called for curbing offshore tax havens and corporate tax breaks to collect billions of dollars more from multinational companies and wealthy individuals.
Obama Moves to Quell Fury Over AIG Bonuses
President Barack Obama and his top economic advisers scrambled to calm a nationwide furor on Monday over bonuses paid at American International Group, even as administration officials acknowledged they had known about the issue for months.
Geithner, Rescue Veteran, Has Jump in Seizing Reins
For the last year, Timothy F. Geithner has been at the very heart of dealing with the financial crisis, the junior partner with Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. and Ben S. Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve. Together, they scrambled to save Bear Stearns, American International Group and Citigroup, while letting Lehman Brothers fail.
Obama Lays Out Costly Plans To Help Many With Fiscal Ills
Sen. Barack Obama proposed new steps on Monday to address the economic crisis, calling for temporary but costly new programs to help employers, automakers, homeowners, the unemployed, and state and local governments.
Obama, McCain Take Different Approaches to Wall Street
The crisis on Wall Street will leave the next president facing tough choices about how best to regulate the financial system, and although neither Sen. Barack Obama nor Sen. John McCain has yet offered a detailed plan, their records and the principles they have set out so far suggest they could come at the issue in very different ways.