By Dave Camp and Max Baucus Every week Congress has been in session for the past two years, one of us has made the short walk across the Capitol to the other's office. We crowd into a room with our policy experts to chart a path to our mutual goal—comprehensive tax reform. While we are from different political parties, we agree that America's tax code is broken. That is… Read more

By Damian Paletta WASHINGTON—The White House is strongly considering including limits on entitlement benefits in its fiscal 2014 budget—a proposal it first offered Republicans in December. The move would be aimed in part at keeping alive bipartisan talks on a major budget deal. Such a proposal could include steps that make many Democrats queasy, such as… Read more

WASHINGTON — As they explore possible fiscal deals, President Obama and Congressional Republicans have quietly raised the idea of broad systemic changes to Medicare that could produce significant savings and end the polarizing debate over Republican plans to privatize the insurance program for older Americans. While the two remain far apart on the central issue of new tax revenue,… Read more

The health-care law could prove to be a boon for temporary-staffing companies as employers outsource jobs to sidestep complex requirements for medical insurance. But some experts say the Affordable Care Act’s exceptions for temporary employees could undercut the goal of expanding coverage to more American workers. “That could lead to an increase in part-time workers” who lack… Read more

Health insurers are privately warning brokers that premiums for many individuals and small businesses could increase sharply next year because of the health-care overhaul law, with the nation's biggest firm projecting that rates could more than double for some consumers buying their own plans. The projections, made in sessions with brokers and agents, provide some of the most concrete… Read more

Jody Manor has run a small cafe and catering company for nearly three decades in Old Town Alexandria, only a few blocks from where he was born. Six years ago he purchased an adjoining building, and more recently he started searching for a second location. Whether he moves forward with expansion depends on the price tag of the requirements mandated by the Affordable Care Act,… Read more

  Last summer, the Obama Administration gutted the successful 1996 welfare reform law by offering to waive its work requirements. Now the debate is back, as several Members of Congress are trying to restore the reforms that helped so many out of poverty. The work requirements were the heart and soul of the historic welfare reform signed by President… Read more

WASHINGTON (AP) — Applying for benefits under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul could be as daunting as doing your taxes. The government's draft application runs 15 pages for a three-person family. An outline of the online version has 21 steps, some with additional questions. Seven months before the Oct. 1 start of enrollment season for millions of uninsured… Read more

In the heat of the 2012 presidential campaign, the Obama administration announced it would ease up on the work requirements that made the 1996 reform of the nation's welfare law such a success. At the time, congressional Republicans denounced the move as "gutting" the law and vowed they would not let it stand. On Wednesday the House Committee of Ways and Means took the first steps… Read more

In Virginia Tuesday, President Obama stood before roaring crowds and clicking cameras to act out his latest sequester melodrama. About the time he finished, a lone Michigan congressman sat down in a quieter Capitol Hill conference room to unveil the real news of the week. The politico: Dave Camp, chair of the House Ways and Means Committee. His subject: tax reform. The news—which by… Read more