Text of President Barack Obama's news conference Tuesday at the White House, as transcribed by CQ Transcriptions: Part II OBAMA: But it is — it is going to be an impossible task for us to balance our budget if we're not taking on rising health care ...

Bill Kristol, the often insightful editor of the Weekly Standard, used his column in the New York Times last week to offer advice to conservatives who advocate small government: Cut it out. The essence of Kristol's argument is that small government is not popular, therefore advocating it is not a smart strategy for a political faction seeking power in ...

Congressional efforts to deal with growing Medicare spending will be set aside for another year under a rule change approved by the House on Thursday. The rule was approved largely along party lines, 231-184, with Democrats pushing for the change. In response to a warning from Medicare's trustees, President Bush recommended steps earlier this year that would lessen the ...

Congress on Tuesday rejected President Bush's veto of legislation protecting doctors from a 10.6 percent cut in their reimbursement rates when treating Medicare patients. The override vote in the House was a lopsided 383-41, easily meeting the two-thirds threshold needed to nullify the president's veto. About an hour later, the Senate voted to override, 70-26. Bush has ...

WASHINGTON — Doctors across Nevada are weighing whether to continue accepting new Medicare patients if Congress fails to stop a 10 percent pay cut to Medicare providers scheduled to take hold next week. In the past, Congress has been able to prevent the annual pay cut, an unintended consequence of new Medicare reimbursement formulas since 2001. But this year, with a ...