2017 marks the centennial of women being allowed to serve as Members in Congress. Jeanette Rankin of Montana was the first woman elected to serve in the House of Representative in 1916 and again in 1940. To commemorate this august celebration, the House of Representatives’ historian is featuring a special exhibit of oral histories, which you can check out here if you aren’t lucky enough to be able to see it in person.
In 2015, the Federal Communications Commission took action to rein in the $1.2 billion dollar prison phone industry. Prior to this action, prisons would charge outrageous amounts -- up to $14 a minute -- for inmates to contact family on the outside. The FCC’s new rule limited rates to no more than $1.65 for most 15 minute calls. Recently however, new leadership at the FCC declined to defend legal challenges from the for-profit prison phone industry to the Commission’s intrastate (long distance calls within a state) rate caps. This is a huge mistake that will hurt families and communities across the nation.
Spotlight on Health Care Series, Part 3: As America's health care system is facing uncertainty, NCL staff is exploring the topic in a new weekly blog series.
The failure to successfully repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), if nothing else, exposed a Republican party divided (perhaps irreparably so) on how to reform America’s healthcare system. Despite the GOP’s devastating legislative defeat, we should not underestimate their determination to resuscitate their repeal/replace efforts.
The April 18 income tax filing deadline is quickly approaching, and millions of consumers (almost one in seven Americans!) have yet to file their tax returns. If you are one of these last-minute filers, it can be a stressful time of year. But, rushing to complete a last-minute return can lead to rash decisions about tax preparation or to costly mistakes, which will delay your refund.
Spotlight on Health Care Series, Part 2: As America's health care system is facing uncertainty, NCL staff is exploring the topic in a new weekly blog series.
Ding dong, the bill is dead! Democrats, health advocates, patients, and consumers across the country are rejoicing after the GOP’s first attempt to repeal and replace major pieces of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) crashed and burned. Republicans ultimately could not coalesce around House Speaker Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) American Health Care Act (AHCA) and, in a stunning turn of events, the bill was pulled from the House floor without a vote last Friday.