This Week In Washington
Top 5 Stories
1. The debt-ceiling
standoff ended this week after the House and Senate passed a measure to suspend
the nation's borrowing limit until March 2015, without attaching any
conditions.
Look ahead: Several Republican lawmakers concede
debt-limit brinksmanship is here to stay, but are accepting the political reality
in the short term.
2 2. Lawmakers voted
by wide margins in the House and Senate to reverse cuts to pension benefits for
working-age military retirees.
Look ahead: The $6 billion cost of restoring the benefits
will be offset by extending automatic reductions to reimbursements for Medicare
providers for one year.
3 3. Obamacare:
The Treasury Department further delayed the employer mandate, saying businesses
with 50-99 full-time workers—those working at least 30 hours a week—will not be
subject to the penalty until 2016.
Look ahead: Companies with more than 100 workers,
which had been required to provide coverage for 95% of full-time employees by
2015 to avoid a penalty, now must extend it to just 70% by next year.
4 4. The White House
unveiled its highly anticipated cybersecurity framework, which is intended to
help businesses defend themselves from hackers.
Look ahead: The guidelines are voluntary, and it is
unclear how much the government can do to encourage compliance.
5 5.
Roughly 3.3
million people have obtained coverage under the Affordable Care Act, including
1.1 million people who selected plans on the health insurance exchanges in
January, according to figures released this week by the Department of Health
and Human Services.
Look ahead: While
young people are gaining coverage in greater numbers, the number of enrollees
between the ages of 18 and 34 continues to lag expectations.
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