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The tax, originally part of the Affordable Care Act, was set up to pay for an expansion in health programs to cover the uninsured in America, which studies have linked to over 45,000 deaths a year.

Federal pay rates would be frozen for the third straight year in 2013 under several plans that advanced in the House on Wednesday. A spending bill covering general government matters for the coming fiscal year approved by a House Appropriations subcommittee contains no additional money to pay for a raise, effectively rejecting President Obama’s request for a 0.5 percent increase in January.

The chamber passes the annual spending bill 200 to 120, including the provision that would ban same-sex ceremonies at military chapels. Wading into the gay marriage debate, the Republican-led House tacked a provision banning same-sex marriages at military chapels onto a sweeping defense bill that is now headed to the Senate.

Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle (R-N.Y.) is exasperated as she concludes her opening remarks and reaches for a piece of paper on the podium. “I don’t know who was handing out this literature,” she says, “but I think we’ve got to talk about this a little bit.”

The Republicans who control the House are using cuts to food aid, health care and social services like Meals on Wheels to protect the Pentagon from a wave of budget cuts come January....

The nearly bankrupt U.S. Postal Service is urging the House to quickly pass legislation to let it close low-revenue post offices and eliminate Saturday delivery.

At a closed door meeting with rank-and-file Republicans, House Speaker John A. Boehner reiterated his concerns the party could lose control of the House majority this fall, giving his troops file a sober reminder of the challenge ahead.

The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a tax break for small businesses, giving voters a stark alternative to President Barack Obama's politically popular "Buffett Rule" surtax on the wealthy.

The White House is threatening to veto an effort by House Republicans to cut taxes for millions of smaller businesses, calling it an unproductive giveaway to many of the country's most profitable companies.

Rep. Barney Frank , D-Mass., said he advised President Obama against taking up health care reform following a special election in 2010 that changed Democrats' fortunes in the Senate, saying that he should have instead turned his focus to financial reform.