Nov 28, 2017

Kevin Brady: House will likely include Obamacare mandate repeal in tax plan

Khorri Atkinson

House Ways and Means chairman Kevin Brady (on left) and Speaker Paul Ryan announced Thursday the tax overhaul plan. Photo: J. Scott Applewhite / AP

Rep. Kevin Brady, one the architects of the Republican's sweeping tax overhaul legislation, said his chamber would likely adopt a measure to repeal Obamacare's individual-coverage mandate if the Senate approves it, the AP reports.

Why it matters: At least one Republican Senator, Jerry Moran of Kansas, has publicly voiced his concerns over repealing the requirement that everyone have health insurance. And with just 52 members in the chamber, GOP leaders can afford to lose only two votes.

Brady's comments come as Senate Republican leaders are trying to get more support to pass their bill this week. Brady had previously said that repealing the individual mandate was politically risky, per the AP. But he told the American Enterprise Institute that "the House has always been strongly supportive of eliminating that forced tax," the AP reports.

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Rebecca Falconer, Orion Rummler, Marisa Fernandez

U.S. coronavirus updates: Majority of governors order residents to stay home

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins; Map: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

At least 28 state governors have ordered their residents to stay home to promote social distancing and limit community spread from the coronavirus pandemic as the U.S. copes with more than 144,000 positive cases — more than any other country in the world, per Johns Hopkins data.

The big picture: COVID-19 killed over 2,500 people in the U.S. by Monday. That's far fewer than in Italy, where over 10,700 people have died — accounting for a third of the global death toll. The number of people who've recovered from the virus in the U.S. exceeded 4,800.

Go deeperArrowUpdated 4 mins ago - Health
Marisa Fernandez

Maryland becomes latest state to issue coronavirus stay-at-home order

Gov. Larry Hogan. Photo: Jim Spellman/Getty Images

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced Monday he is ordering residents to stay at home effective 8 p.m. due to the coronavirus, except for those engaged in essential services, including health care and government functions.

The big picture: Maryland is the latest state to announce policies to enforce social distancing, which have affected almost 250 million Americans. More than 1.5 billion people worldwide had been asked to stay home as of last week.

Go deeperArrowUpdated 33 mins ago - Health
Axios

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 12 p.m. ET: 741,030 — Total deaths: 35,305 — Total recoveries: 156,838.
  2. U.S.: Leads the world in cases. Total confirmed cases as of 12 p.m. ET: 143,532 — Total deaths: 2,572 — Total recoveries: 4,865.
  3. Federal government latest: The White House will extend its social distancing guidelines until April 30 — Hospital ship the USNS Comfort arrives in Manhattan
  4. Public health updates: — White House COVID-19 response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx said the 100,000 to 200,000 U.S. coronavirus death toll estimate is based on the presumption that citizens follow social-distancing guidelines "almost perfectly."
  5. Business latest: Macy's will furlough the majority of it's workers this week, as the chain's stores remain closed.
  6. 🎧 Podcast: Living with the coronavirus
  7. What should I do? Answers about the virus from Axios experts — What to know about social distancing — Q&A: Minimizing your coronavirus risk
  8. Other resources: CDC on how to avoid the virus, what to do if you get it.

Subscribe to Mike Allen's Axios AM to follow our coronavirus coverage each morning from your inbox.

Keep ReadingArrowUpdated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy