(CNN) - Actress Jennifer Garner tested the power of celebrity activism on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, helping Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa and Education Secretary Arne Duncan make a pitch for a bill that would expand access to early education programs.
Garner joined Harkin, Duncan and Reps. George Miller, D-California, and Richard Hanna, R-New York, in the Senate visitor’s center in her capacity as an ambassador for Save the Children, a major advocate for expanding early education.
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Washington (CNN) – There was a heated exchange at the confirmation hearing for Homeland Security Secretary designate Jeh Johnson, but it had nothing to do with questions over his qualifications or politics, but rather questions over his questionnaire.
"I'm extremely disturbed by the responses to the questionnaire," Republican Sen. Tom Coburn said in his opening statement. "Either the legislative staff or the White House has cut and pasted identical answers to 23 questions in your response. Identical responses to that of other nominees."
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Washington (CNN) - A new poll released Wednesday indicates voters are divided on whether they'll vote for Democratic or Republican House lawmakers in next year's midterm elections.
According to the Quinnipiac University survey, 39% of voters say they would choose a Democrat in their congressional district if the election were held today, while another 39% say they would choose a Republican.
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Washington (CNN) - A source with knowledge of the technical operations for fixing the Obamacare website pushed back Wednesday on a report in the Washington Post that said software problems with the troubled healthcare website are unlikely to be resolved by the end of the month.
The Obama administration's Chief Information Officer, Todd Park, told a congressional committee Wednesday that healthcare.gov can currently handle barely half of its intended capacity.
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This week, members of Congress can begin signing up for the state or federal health care exchanges offered under the Affordable Care Act - also known as Obamacare. Here is an ongoing list, updated daily, of which members of Congress have decided to enroll:
(Click here for the full, printable Senate list)
(Click here for the full, printable House list)
For the full story, click here: Many in Congress avoiding health care exchanges
Washington (CNN) - If there were any doubts that comprehensive immigration reform efforts were dead on Capitol Hill this year, House Speaker John Boehner eliminated them on Wednesday.
Boehner repeated his long standing opposition to the Senate-passed immigration bill and his pledge the House would never vote on it, but he went a step further, drawing a bright line: "I'll make clear we have no intention ever of going to conference on the Senate bill."
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(CNN) - White House Chief Technology Officer Todd Park told House lawmakers on Wednesday that the Obamacare enrollment numbers would be released by the administration "shortly." He was responding to a question during a hearing on the troubled HealthCare.gov site.
Washington (CNN) - President Obama was wrong when he promised, "If you like your health insurance, you can keep it."
But lawmakers promising legislation to reinstate some of those plans cancelled because of the Affordable Care Act might be making an equally hollow promise.
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(CNN) – A week after his landslide re-election, a new poll indicates Republican Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey would be locked in a virtual tie with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton if the 2016 presidential election were held today.
Forty-three percent of American voters support Christie, while 42% back the former secretary of state, according to the Quinnipiac University poll.
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Washington (CNN) - A private meeting on Capitol Hill with House Democrats and White House officials on Wednesday became heated when rank-and-file members expressed frustration about continued Obamacare problems, according to multiple sources in the room.
One congressional Democrat who attended the meeting said senior Obama administration officials Mike Hash and David Simas really "got hit" by House Democrats about everything from the troubled website to the broken promise that people can keep the insurance plans they like.
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