Marilyn Tavenner, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, testifies before a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on "Affordable Care Act Implementation on Capitol Hill in Washington.
A key component of U.S. President Barack Obama's landmark healthcare bill began on Tuesday, despite the shutdown of the federal government, which was sparked by conservative Republicans trying to derail law designed to extend insurance coverage to millions of America.
With the law funding thousands of routine government activities set to expire at midnight, U.S. Senate Democrats rejected a proposal by the Republican-led House of Representatives to delay Obamacare for a year in return for temporary funding of the federal government beyond Monday.
Tea Party Republicans are bringing forward a bill that would make funding the government conditional on defunding President Obama's 2010 healthcare law, Fox News reported. This move is seen as a major victory for the Heritage Action PAC, and its group's leader Senator Jim DeMint. The animosity in Washington is so bad, a government shutdown may be pending as a result of this action.
