WASHINGTON — House Republicans, fresh from their showdown with Democrats over cuts in the current federal budget, promised Sunday to take an even tougher stand on spending next month when Congress will be asked to increase the amount of money the government is allowed to borrow.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia and Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, warned that the GOP won't approve raising the debt ceiling unless that increase is accompanied by both spending cuts and budget priorities.

Raising the debt ceiling is critical because without a higher limit, the government won't be able to borrow money to cover its expenses — including money needed to pay off earlier debt that has come due. » read more

WASHINGTON — To a greater degree than most insurance company chiefs, Mark Bertolini has encountered his own personal challenges with the health care system.

Bertolini, the head of insurer Aetna, faced a tough time in 2001 when his teenage son Eric was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer that was considered incurable. Bertolini moved into his son's hospital room for more than a year during treatment. At one point, his son's prognosis was so grim that the family decided to place him in hospice, a move that meant signing "do not resuscitate" orders and making other difficult decisions.

That experience, Bertolini says, later helped guide him to make changes to hospice policy at Aetna to make it easier for families. His son survived — with the help of a kidney transplant in 2007 from Bertolini — and is now 25 and studying particle physics. » read more

MANAGUA, Nicaragua — The United States free-trade agreement with Central America and the Dominican Republic (CAFTA-DR) celebrated its fifth anniversary this week with American officials hailing the pact’s exemplary success in Nicaragua — the region’s unlikely poster child for economic growth and job creation under the agreement.

For a country governed by a self-declared socialist who often rails against the evils of “savage capitalism,” Nicaragua has benefited from CAFTA more than any other signatory country. And despite the Sandinista Front’s initial attempts to block the trade agreement six years ago, claiming it would be a “death certificate” for farmers and small producers, officials from the now-ruling party now praise CAFTA and claim its successes as their own.

“Since entering into force in 2006, CAFTA has become a key instrument to attracting foreign investment, increasing exports and creating jobs in Nicaragua,” said retired Sandinista military general Alvaro Baltodano, head of the government’s free-trade commission. » read more