Congress deals pair of blows to 'Obamacare'

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two Republican senators abandoned their fight Wednesday for legislation this year to help contain premium costs by resuming federal subsidies to insurers, as Congress dealt a pair of blows to President Barack Obama's health care law.

Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Tennessee's Lamar Alexander ran into opposition from both parties to inserting the language into a must-pass bill preventing a weekend federal shutdown. They said they'd pursue the effort early next year, though there is no guarantee it would succeed.

The retreat was particularly embarrassing for the moderate Collins, who premised her vote for the GOP tax bill on what she said were promises from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.