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Rep. Paul Ryan, the incoming chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, laid out an expansive agenda Wednesday for 2015, including a GOP alternative to the Affordable Care Act and a fix for the looming shortfall in the federal disability insurance program. An overhaul of the nation’s tax laws will also rank high on the agenda when Ryan (R-Wis.) takes the helm of the tax-writing panel in January. However, Ryan acknowledged significant hurdles to passing tax reform during President Obama’s final years in office, and said far-reaching legislation may have to wait until a new president is seated in 2017. (Montgomery, 11/19)

Sparks flew Wednesday at a hearing on the botched rollout of HealthCare.gov as Republican lawmakers grilled former White House Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Todd Park about his role in the site's creation. GOP members had sought for almost a year to bring Park before the House Science and Technology Committee, desiring to suss out his level of involvement in the debacle. The administration has consistently argued he was not a key player, though he assisted greatly with the effort to fix the system by the end of November 2013. (Viebeck, 11/19)

The nation's former head of technology policy finally appeared Wednesday to answer questions at a House hearing on the botched Obamacare website launch -- and claimed it wasn't his job to know about specific technical issues. (11/19)