Legislation introduced by Rep. Scott DesJarlais unanimously cleared the House Wednesday, as lawmakers voted 400-0 to approve the Andrew P. Carpenter Tax Act. The bill, introduced by DesJarlais in May, prevents the IRS from collecting taxes on any amount of college loans that are forgiven following the death of an active service member. It was named after Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Andrew P. Carpenter of Columbia, Tenn., who was killed in February of last year while serving in Afghanistan.

Columbia resident Cindy Carpenter hopes legislation passed Wednesday in the U.S. House of Representatives will keep other families who lose a child to war from experiencing the same pain she suffered.

A bill that would allow the families of veterans who died while on active duty to avoid paying taxes on forgiven student loan debt passed unanimously in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday.

Marine Lance Cpl. Andrew Carpenter wanted a life after serving in Afghanistan, so he attended community college, took some classes at Middle Tennessee State University and signed off on a $20,000 student loan to pay for his studies.

The head of the IRS defended his agency Thursday from Republican charges that it is illegally handing out tax credits under President Obama's healthcare law.

On Capitol Hill today, a House Committee is looking into the effects of the Supreme Court's ruling on health care; Specifically, just how the IRS will assess a tax on people who don't carry health insurance. Opponents of the health care overhaul say the IRS isn't authorized to collect and share the personal information that's required.

House Republicans on Thursday grilled the head of the Internal Revenue Service on the agency's decision to apply the health care law's tax credits in states that decide not to carry out a key provision of the statute.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis released a report on Friday, showing that the United States’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has slowed to an annual rate of 1.5 percent vs. a 3.5 percent rate in 2010.

A veterans hospital is proposed in the Roane County Medical Center in Harriman, which will be vacated soon with the move by Covenant Health into a new hospital nearing completion in the county's Midtown area.

The Supreme Court ruling may be out, but two Tennessee members of Congress contend crucial legal questions concerning the health care reform law remain.