| | | | | |  | | By Melanie Zanona | Presented by Responsibility.org | with a big assist from Sarah Ferris A SIGH OF RELIEF -- It took Congress eight months to finally come to an agreement on another coronavirus relief bill. But once the text was released, it only took 10 hours for Congress to pass it. Late Monday night, Congress approved its fifth and final stimulus package of the year with broad bipartisan support in both chambers, ending months of stalemate over the issue and providing long overdue relief to the American people. Trump is now expected to sign the rescue bill, quickly doling out emergency aid to millions. The mammoth bill also takes a government shutdown off the table: The House and Senate both approved a 7-day stopgap — which was essentially tucked inside the $1.4 trillion omnibus — to prevent any issues during the tricky process of enacting such a massive bill. President-elect Joe Biden now has a clear path on spending until September. Monday night's vote in the House and Senate came after a painful series of fits and starts over the past few days. That includes a weekend-long spat over the Federal Reserve, and then an hours-long delay on Monday due to a computer glitch. The pre-Christmas votes capped off an unprecedented run for the 116th Congress, which began with a historic government shutdown, included the third presidential impeachment ever, and ended with a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic and a national reckoning over racial inequality. The recap from Andrew, Sarah and your host: http://politi.co/3mEQdOb. So, how did lawmakers finally break the impasse after eight months of fighting and finger pointing? A bipartisan group helped jumpstart the long-stalled talks. Leaders in both parties started looking ahead to the Georgia Senate runoff races. And Trump mostly stayed out of it. Burgess, Heather and Marianne have the backstory, which includes feuds, zooms and one fateful Italian dinner: http://politi.co/2KPAnCZ. But before you race to pat Congress on the back … some experts warn the aid may be too little, too late. Already, key sectors of the economy say it's not enough — including state and local governments, restaurants and plenty more small businesses. Dems says this rescue package is just a down payment, but the GOP hasn't committed to additional relief next year. More from Zach Warmbrodt: http://politi.co/2KKwxew. Related read: "Biden to push for more coronavirus relief, setting up a clash with GOP," by WaPo's Annie Linskey and Mike DeBonis: http://wapo.st/3aLTw43. O TANNENBAUM -- The bill, as mentioned, is ENORMOUS. How big, you ask? Well, it needed a cart to be wheeled through the Capitol and its own chair to be seated in the Senate. The thing clocked in at nearly 6,000 pages. As the final major piece of legislation of the 116th Congress, party leaders tacked on several other bills to the spending measure, an annual tradition that lawmakers describe as loading up the "Christmas tree." Among the other items included: a hard-fought bipartisan agreement to protect patients from receiving "surprise" medical bills, a compromise version of an annual authorization for the intelligence community, the creation of two new Smithsonian museums, tax extenders, a Tibet human rights bill, and a ban on race-day horse doping, just to name a few. Related read: "Omnibus spending package reflects shaky detente in Trump's final chapter," by Roll Call's Jennifer Shutt: http://bit.ly/37FUn4g . | | A message from Responsibility.org: December is National Impaired Driving Prevention Month. High-risk impaired drivers are at a higher crash risk, are disproportionately involved in fatal crashes, often escape accountability and typically become repeat DUI offenders. Learn more about these offenders and what research shows will be effective in deterring them. StopHRID.org | | | STRATEGERY -- Trump huddled with a group of House Republicans at the White House Monday where they strategized over a last-ditch effort to overturn the election results, according to several members who attended the meeting. The group also met with Vice President Mike Pence and members of Trump's legal team. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) — who is spearheading the attempt to challenge the election results in Congress next month — told your Huddle host that he organized the White House meetings, which lasted over three hours. They talked about logistics, such as what the objection language will look like, and gamed out how Pence will rule on procedural issues when he presides over the floor proceedings on Jan. 6. But even if a senator joins the House GOP's push to object to the election results and force a deliberation on the matter, it's almost certain to fail: the House is led by Dems, while there's barely any appetite for the doomed idea in the Senate GOP. As Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) put it, the House GOP's effort is "going down like a shot dog" in the Senate. Still, it could turn into one last Trump loyalty test. More deets from yours truly: http://politi.co/2KirzpD. MEANWHILE … Olivia Beavers, your soon-to-be Huddle author, got her hands on an email that the White House sent around to congressional offices in which Trump tries to take credit for Mitch McConnell's election victory. "Sadly, Mitch forgot," the slide reads. "He was the first one off the ship!" McConnell has not only recognized Joe Biden's win, but also discouraged Senate Republicans from challenging the results. The chart. GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Tuesday, Dec. 22, where your host is too exhausted to think of anything witty here. Please check back tomorrow. MONDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) talking about his experience with coronavirus in an interview with the Spokesman-Review drew the most eyeballs. | 
President-elect Joe Biden receives his first dose of the coronavirus vaccine from Nurse partitioner Tabe Mase at Christiana Hospital in Newark Del., Monday, Dec. 21, 2020, from nurse practitioner Tabe Mase. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) | Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo | | | | | TUNE IN TO NEW EPISODE OF GLOBAL TRANSLATIONS: Our Global Translations podcast, presented by Citi, examines the long-term costs of the short-term thinking that drives many political and business decisions. The world has long been beset by big problems that defy political boundaries, and these issues have exploded over the past year amid a global pandemic. This podcast helps to identify and understand the impediments to smart policymaking. Subscribe for Season Two, available now. | | | | | VIRTUAL JET FUMES -- Two more soon-to-be-departing Republicans have joined the ranks of the proxy voters in the House. Reps. John Shimkus (R-Ill.), who's retiring, and Greg Gianforte, who was recently elected as Montana governor, both cast votes from outside the House on Monday. (Check out Shimkus's handwritten note here). This matters because Democrats have been doing this for months to limit travel during the pandemic and GOP lawmakers are actually suing Democrats to halt the process. Gianforte is even one of the plantiffs of the House GOP's lawsuit. And the House GOP's campaign arm has been hammering Dems who use proxy voting. But Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) raised eyebrows when he, too, voted by proxy earlier this week. It turns out he had another place to be at almost the exact same time the House was voting -- Mar-A-Lago, according to the American Independent. LEE HAS LEFT THE BUILDING -- "Robert E. Lee Statue Is Removed From U.S. Capitol," by NYT's Bryan Pietsch: http://nyti.ms/3mOYHCF. SUBPOENA SZN -- The House panel investigating the Trump administration's coronavirus response has issued subpoenas — and also released new documents showing attempts to interfere politically at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The latest from Dan Diamond: "Trump appointees attempted to 'alter or block' at least 13 scientific reports on the coronavirus as outbreaks surged across the spring and summer, Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), the chair of the House select subcommittee on coronavirus, wrote on Monday in a letter that was shared with POLITICO. "Clyburn issued subpoenas to Azar and Redfield, ordering them by Dec. 30 to produce 'full and unredacted' documents that Clyburn said his panel has sought for months. … In recent weeks, the panel released evidence alleging that Redfield ordered agency staff to delete an email that appeared to show political interference and that a political adviser repeatedly advocated a controversial 'herd immunity' strategy regarded by most public health experts as reckless." More: http://politi.co/2WEGzQZ. Related: "House intends to reissue subpoena for Trump's financial records next year," from Kyle: http://politi.co/2Kq736g. | | | | A message from Responsibility.org:   | | | LOWEY LEAVES HER MARK -- Dozens of lawmakers delivered tributes to retiring House Appropriations Chairwoman Nita Lowey on Monday as she carried out an epic final act leading the panel — a $1.4 trillion omnibus bill. It's a big moment for all who have served with Lowey, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi and incoming Appropriations chief Rosa DeLauro, who are so close to Lowey that the trio was once nicknamed the "DeLoSis" from their time on the panel together. Lowey made history as first female Appropriations chair, and has been widely respected across the aisle. Speaking on the floor Monday night, Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) recalled her first sit-down with Lowey when she was elected chairwoman a few years ago. Lowey told her, "We're going to do it on time, on budget and we're going to become best friends," Granger recalled in her floor tribute. "I wasn't sure she wasn't crazy, but I said, 'I'll do that,'" Granger recalled, adding that they went on to do all three. "And we had a good time, didn't we?" Granger says. The teary-eyed floor speech: https://bit.ly/3mJXUCG. MARK YOUR CALENDARS -- The House will vote on Dec. 28 to override an anticipated Trump veto of the bipartisan defense bill. And the Senate is expected to follow suit the next day. (Trump has until tomorrow to veto the bill, which he hasn't done yet.) There's enough support in both chambers to override the veto, which will be the final act of the 116th Congress — and represents a major rebuke of Trump. But Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is apparently trying to derail the process in the Senate, so stay tuned. CLICKER: The 2021 Senate calendar MAY THE TASK FORCE BE WITH YOU -- Pelosi announced yesterday that the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress will be extended through the 117th Congress. And she also announced in a "Dear Colleague" letter that she's proposing a select committee "to address economic disparities and promote fair growth" next year. And of course, don't forget the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis and Select Oversight Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, which will also continue in the new Congress. | | | | KEEP UP WITH THE PEOPLE AND POLITICS DRIVING GLOBAL HEALTH IN 2021: The pandemic revealed just how critical it is to keep up with the politics, policy and people driving global health. The Covid-19 vaccine is here — now what? What will the distribution look like globally? Our Global Pulse newsletter connects leaders, policymakers and advocates to the politics impacting our global health. Join the conversation and subscribe today. | | | | |
|  | TRANSITIONS | | Nothing today. | | TODAY IN CONGRESS | | The House and Senate are out. | | TRIVIA | | MONDAY'S WINNER: Jack Howard was the first person to guess that the White House Christmas tree ornament was the annual political collectible first released in 1981, with the theme "Angel in Flight." TODAY'S QUESTION : From Jack: Who holds the record for having served as Senator from three different states, after having challenged this future President to a duel? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answer to mzanona@politico.com. GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each morning. | | A message from Responsibility.org: December is National Impaired Driving Prevention Month. Each year, nearly a million people are arrested for impaired driving. Though laws and processes vary by state, each of them goes through a similar experience after an officer observes suspicious driving: Detection/arrest, awaiting and preparing for trial, screening and assessment, the court process/sentencing, supervision, and treatment. StopHRID.org identifies common challenges as well as system improvements and how to implement them in order to eliminate impaired driving, especially among high-risk impaired drivers. Responsibility.org has collaborated with key partners in the fields of traffic safety, criminal justice, and supervision and treatment to eliminate impaired driving. The DUI system is complex and contains many gaps and addressing those issues requires practitioners, policymakers, and the public to better understand those gaps and how the system operates and reforms that are needed to effectively reduce recidivism and fatalities. StopHRID.org | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment