| | | | | |  | | By Katherine Tully-McManus | | | JUST ANOTHER MANIC MONDAY — It is a high stakes week on Capitol Hill, no doubt about it. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced Sunday night that debate on the Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure bill will start Monday, right on time to fulfil the promise made to centrists last month. A vote on the $550 billion in new infrastructure spending is slated for Thursday, right as the authorization for key surface transportation programs is set to expire. House leaders are also trying to make enough progress on the sweeping reconciliation package so that progressives don't revolt and tank the infrastructure bill and to appease centrists in the Senate. That's an understatement: "The next few days will be a time of intensity," Pelosi wrote to House Democrats this weekend. The caucus will meet at 5:30 p.m. Monday and Pelosi wants the members who've drawn lines in the sand about the Democratic agenda (who haven't shown their faces at caucus meetings lately) to be there. "I urge the fullest participation of Members and hope that as many of us can be there in person as possible," she wrote. Pelosi reiterated her well-established legislative strategy on ABC over the weekend: "I'm never bringing a bill to the floor that doesn't have the votes," she said. More details on how Pelosi is approaching this week from Heather, Sarah and Nick: https://politi.co/3ibmtsJ RELATED: Facing a heap of defeat, progressives stake hopes on spending bill, from Marianne, Nicholas and Sarah (fresh off the presses this morning!) | | | | INTRODUCING CONGRESS MINUTES: Need to follow the action on Capitol Hill blow-by-blow? Check out Minutes, POLITICO's new platform that delivers the latest exclusives, twists and much more in real time. Get it on your desktop or download the POLITICO mobile app for iOS or Android. GET A FIRST LOOK AT CONGRESS MINUTES HERE. | | | | | MONEY, MONEY, MONEY — All that needle threading on President Joe Biden's agenda is happening while Congress faces down two potential crises on federal spending and looming default on the nation's debt. Funding for the federal government is set to run out Thursday at midnight and while the Senate votes tonight on a procedural move to inch a stopgap spending measure forward, Senate Republicans are expected to tank the proposal because attached are provisions to suspend the federal debt limit. Senate Republicans are holding firm that Democrats should lift the cap on government borrowing on their own, as part of the go-it-alone reconciliation package that Democrats are already moving. But that move is untested and could take weeks, time that will bring the country closer and closer to default. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said it was "laughable" for Democrats to say they don't have enough time to attach the debt limit suspension to reconciliation, but even the Treasury doesn't have a definitive answer for when the calamitous "Date X" or default day would be. The Republican narrative ties the debt increase to the ambitious spending that Democrats are trying to pass, which they oppose. But in reality the debt limit raise is needed to cover Trump-era spending that Republicans backed with enthusiasm, as well as any spending that's already been authorized by the government. "I don't think that's going to happen," said Senate Budget Chairman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) of default. "I think Republicans may be a little bit crazy, but they're not that crazy." More on the debt limit brinkmanship from Caitlin Emma: https://politi.co/3iuHpvh | | A message from Freight Rail Works: U.S. companies count on American freight railroads for the efficient, reliable shipment of goods, especially now. That's why railroads are doing everything to meet that demand, from hiring more workers to increasing storage capacity to reopening rail yards. Railroads are committed to doing their part to get supply chains moving. | | | GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Monday, September 27, where not even showtunes will make this week's mess easier (but there's no harm in trying). FRIDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Bill text of the House's reconciliation package took the cake. It got marked up this weekend, but text is far from final. More on that below. JAGGED LITTLE BILL — The House Budget Committee spent a stunning fall Saturday marking up the more than 2,400 page Democratic spending plan. The fully remote markup included members voting and debating from the driver's seat of moving cars, outdoor venues, the golf course and their bedrooms. The panel advanced, along party lines, the Democrats' go-it-alone measure that still has many elements to be worked out. Clearing committee typically signals that a package is pretty much finalized, barring amendment on the floor, but not this time. The Budget panel stitched together a dozen slices of the Biden agenda, including paid leave, child care subsidies and expanded Medicare coverage. But plenty could be changed as Democratic leaders try to build a compromise bill that can pass both the House and Senate. Jennifer Scholtes and Caitlin Emma covered the markup and more: https://politi.co/3zVAFMR BUMPY ROAD FOR BIPARTISANSHIP? — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is fiercely whipping against Biden's infrastructure bill. But GOP members of the Problem Solvers Caucus have launched something of a counter-whip, not to preserve Joe Biden's agenda, but to show why their group exists in the first place. Members of the group say there's hardly a more glaring example of "bipartisanship" than a roads-and-bridges funding bill blessed by both a Dem president and a Senate GOP leader — not to mention members of their own group. Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.) put his decision to vote yes bluntly: "I helped write it." At least 10 Republicans planned to vote for it as of Friday, with some GOP lawmakers pegging the number as high as 15 or 20. And it's not just Problem Solvers: GOP Reps. Nicole Malliotakis (N.Y.), and Jeff Van Drew (N.J.) also told POLITICO they were leaning towards supporting the bill. But the vote is complicated for many GOP moderates, hesitant to deliver a win for Biden and possibly hurt their chances of flipping the House. Then there's Pelosi's decision to delay the vote to Thursday — another dynamic that could alter the GOP whip count. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), the group's co-chair, put it like this: "There's a lot of people who support infrastructure, who may not be in love with the bill but they're OK with it. But they want nothing to do with the $3.5 trillion." Sarah and Nick dig into the roster of Republicans who helped craft the infrastructure bill, but might not vote for it: https://politi.co/3m3XvN3 | | | | BECOME A GLOBAL INSIDER: The world is more connected than ever. It has never been more essential to identify, unpack and analyze important news, trends and decisions shaping our future — and we've got you covered! Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Global Insider author Ryan Heath navigates the global news maze and connects you to power players and events changing our world. Don't miss out on this influential global community. Subscribe now. | | | | | CHENEY CHANGES — Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said on CBS's "60 Minutes" that she was "wrong" in her opposition to same-sex marriage, which in 2013 created a raw and public and rift between Cheney and her sister Mary, who is married to a woman. Liz Cheney said: "This is an issue that we have to recognize you know, as -- as human beings that we need to work against discrimination of all kinds in our country, in our state...We were at an event a few nights ago and there was a young woman who said she doesn't feel safe sometimes because she's transgender. And nobody should feel unsafe. Freedom means freedom for everybody," she said. In recent years, Cheney has described same-sex marriage as "settled law," following the Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. But in February Cheney voted against a bill that would have amended the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to add sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes. Cheney also called McCarthy's embrace of Trump "unforgivable" and talked about running as a Republican while at odds with the House GOP conference: https://cbsn.ws/39CItIy AFGHANISTAN'S NOT GOING AWAY — The president's foreign policy will also be under the microscope once again — and it won't be pretty. Top Pentagon officials are slated to testify before the Senate and House armed services committees, where lawmakers are set to press them on several topics related to the withdrawal from Afghanistan — including questions about the military's advice to the president, potential contingency plans for a worst-case scenario, and other strategic decisions that contributed to the chaos that played out on the ground. Here's the schedule: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, and U.S. Central Command chief Gen. Kenneth McKenzie are expected to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday; they'll head to the other side of the Capitol on Wednesday to testify before the House Armed Services Committee. But don't forget… while these hearings are nominally focused on Afghanistan, expect Milley to be asked about the recent revelations in Bob Woodward's and Robert Costa's new book about some of the steps Milley took to reassure his Chinese counterparts about the potential whims of then-President Donald Trump. Milley has already suggested he's willing and eager to vigorously defend himself against charges that he was seeking to undermine the sitting president. "I'll go into any level of detail Congress wants to go into in a couple of weeks," Milley said earlier this month. GIVE MY REGARDS TO OLD BROADWAY — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) was at the Tony Awards Sunday night in his Save Our Stages mask, and got a shoutout and standing ovation from the crowd. Hamilton's Leslie Odom Jr. touted the federal aid that flowed to live theater and performance venues to keep them afloat during the pandemic. It was a quick moment amid the dazzle of the Great White Way, but Schumer tweeted it out: https://bit.ly/3kHKrNV | | | | A message from Freight Rail Works:   | | | QUICK LINKS — The rise of the gerontocracy: Get ready for a lot more Chuck Grassleys from The Washington Post — Covert Postal Service unit probed Jan. 6 social media, from Betsy Woodruff Swan — Republicans plot to keep Texas red in redistricting from Ally Mutnick — Child Tax Credit pairing: Whose kid is that? Dems want big changes in who qualifies for child tax break from Brian Faler and Joe Manchin Might Single-Handedly Upend the Child Tax Credit from Grace Segers at The New Republic TRANSITIONS Karla Alvarado is the deputy communications director for the Peace Corps. She previously worked as press secretary for Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.). Ann O'Hanlon, who spent five years as chief of staff and campaign manager for Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), is the new Washington-based chief of staff at Change Research, a Silicon Valley polling firm. Eric Bagwell is joining Intel as IP policy program director. He previously was a senior adviser for Rep. Ben Cline (R-Va.). TODAY IN CONGRESS The House convenes at noon for morning hour and 2 p.m. for legislative business with votes at 6:30 p.m. The Senate will convene at 3 p.m. and vote at 5:30 p.m. on the cloture on the motion to proceed to the House-passed stopgap spending bill. AROUND THE HILL A quiet start to a wild week, where anything is possible. TRIVIA FRIDAY'S WINNER: Chris Armstrong correctly answered that Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is the current governor whose father voted for the impeachment of Richard Nixon in the House in 1974. TODAY'S QUESTION from Chris: Who is the only Senator to be killed in a military battle, and in what war did he die? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. Send your answers to ktm@politico.com. GET HUDDLE emailed to your phone each morning. Follow Katherine on Twitter @ktullymcmanus | | A message from Freight Rail Works: A recent report from the Northwestern University Transportation Center found "that freight railroads responded well to rapid demand shifts, particularly in intermodal traffic. The sharp intermodal increase was driven in part by the rise of e-commerce, a tight trucking market, and shifts in consumer spending." As the number of intermodal shipments of electronics, clothing and other consumer goods continues to rise — and with supply chains still backed up — railroads are doing their part to get American companies the goods they need to begin growing again. They are closely coordinating with shipping partners and customers to better manage the flow of traffic, increasing storage space and collaborating with truckers to move goods as quickly as possible. American businesses working to reopen can count on freight rail as a consistent, dedicated partner. | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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