| | | | | |  | | By Katherine Tully-McManus | | | SPOOKED BY INFRASTRUCTURE — As if Halloween wasn't scary enough, top Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill are saying that Oct. 31 is their new target date for the two legislative packages that have caused headaches all summer and now into the fall. Is it a trick or a treat? Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) all publicly set Oct. 31 as the target for both the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the Democrats' social spending package. The date is key because key surface transportation programs would expire on Nov. 1, after the Senate cleared a 30-day extension on Saturday. "Our goal is to get it done in the next month, both bills, get them passed... we need everyone, unity in both our caucuses," Schumer said in New York on Sunday. On the two inscrutable Senate centrists, Durbin said over the weekend: "I'm listening to Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin as Chuck Schumer is every single day, and deciding what will it take to bring them across the finish line. We absolutely need them." Sinema (D-Ariz.) took aim over the weekend at Democratic leaders for delaying a vote on the bipartisan infrastructure package, calling the move "inexcusable" and "deeply disappointing." She warned that the holdup would diminish trust between fellow Democrats. Marianne has more on the fiery statement. To get to a lower spending range, some lawmakers, including progressives, are looking at shortening the timeline for the proposed spending, aides said, while others, including some centrists, want to focus the funds on a smaller number of programs. | | | | 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. | | | | | What's clear after the meltdown last week is that the Democrats' big spending bill focused on healthcare, education and climate policy won't ring up at $3.5 trillion over a decade. Biden said Friday that he expects the tab to fall between $1.9 trillion and $2.3 trillion and even progressives are coming around to the reality that the package will be scaled back. Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) threw out "between $1.5 and $3.5" on CNN Sunday. "There's no number on the table yet that everyone has agreed to," Jayapal said. A smaller price tag means cutting the number of programs addressed in the bill, which centrists favor, or shortening the timeline for the proposed spending, which progressives are looking at. RELATED: Democrats Weigh Cutting Programs or Reducing Scope to Trim $3.5 Trillion Bill, from Andy Duehren. DEBT LIMIT DEBATE — The Senate is expected to vote this week on a House-passed stand-alone bill that would lift the limit on federal borrowing until December 2022, although the effort appears doomed to hit a brick wall of Republican opposition and won't clear the 60-vote threshold. "We're gonna get this done, and we're gonna do it in a responsible way and face this as soon as we return next week," Durbin said on CNN Sunday. But without Republican votes, it is not clear how. Monday marks exactly two weeks until the Oct. 18 "X date" laid out by the Treasury Department, when the nation would hit the limit and failure to act would trigger the first-ever default on the federal debt. President Joe Biden will speak this morning on the need to address the debt ceiling, calling out Republicans moves to block Democrats efforts to move forward on debt limit legislation. (More on the debt limit dilemma further down.) | | A message from HCA Healthcare: For the 11th time, HCA Healthcare has been recognized as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere, a global leader in defining and advancing ethical business practices.
This accolade recognizes our dedication to doing the right thing and ensuring our actions reflect our mission: Above all else, we are committed to the care and improvement of human life. For our patients, colleagues and communities, you can count on HCA Healthcare to show up. | | | GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Monday, October 4, where sure, there's plenty of deadlines, but there's also playoff baseball to look forward to. COLLISION COURSE — The House select committee investigating the events of Jan. 6 has already held its first closed-door transcribed interviews with willing witnesses, according to sources familiar with those efforts, and new ones are scheduled for this week. But there is a significant challenge on the horizon. "For a panel that has worked briskly but methodically to gather records from federal agencies and scoop up voluntary testimony from friendly witnesses, the expected fight from Trump is likely to be the first test of its legal and political muscle," writes Kyle. Keep an eye out: Some of Trump's closest aides have until Thursday to comply with a committee subpoena for their own records. And the former president also faces a fast-approaching deadline to attempt to block the National Archives from releasing certain records. Read Kyle's latest on the select committee vs Trump. WINDOWS INTO THE CHAOS — Of the nearly 600 windows in the U.S. Capitol, only about a dozen ground-floor windows were passed over for reinforcement in recent years, a vulnerability that was key to the mob of pro-Trump rioters to gain access to the building on Jan. 6. Bombs and explosions have been the focus of most window upgrades in the last few decades, after the FBI warned post-9/11 that flying glass shards could kill 35,000 employees in the case of an explosion. Funding to reinforce the windows was a mix of classified and unclassified appropriations, which obscured the costs and extent of the window hardening. Sarah D. Wire of the Los Angeles Times digs into how the window vulnerabilities were used by rioters and what current and former officials have to say about the weak points. | | | | 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. | | | | | DEBT LIMIT: VISUALIZED — The House passed a stand-alone bill to suspend the federal debt limit on Sept. 29, but Senate Republicans will not vote to raise the debt limit, claiming that with a majority in both chambers and control of the White House, Democrats should do it alone. Republicans blocked inclusion of the debt limit in the stopgap spending measure to keep the government open through early December and an effort by Democrats to waive the 60-vote threshold for a stand-alone debt ceiling bill to allow Democrats only to advance it. Democrats have said that tacking the debt ceiling onto reconciliation, which Republicans want, would take close to a month (and two more vote-a-ramas) and more time than Congress has before the deadline. | 
Cristina Rivero/POLITICO | CONGRESS MINUTES — Don't miss what matters (but skip the nonsense on Twitter) by keeping an eye on Congress Minutes from POLITICO's Congress team. Swipe through quick, smart updates on what's happening on Capitol Hill, from folks that really know Congress: https://www.politico.com/minutes/congress/ and @politicongress on Twitter. | | | | A message from HCA Healthcare:   | | | QUICK LINKS — Democratic Voters See Many Losers in Party Schism, and One Winner: Trump , from Tracey Tully at the New York Times (no known relation to your Huddle host.) — Pelosi on verge of cementing legacy as one of the most powerful members of Congress ever — or ending her career on a sour note, from Paul Kane of the Washington Post TRANSITIONS Emma Weir starts today as communications director for the New Democrats Coalition, leaving Schumer's office. Sophie Trainor will be chief of staff for Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.). She was previously deputy chief of staff and legislative director. Jake Oken-Berg is joining Summit Strategies as a lobbyist working on state and federal matters. He previously served as a senior business adviser to Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore). Caty Payetteis now press secretary and digital director for Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio). She most recently was press secretary/digital director for Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.). TODAY IN CONGRESS The House is not in session. The Senate convenes at 3 p.m. with a vote at 5:30 p.m. AROUND THE HILL A quiet Monday. TRIVIA FRIDAY'S WINNER: Aria Austin correctly answered that Virginia has been the home-state of the most presidents pro tempore, at seven. TODAY'S QUESTION from Aria: What political system created by Native American/Indigenous American tribes provided an example of a contemporary democracy from which our founding fathers could draw inspiration from for the framework of the U.S. Constitution? Bonus points if you can name the nations that created this system of governance. 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 HCA Healthcare: This year, HCA Healthcare was recognized for the 11th time as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere, a global leader in defining and advancing ethical business practices.
This accolade recognizes our dedication to doing the right thing and ensuring our actions reflect our mission. A recent example is from early 2020, when we made the decision not to lay off or furlough any colleagues due to the pandemic. HCA Healthcare kept this promise and also introduced a novel pandemic pay program that provided paychecks to colleagues unable to work due to government mandates that halted many elective procedures.
We exist to give people a healthier tomorrow and we're focused on creating more resources, solutions and possibilities for healthcare everywhere. For our patients, colleagues and communities, you can count on us to show up. | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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