| | | | | |  | | By Katherine Tully-McManus | Presented by Sallie Mae® | THREE WEEKS TO CHOP — Democrats have a three-week stretch before their next self-imposed deadline to find significant compromise amongst themselves on a critical piece of President Joe Biden's domestic agenda: huge (but shrinking) social spending legislation. There were indications Tuesday that Democrats remain far apart on how to address the wide swath of areas from climate change provisions to health care expansion, child care and paid family leave. They are grappling with what stays and what will be left on the cutting room floor. "If there are fewer dollars to spend, there are choices to be made," Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told reporters. As if double-barrel approaches haven't very recently caused pain for Democrats (ehem, infrastructure), they are doubling down on a twofold approach: trimming both the number of priorities in their social spending package as well as cutting back on the length certain programs would be funded. The goal is to dramatically cut the package from the $3.5 trillion price tag down to a level that Senate moderates Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) can support. The three weeks ahead are expected to be full of tough choices and negotiations among Democrats, along with a heavy dose of soul-searching, write Heather and Sarah in their latest analysis of House Dems dynamics. RELATED: United against higher spending, centrist Democrats don't agree on what to cut or keep , from NPR, Democrats Debate Eligibility for Reconciliation Bill's New Social Programs, from Andy Duehren at the Wall Street Journal | | | | 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. | | | | | SEE YOU IN DECEMBER, DEBT LIMIT — The House cleared a seven-week debt limit increase Tuesday night, setting up another round of debate and consternation over potential catastrophic default in early December. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) panned the two-month patch as an "irresponsible and despicable act for adults who know better." Raising the debt limit allows the government to keep financing federal spending that has already been authorized by Congress, but it does not account for either party's future spending plans. Caitlin Emma and Jennifer Scholtes look at what's next for the debt limit fight . For a look at what 160 members voting by proxy is like, your Huddle host was in the chamber last night. GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Wednesday, October 13. CASEY MAKES HIS CASE (AGAIN AND AGAIN) — Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) is trying to champion a piece of the Democrats' not-yet-finalized social spending bill, but he isn't trying to win anyone over with cable news hits or impassioned floor speeches. He's taking the quieter, wonkier route, touting roughly $250 billion for states to expand care for older people and people with disabilities through Medicaid in caucus meetings trying to win over fellow Democrats, writes Marianne. Key background: Casey has spent five years as the top Democrat on the Senate Aging Committee, but before that he investigated the conditions of his state's nursing homes as auditor general more than two decades ago. That's some relevant knowledge as he represents a state with an aging population and nearly 2 million people with disabilities. Bolstering the social safety net for these populations awakens Casey's inner firebrand, which isn't unleashed too often. Don't miss Marianne's dive into what investment Casey thinks is needed, how he's trying to sell his colleagues on it and what they're saying about it… here. FIRST IN HUDDLE — Freshman Rep. Michelle Steel (R-Calif.) raised $750,000 in Q3 — she's raised $2.3 million so far this cycle. Some other notable recent Q3 numbers: Rep. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.) raised over $1 million. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (D-Texas) raised over $800,000 and has $1.75 million on hand. Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) raised $451,000 last quarter and Democrat Tony Vargas raised over $400,000 for his run against Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.). | | | | A message from Sallie Mae®: Sallie Mae does so much more than offer private education loans - we're an education solutions provider helping students and families understand, plan, and responsibly finance their education. A degree opens doors and creates opportunities, and those doors and opportunities should be open and available to everyone. That's why we offer free resources like a planning calculator, scholarship searches, and FAFSA support. See how Sallie Mae makes sense of it all. | | | POLICE BOARD RESPONDS — The Capitol Police Board is aiming to implement outstanding recommendations from a 2017 Government Accountability Office report by the end of the calendar year, according to a letter in response to Rep. Rodney Davis' (R-Ill.), who had called out the board's inaction in a Sept. 17 letter . The board is in the process of updating its manual of procedures and pledged to share the updated manual with "relevant congressional stakeholders" when finished. Read the USCP Board's response to Davis. None of the members of the current Capitol Police Board -- Architect of the Capitol J. Brett Blanton, Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Karen Gibson and House Sergeant-at-Arms William J. Walker -- were on the job in 2017 when the GAO recommendations were made. "Since its reconstruction, the Board has endeavored to operate with the spirit of transparency and accountability to improve its operations and develop constructive engagement with stakeholders," the board members wrote. The board said that there are biweekly meetings with USCP and the USCP Inspector General to "ensure that the USCP IG recommendations that were an outgrowth of January 6 are diligently resolved by the USCP." "I appreciate the board responding and believe this is a positive first step to seeing greater transparency and accountability from the new leaders of the board. I hope this is a sign of what we can continue to expect from them and I look forward to keeping the lines of communication open and hearing more about the progress on implementing these changes," Davis said in a statement to Huddle. | | | | "A FOREIGN POLICY BUILT FOR WOMEN" – JOIN US THURSDAY FOR A WOMEN RULE CONVERSATION: Building a foreign policy agenda with women at the center has shown that it can advance broader social, economic and political goals. It also requires having women in influential decision-making positions. Join POLITICO Magazine senior editor Usha Sahay for a joint conversation with Ambassador Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, the State Department's chief diversity and inclusion officer, and Ambassador Bonnie Denise Jenkins, undersecretary for arms control and international security, focused on the roadblocks preventing more women from rising through the ranks of diplomacy and why closing the foreign policy gender gap matters. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | ETHICS TAKES A SAMPLE — The House Ethics Committee is looking into allegations of House Ethics rules against Rep. Jim Hagedorn (R-Minn.) aide John Sample, according to a statement released Tuesday. Sample is a part time staffer who also serves as "chief financial officer, chief technology officer and director," of INVOCQ Technologies LLC, which received sizable disbursements from Hagedorn's office accounts. There have also been questions raised about his social media posts, which tend toward the controversial. Daniel Newhauser dug into the Sample situation for the Minnesota Reformer back in August. Read that here. "The Committee notes that the mere fact of a referral or an extension, and the mandatory disclosure of such an extension and the name of the subject of the matter, does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred, or reflect any judgment on behalf of the Committee," the evenly-split Ethics panel said in their statement. The committee will address next steps on or before Nov. 29. RETIREMENT BUDGET — House Budget Chair John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) announced Tuesday he will not run for reelection in 2022. He is the sole Democrat in Kentucky's delegation and will be 75 years old when his term ends in January 2023. He's the fifth House Democrat to announce his retirement ahead of what many have predicted could be a brutal midterm election for the party, write Sarah and Ally. But Hoyer doesn't see Yarmuth as any kind of bellwether: "I don't think it's any kind of a litmus test or indication that he thinks that we're not going to be in the majority. I don't think that's the case at all," Hoyer told Heather. | | | |   | | | TRANSITIONS Rosario Duran is now executive/scheduling assistant to Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.). She previously was legislative correspondent to Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) Laura Brantley is joining Shared Value Media as a comms manager. She previously was a policy and outreach associate for the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus. TODAY IN CONGRESS The House is not in session. The Senate is not in session. AROUND THE HILL Recess returns. TRIVIA TUESDAY'S WINNER: Daniel Reid correctly answered that Al Gore (D-Tenn.), Cordell Hull (D-Tenn.), Frank B. Kellogg (R-Minn.), Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Elihu Root (R-N.Y.) are all senators who are also Nobel Peace Prize laureates. TODAY'S QUESTION from Daniel: The Supreme Court is known to hold the "Highest Court in the Land", but some justices are prime athletes too. Which justice was inducted to a collegiate Hall of Fame, and for which sport? 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 Sallie Mae®: Sallie Mae helps students plan and responsibly pay for college in ways that might surprise you. While we're best known for offering private education loans, we also help students and families in different, but equally important, ways. Before offering financing options, Sallie Mae helps families navigate what is too often a complicated – and stressful – planning and paying for college process. We provide free financing tools and education resources to help families make informed decisions about college, regardless of whether they choose to borrow with us. Through a free suite of tools and resources including a planning calculator, scholarship searches, and FAFSA support, students and families can maximize their options before borrowing. When the need arises to cover any remaining college costs, and when scholarships, savings, and federal loans aren't enough, we offer responsible, credit-based private student loans to help fill the gap. See how Sallie Mae makes sense of college financing. | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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