| | | | | |  | | By Katherine Tully-McManus | | | With Ally Mutnick and Sarah Ferris. HOW TO SHRINK THE BILL — Democratic leaders in Congress are still aiming to wrap up reconciliation and infrastructure by the end of the month, but that means locking down agreement between the White House, progressives and centrist Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.). In the meantime, the Democrats' domestic policy agenda is on ice. Marianne, Burgess and Sarah have the latest on where things stand. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and a team from the White House met Monday night, yielding mostly platitudes about how hard they are working to come to an agreement. But there are more meetings tee'd up Tuesday. Biden will sit down, virtually, at 10:15 a.m. with an array of moderate Democrats representing "frontline" districts, where they're expected to face tough challenges in next year's midterms. The frontliners are key voices in the negotiations because they're in the toughest seats in the country -- the kind of "must win" races that will decide whether Democrats hang onto the House next fall. House progressives had a similar call with Biden on Monday, where Biden stressed that Democrats needed to fit as much as they possibly could into the package, within the constraints of the thin majorities in both chambers. A source familiar with the meeting said Biden told the group that the bill would be between $1.5 and $2.2 trillion, based on what he sees Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) accepting. He raised possible options for scaling back the bill, including shortening the timeline of certain programs or using "means testing" on programs such as free community college. Progressives spent about 90 minutes reiterating support for the reconciliation package and their desire to pass as robust a plan as they can. For more on that, including the roster of invitees, check out the Minute that dropped after the meeting. | | | | 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. | | | | | DEBT LIMIT DEJA VU — Schumer filed cloture Monday night on the stand-alone legislation that would suspend the debt limit until Dec. 2022, setting up a vote as soon as Wednesday. But the calculation has not changed since last week, when Senate Republicans thwarted two attempts to move debt limit legislation, one when it was attached to the stopgap spending bill and another when Schumer sought an up-or-down vote at a majority threshold to suspend the debt limit. Wednesday's vote is expected to also fall short of the 60 votes needed, with Republicans saying Monday they're sticking to their opposition. "We just don't want to be connected to it," Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) told reporters Monday. "They can bring it to the floor, but we don't want to just allow it to pass." Republicans are set on ensuring that Democrats feel maximum political and procedural pain in the process of raising the debt ceiling, with the deadline for default less than two weeks away. RELATED: As the U.S. Hurtles Toward a Debt Crisis, What Does McConnell Want? from Jonathan Weisman at the New York Times. | | 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 5. Here's a little something from yesterday's Facebook and Instagram shutdown. WHISTLEBLOWER FACES CONGRESS — Frances Haugen, a former Facebook manager turned whistleblower, is set to testify at Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on her explosive revelations about the company's attempts to target children on Instagram and inaction in the face of rampant misinformation in the aftermath of the 2020 election. The hearing is supposed to focus on the impact that the platforms have on young people, but with the wide ranging disclosures, lawmakers could veer off course and into questions about Haugen's claims that the rollback of misinformation controls after the election may have facilitated the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. The testimony comes just one day after a global outage of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. PRIMARY PROBLEMS — Amane Badhasso, a former senior staffer for Biden's Minnesota campaign, launched a challenge Monday against longtime incumbent Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.). Badhasso, an Ethiopian refugee who came to the United States in 2003, has been active in local DFL politics for over a decade. She plans to primary McCollum from the left and launched her campaign with an endorsement from St. Paul Councilmember Neslie Yang. Her case against McCollum: " We have not seen that pursuit of economic justice and racial justice in a manner we should be seeing in the progressive leadership," Badhasso said in an interview with Ally Mutnick, touting her fresh perspective as an organizer with a working-class background. Though she avoided taking shots at McCollum directly, Badhasso pointed to the struggle "to pass long overdue funding for America's crumbling infrastructure and the Build Back Better agenda" as evidence that new representation is needed. McCollum, a senior member of the Appropriations Committee and Pelosi ally first elected in 2000, had over $400,000 banked as of mid-2021. In 2018, she beat two primary challengers with 91 percent of the vote. | | | | 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. | | | | | FIRST IN HUDDLE: IG OVERHAUL — More than 20 groups from across the political spectrum are teaming up to call on Congress to approve a slate of bills that would strengthen the inspectors general system across the federal government, bolstering the network of federal watchdogs. Led by The Project On Government Oversight, the letter was sent to Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chair Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and ranking member Rob Portman (R-Ohio) at 7 a.m. Tuesday ahead of a Wednesday markup of three bills focused on the IG system. "It is critical that Congress require the president to communicate a detailed and case-specific reason why they are removing an inspector general and provide lawmakers the opportunity to determine whether the removal is appropriate and warranted," write the signatories. Read the letter here . CAREFUL AT CAP SOUTH — Commuters beware, there was a wild smoke incident last night at the Capitol South metro station stemming from a malfunctioning escalator. WMATA told WUSA9 that service will be back to normal this morning. | | | | A message from HCA Healthcare:   | | | QUICK LINKS — Francis Collins to step down as NIH director, from Megan Wilson, Sarah Owermohle and Erin Banco — Elizabeth Warren isn't in the White House. But she knows how to use the tools she's got, from Amanda Becker at The 19th* News — House Republican fundraises off prosecution, from Axios TRANSITIONS Alex Smith is now Legislative Director for Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.). She was previously Legislative Assistant. TODAY IN CONGRESS The House convenes at 9 a.m. for a pro forma session. The Senate convenes at 10 a.m. with votes at 11:30 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. with a break for caucus lunches in between. AROUND THE HILL 10 a.m. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on renewing and strengthening the Violence Against Women Act, with testimony from Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. Noon Senate Democrats and Republicans hold caucus lunches, followed by press conferences around 2 p.m. TRIVIA MONDAY'S WINNER: Jim Miner correctly answered that the Iroquois Confederacy was the system of government established by Indigenous American tribes that served as inspiration for the framework of the U.S. Constitution. The Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy are: Seneca, Onondaga, Mohawk, Cayuga, Oneida. Check out the 1988 concurrent resolution acknowledging the contributions of the Iroquois Confederacy to the development of the Constitution. TODAY'S QUESTION from Jim: What politician dated two Kennedys, employed another, and served in the U.S. Senate with yet another? 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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