News: House to 'deem and pass' debt ceiling, return to recess

Tuesday, October 12, 2021

House to 'deem and pass' debt ceiling, return to recess

Oct 12, 2021

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A RECESS FROM RECESS — The House returns from recess Tuesday evening to vote on a short-term debt limit deal that would raise the debt limit by $480 billion through Dec. 3. The Senate scrambled to pass the hard-fought compromise last Thursday.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told fellow House Democrats in a "Dear Colleague" letter Monday night that "we must lift the debt ceiling and hope that we can have a unanimous Democratic vote and perhaps a bipartisan vote to do so."

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned repeatedly that her department is likely to exhaust its cash-conservation "extraordinary measures" by Oct. 18 if Congress doesn't act. Yellen spoke with Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) last week, telling them "if the House fails to act next week, the country will be unable to pay its bills," according to Hoyer.

Raising the debt ceiling doesn't authorize new spending, including all of the anticipated costs of the bipartisan infrastructure bill and the Democrats' social spending proposals, the move raises money to pay for expenses that the government has previously authorized.

Proxy-palooza: With just one vote scheduled, there might be sparse in-person attendance this evening and widespread use of proxy voting is expected. At least fourteen lawmakers submitted proxy voting letters on Oct. 8, the day after Hoyer announced that the House would need to return this week for the debt limit vote. And scores of other members already have active proxy letters. (Okay, there also might be action on three suspension bills, but that's TBD).

Procedural heads up: The debt ceiling bill will be packaged as part of a rule for floor debate of several other bills, meaning that there will not be a stand-alone vote on the debt limit measure. The self-executing rule or a "deem and pass" move isn't new and it means that when the House adopts the rule it also simultaneously agrees to dispose of a separate matter (in this case, the debt ceiling bill), which is specified in the rule itself.

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LOOKING AHEAD — Pelosi has already put the focus on the deadlines approaching at the end of the month, with an Oct. 31 target date for the House to approve the Senate-passed bipartisan infrastructure bill containing $550 billion in new spending. The date coincides with the expiration of the weeks-long funding extension for federal highway programs.

"Overwhelmingly, the guidance I am receiving from members is to do fewer things well so that we can still have a transformative impact on families in the workplace and responsibly address the climate crisis," Pelosi wrote in her Monday night letter. That clarity comes as the White House and others have been pushing to keep the broad scope, but with a shorter timeline.

The speaker emphasized that work on the Democrats' economic package didn't slow down while she was in Italy meeting with other parliamentary leaders from the Group of 20 and NATO country leaders in Portugal. Pelosi said discussions about Biden's economic package continued "into the nights" during her travels. She provided no specifics, but wrote, "it is essential that difficult decisions must be made very soon."

RELATED: Here's What It Actually Means To Cut $1 Trillion From The Democrats' Big Social Spending Bill, from Paul McLeod, 'We Suffer While You Debate': Many Fear Being Left Behind as Democrats Trim Spending Bill, by Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Jim Tankersley of the New York Times

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GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Tuesday, October 12, where your Huddle host is thinking a lot about this ruthlessness.

THE GOLDILOCKS DILEMMA — Centrists and liberals within the Democratic caucus are locked in standoff over the size of Joe Biden's domestic policy bill. Too big, and moderates worry it'll cost them seats next November. Too small, progressives say the base will stay home.

But Democrats also agree that it'll be all but impossible to keep their slim majorities in the midterms if they do nothing at all -- a reality that has underscored the pressure by Biden and Hill leaders to close out negotiations this month. As Rep. Juan Vargas (D-Calif.) put it: "We shoot ourselves in the foot if we don't pass it."

A year out from the midterms , Dems insist they're not focused on the political stakes. But for many frontliners, it's already hitting home in the form of GOP attack ads, particularly focused on the price tag. In some districts, Dems say it feel like the election is actually just weeks away.

For instance, Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) recalled driving with Biden last week as his motorcade passed protestors complaining about the cost, which didn't reflect the party's new price tag of roughly $2T. "They think that it's $3.5 [trillion], and they think it's not paid for," Slotkin said, stressing to Biden that messaging is key.

Sarah and Marianne dig into the calculation of spending size and the midterm elections in their latest.

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: SCALISE HAUL — House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) has raised more than $5.3 million in the third quarter, marking $21.5 million as his year-to-date total. Scalise transferred $1.9 million to the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) last quarter.

"Taking back the House has NEVER been more important than it is right now. I'm doing everything I can -- connecting with donors all across the country and raising money directly for battleground Members -- to ensure that we have the resources needed to win next fall. I look forward to finishing out this next quarter on a high note and moving into 2022 with our sights set on the Majority," said Scalise in a statement.

HUDDLE BOOKIE — There's a sweet bet on the line between Pelosi of San Francisco and Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) of Los Angeles over the NLDS pennant race. The wager is sweets: Known chocolate-lover Pelosi is offering Ghirardelli Chocolate and Gomez has put up chocolate from LA confections shop Valerie on the line. Right now the San Francisco Giants lead the LA Dodgers 2-1 in the series. Is your boss making bets? Send 'em to Huddle.

QUICK LINKS

—3 members, 2 seats: West Virginia Republicans gird for redistricting showdown, from Ally Mutnick

— U.S. Capitol Police's failure to share intelligence internally crippled its response to Jan. 6 attack, former official says, from The Washington Post

— Marijuana Reform Died But Senate Dems Found Wedge Issue, from Matt Laslo at The News Station

Can't get enough of this one: Navy nuclear engineer and his wife charged with trying to share submarine secrets with a foreign country, from The Washington Post

TRANSITIONS

David Schutt starts today as the new Executive Director of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC). He was previously a Senior Legislative Assistant for Rep. Julia Brownley (D-Calif.).

Alison Share joined the National Endowment for the Humanities as director of congressional affairs. She previously was senior policy adviser and counsel for Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.).

Jake Oken-Berg is now a senior policy adviser at Summit Strategies. He previously was a senior business adviser for Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.).

Jason Stverak is now Deputy Chief Advocacy Officer for federal affairs at the Credit Union National Association (CUNA). He was previously Deputy Chief of Staff to Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.).

TODAY IN CONGRESS

The House convenes at 3 p.m. with a vote on the debt ceiling expected no earlier than 5 p.m.

The Senate convenes at noon for a pro forma session.

AROUND THE HILL

11:30 a.m. Pelosi holds her weekly press conference

12:45 p.m. Pelosi meets with Yair Lapid, the alternate Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs for the State of Israel

1:30 p.m. Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.) Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) hold a press call on how progressives in both the House and Senate are approaching the Biden social spending agenda.

4:30 p.m. House Financial Services Committee Chair Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) holds a press conference on housing funds in the Democrats' social spending bill

TRIVIA

FRIDAY'S WINNER: Kevin's questions stumped Huddle readers! That isn't easy.

The two two people who served in the Cabinet of more than one president when those presidents were defeated for re-election are:

1) Henry L. Stimson, who served as Secretary of War when President William Howard Taft was defeated for re-election in 1912, and as Secretary of State when President Herbert Hoover was defeated for re-election in in 1932.

2) William Barr, who served as Attorney General when President Geogre H.W. Bush was defeated in 1992, and served again as Attorney General when President Donald Trump was defeated in 2020.

TODAY'S QUESTION: Who are the five senators in history who have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize?

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

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