| | | | | |  | | By Katherine Tully-McManus | Presented by Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson | With Sarah Ferris. NOT SO FAST — There's a lot of talk about a House vote as soon as Tuesday on both the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and the Democrats' larger $1.75 trillion economic plan… but don't believe everything you hear. With no House Rules meeting on the books for Monday and talks continuing, don't count on action until later in the week. One of the biggest final hurdles is a familiar one: Prescription drug pricing. It's an enormous party priority, favored by progressives and centrists alike, but has nearly been derailed by fierce pushback from the pharma industry. Over the weekend lawmakers kept talking to find agreement on prescription drug pricing and other priorities that were left out of the bill text released last week. Democrats want more time to get those in writing and to finalize agreements, a House Democratic leadership aide told POLITICO Sunday night. "We still intend to vote as early as possible this week," the same aide said. Progress from progressives? The House Progressive Caucus held a call Sunday and members signaled that they were prepared to pass both the infrastructure and spending bills, a person on the call told POLITICO. The nearly 100-member caucus began taking an internal whip count heading into the week with two questions : Will you vote yes on the Build Back Better Act [the Dems social spending bill]? And if the Build Back Better Act "is able to secure 218 committed yes votes in the House," will you support the Senate infrastructure bill? Drug pricing discussions: Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, House leadership, the White House and rank-and-file Democrats in Congress are all part of the conversations, Burgess, Alice Miranda Ollstein and Heather reported Sunday. The latest draft effort includes a redesign of Medicare Part D, drug negotiation and rebates, said a source with direct knowledge of the effort. It's not as expansive as the House's landmark "H.R. 3" drug bill but is based on the same parameters. Read more on the drug pricing talks here. | | | | JOIN TUESDAY FOR A TALK ON THE FUTURE OF SUSTAINABLE AIR TRAVEL: As delegates descend on Glasgow for the COP26 global climate summit, reducing carbon emissions in the aviation sector will play a critical role in the progress of fighting climate change. Join POLITICO for a deep-dive conversation that will explore the increased use of sustainable aviation fuel, better performance aircraft, and other breakthroughs in to cut greenhouse gas emissions and meet broader sustainability goals. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | Fifteen frontline Democrats sent a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) Sunday night urging the inclusion of prescription drug pricing provisions in the final social spending package, reminding their leadership of the promises they made to voters. "As majority-makers in competitive districts, we promised our constituents that we would come to Washington to fight on their behalf for lower drug prices. We cannot turn back now on our promise to the American people," the lawmakers wrote. Biden their time: Biden said on Sunday that the Democrats' social spending package will be voted on sometime this week, "God willing." (Back to legislating via vibes, it seems.) The president won't return to Washington until Wednesday, per the White House schedule. But many House Dems, including in leadership, are still furious at Biden for his last visit to the House on Thursday, when he again failed to specifically ask the caucus to vote yes on the spending bill — which they believed spelled doom for that day's infra vote. We reported that Biden made only one call from Air Force One on his way to Rome, to Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.), who was never a "no" on the vote. Tough break for Terry: Tuesday wasn't just a goal-date pulled out of a hat, Democrats were hoping to move two of President Joe Biden's key legislative agenda items in time to bolster support for Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe, who is on the ballot tomorrow in a tight race against Republican Glenn Youngkin. RELATED: Inside the last-ditch effort by Democratic women to pressure Manchin and salvage paid family and medical leave, from Tony Romm at The Washington Post. McAuliffe, Youngkin tout national stakes in final Virginia blitz, from our own Zack Montellaro and Brittany Gibson. | | | | A message from Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson: At Janssen, we believe people should have affordable access to the medicines they need, yet many do not because of increasing out-of-pocket costs. As policymakers in the U.S. debate ways to make healthcare more affordable, we believe policies are needed to lower out-of-pocket costs which will make it easier for patients to access their medicines. Price controls do not work and limit patients' access to medicines. Learn more in our 2020 U.S. Transparency Report. | | | GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Monday, November 1, where the week could be fueled by leftover Halloween candy (prepare for a crash.) WHERE THE MONEY GOES — The $1.75 trillion social spending package isn't going anywhere...yet. But Patterson Clark and Sean McMinn on POLITICO's data team put together this graphic to help you visualize where all those dollars would land based on the latest bill text. [GRAPHIC] 211101-Huddle-Datapoint-NL700.jpg WHO'S DIGGING DEMS' DISARRAY? — House Republicans, of course. It is hard to be delighted in the minority, but Olivia reports that they're relishing the chaos. The House GOP conference is exuding confidence about clinching the majority in next year's midterms, while laying low and not dwelling on introspection. "The result is a GOP conference mostly avoiding the spotlight these days, getting fewer tough questions about Donald Trump's enduring hold on the party or about the handful of House conservatives with a penchant for extremist and divisive rhetoric. While Democratic infighting blots out the sun in Washington, Republicans don't mind the shade," writes Olivia. Read the full story here. YELLEN IS TELLIN' — While at cruising altitude between Dublin and Rome, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen weighed in once again on the debt limit standoff that Congress will have to revisit before Dec. 3. "Should it be done on a bipartisan basis? Absolutely. Now, if they're not going to cooperate, I don't want to play chicken and end up not raising the debt ceiling. I think that's the worst possible outcome," Yellen told The Washington Post . "If Democrats have to do it by themselves, that's better than defaulting on the debt to teach the Republicans a lesson." BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER THE JAN. 6 ATTACK — "The insurrection was not a spontaneous act nor an isolated event. It was a battle in a broader war over the truth and over the future of American democracy," says a massive three-part reporting project from The Washington Post. If you can stomach it, make time to read every word of the Post's deep dive into the attack on the Capitol. It starts 102 days before the siege and closes out 262 days after. | | | | 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. | | | | | ALLEVIATING HOUSING HELL — Finding housing on short notice when offered a good gig in Washington has long been a headache, but a new pilot program put together by the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS), Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) and Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI), along with Airbnb, hopes to lessen the burden for more than 50 fellows. The pilot program isn't providing housing for fellows long-term, but for a few weeks before the start of the fellowships to give them hime to secure housing for the length of their fellowship. "We are proud to work with Airbnb in helping to make this program more inclusive and helping to remove geographic and financial barriers that have historically led to disparities in equitable staffing of Black staffers on Capitol Hill," said Akailah Jenkins Mcintyre, Director of the CBCF Leadership Institute in a statement. SLATE OF EIGHT — Not much (enough?) attention is paid to the easily-passed bills that clear the House under suspension of the rules, requiring two-thirds majority and the same could be said for issues impacting indigenous communities across the country. Today the House takes up a slate of eight bills from the House Natural Resources Committee under suspension, seven of which deal with Native American Tribes, including a measure to provide federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe in North Carolina, making them eligible for federal assistance, and a bill that would require the Interior Department to study the suitability of establishing a National Heritage Area in the Bear River region of the Utah-Idaho border. BOMB THREAT FATIGUE — The reality is that evacuation orders and violent threats on Capitol Hill have become an unsettling facet of life for Congressional aides and support staff. "The relative regularity of the threats has also normalized them, staffers said, making them seem to be increasingly just part of life on the Hill," write Meagan Flynn and Emily Davies in The Washington Post (separate from that deep dive.) Does that align with how you're feeling about the evacuations, threats and specter of political violence post-Jan. 6? Your Huddle host's ears (and inbox) are open. ??? — By the power vested in me by … being in charge of this newsletter, I declare this to be the best extremely niche Congress-themed Halloween costume. The House Majority Leader agrees. | | | |   | | | QUICK LINKS — Paid leave's demise tough on backers in Manchin's home state, from the AP — 'A real lag': Dems fret over Black votes in Virginia, from Elena Schneider and Maya King — Reps. Matt Gaetz, Lauren Boebert 'fantasize' about blowing up Capitol metal detectors while stumping for a Florida Congressional hopeful , from Insider TRANSITIONS Jake Wilkins has left his role as communications director for Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) and is heading downtown to bipartisan public affairs firm Rokk Solutions as an account director. Skiffington Holderness is now a director of government relations at Delta Air Lines. He's previously been a longtime aide to Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), most recently on the staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Dawn-Marie Sullivan is now a legislative assistant for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). She most recently was a legislative assistant for Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.), and is an Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) alum. Kathleen Gayle is now a legislative assistant for Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.). She most recently was legislative director and communications director for Rep. John Rose (R-Tenn.). TODAY IN CONGRESS The House convenes at noon for morning hour and 2 p.m. for legislative business, with roll call votes no earlier than 6:30 p.m. The Senate convenes at 3 p.m. with two votes scheduled for 5:30 p.m. AROUND THE HILL 1 p.m. Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) holds a press conference about first responders refusing covid vaccination. TRIVIA FRIDAY'S WINNER: Janice Sessing correctly answered that there have been eight left-handed presidents in history: James Garfield, Herbert Hoover, Harry Truman, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. TODAY'S QUESTION from Janice: Which Congressman allegedly haunts the Capitol shouting "No." 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 Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson: At Janssen, we are dedicated to advancing sustainable solutions that put patients first by combatting healthcare disparities, promoting an innovation ecosystem and improving affordable access to medicines and vaccines. We believe the healthcare system should support these principles by maintaining a fair and competitive marketplace, fostering an environment that supports future investment in innovation, ensuring responsible pricing and appropriate transparency system-wide and determining value based on evidence that incorporates the benefits and risks for patients, the healthcare system and society.
As policymakers in the U.S. debate ways to make healthcare more affordable, we believe policy reforms should reduce out-of-pocket costs for patients by addressing benefit design, the root cause of patient affordability problems. Policies that rely on controlling the list prices of medicine do not actually make medicines more affordable for patients.
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