| | | | | |  | | By Katherine Tully-McManus | | | With Andrew Desiderio and Connor O'Brien. The government is open, but hold your applause. Congress still faces a daunting to-do list for the rest of the year and more critical deadlines in the coming days. A BROKERED DEFENSE — The Senate put the annual defense policy bill, mired in Russia and China provisions, on the back burner in order to clear the stopgap spending bill last week. And now the Senate will abandon plans to pass their own NDAA bill, with leadership opting instead to move a compromise forged by leaders and the Armed Services Committees in both the House and Senate. House Armed Services Chair Adam Smith (D-Wash.) told POLITICO's Connor O'Brien that he hopes that the brokered bill could be finished and ready to print on Monday, with a House vote later in the week. DEBT LIMIT DEADLINE — Also on the docket is the Dec. 15 deadline to raise the debt limit or throw the country into economic catastrophe. Senior congressional leaders are discussing using the NDAA to address the looming need to raise the debt ceiling, but House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) says that won't fly. AUTOMATIC, SUPERSONIC — Another looming issue are billions in automatic cuts to Medicare that will roll out Jan. 1, unless Congress intervenes. The sequestration cuts are a holdover from the 2011 Budget Control Act. (Catch up with a handy CRS report here.) Here's what Smith had to say about attaching a debt limit increase or provisions on the massive automatic Medicare cuts: "Leadership's trying to figure out how to get all stuff done," Smith said. "And what I told the speaker was if something comes up on that, let me know, but my job right now is to get you a product by Dec. 6." He added that if leaders in both parties should "decide that they want to try to use this for something else, then we'll have that discussion when we get there. But as I kept pointing out to a number of folks...you can't kill the host." | | | | DON'T MISS 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. CHECK OUT CONGRESS MINUTES HERE. | | | | | GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Monday, December 6, where flags are at half-staff to honor Sen. Bob Dole. 'ABSOLUTE LIARS' — "In a 36-page memo, Col. Earl Matthews, who held high-level National Security Council and Pentagon roles during the Trump administration, slams the Pentagon's inspector general for what he calls an error-riddled report that protects a top Army official who argued against sending the National Guard to the Capitol on Jan. 6, delaying the insurrection response for hours," write Betsy Woodruff Swan and Merideth McGraw. They have the memo and dissect what the contradictions mean as the investigations of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol move forward. Read it all here. HEALTH CARE IN THE CROSSHAIRS — The Senate parliamentarian meets with Democrats today to begin evaluating the health care components of the $1.75 trillion social spending bill that Dems hope to drag across the finish line before the new year. The chamber's rules referee will be examining provisions to slash drug prices and expand Medicare, Medicaid and Obamacare to cover more people. Potentially most at risk are those plans to exert control over drug prices for 180 million Americans with private insurance. Alice Miranda Ollstein and Anthony Adragna have more. FIRST IN HUDDLE — An array of civil rights organizations including the NAACP, Urban League, Unidos US and others are sending a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) today, urging passage of the Democrats' House-passed social spending bill. "The Senate should pass this legislation as-is, without amendments that would weaken provisions key to the racial equity impact of the Child Tax Credit," they write. Read the full letter here. | | A message from Comcast: Comcast's Internet Essentials has connected 10 million people from low-income families to high-speed Internet for less than $10/month. But Americans need laptops, tablets and digital skills too. That's why, through Project UP, we're investing $1 billion over the next 10 years to connect people to the Internet, advance economic mobility, and open doors for the next generation of innovators, entrepreneurs, storytellers and creators. Learn more. | | | VACCINE VOTE — Senate Republicans are expected to force a vote this week to block President Joe Biden's vaccine mandates for private businesses with at least 100 employees under the Congressional Review Act process. The GOP effort has the backing of West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin, but is unlikely to advance in the Democratic-controlled chamber. Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) is leading the charge, calling the vaccine mandate "federal overreach that will wreak havoc on our recovering economy and trample on the rights of millions of Americans." Quick review of the review act...The Congressional Review Act allows the Senate minority to force votes on legislation to block regulations (like the new vaccine mandates, which are scheduled to take effect Jan. 4.) WHEN WILL THE CAPITOL OPEN? — "Almost 21 months into the coronavirus pandemic, the Capitol remains sealed off from the general public," The Washington Post's Paul Kane writes. "Even as public venues around Washington and across the nation have moved into a new normal with new safety measures, no one is sure when the public will be back inside the Capitol." Kane notes that security concerns after the Jan. 6 attack and health concerns about the ongoing pandemic are now inextricably tied together as he House and Senate sergeants-at-arms make access decisions. GETTING BEYOND THE NOISE — The use of Islamophobic rhetoric by Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) underscore the decline of what was once a broad bipartisan goal on Capitol Hill: a two-state solution for the Israel-Palestine conflict. That's not to mention the intimidation of those on the left and right seeking a true diplomatic resolution. As poisonous rhetoric replaces rational debate, support for a two-state solution has declined, and the weaponization of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism has become the rule, not the exception, Andrew writes: Islamophobia and anti-Semitism controversies dominate Congress. Diplomacy, not so much. Related: Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) said on Sunday that she has spoken to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and believes the House will act to rebuke Boebert. "I've had a conversation with the speaker and I'm very confident that she will take decisive action next week," Omar said on CNN. | | | | 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. | | | | | BOB DOLE, REMEMBERED — Never skip a home-state obituary and the Kansas City Star's remembrance of Dole is no exception. "Bob Dole, a son of the Kansas Dust Bowl who survived a crippling barrage of Nazi fire on an Italian hillside to lead his party in the U.S. Senate, but who fell short of his highest ambition, the presidency, died Sunday. He was 98," is how the K.C. Star team starts off. Read the whole thing here. POLITICO's Cory Bennett captures Dole's legacy and influence in the Beltway: Bob Dole, longtime Senate leader and 1996 GOP presidential nominee, dies at 98 What we're watching: Your Huddle host is keeping an eye out for how Dole will be honored on Capitol Hill and how tributes to the former Senate leader could scramble schedules in Congress. | | | Send your photos and selfies with the gingerbread Capitol to Huddle! Seriously, if you swing by, let us know what you think! THERE IS JUST ONE THING I NEED — Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) is looking for the culprit who "borrowed" her Mariah Carey Christmas album on vinyl, but has also been offered a replacement copy from the Christmas anthem queen herself. Good news: There are plenty of vinyl copies of the iconic Christmas album online for way under the $50 House Ethics gift limit (unless Mariah is a foreign agent…) The Boston Globe also dug up some deep cuts of Pressley's love for Mariah. I ONLY HAVE A MINUTE, 60 SECONDS IN IT — "One Baltimore son has painted another," writes Hilarie M. Sheets in the New York Times about the portrait of Rep. Elijah E. Cummings which is set to hang in the Capitol complex starting in January. "the congressman's official portrait, painted posthumously by the artist Jerrell Gibbs, will be enshrined for posterity in the Capitol, where fewer than 20 of the hundreds of portraits there are of Black leaders." Meet the artist and see the portrait: Painter of Elijah Cummings Portrait Finds It's a Career-Changer | | | |   | | | QUICK LINKS Dems plot escape from Biden's poll woes, from Heather, Burgess and Jonathan Lemire Senators weigh online protections for lawmakers' personal info, from Todd Ruger and Megan Mineiro at CQ Roll Call. TRANSITIONS Alex Sarabia is now comms director for Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). He most recently was comms director and senior advisor for Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas). Maria Papakonstantinou is now director of public affairs at Plus Communications. She previously was communications director for Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.). Mason DiPalma will be deputy comms director for the Republican State Leadership Committee. He currently is comms director for Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio). TODAY IN CONGRESS The House is not in session. The Senate convenes at 3 p.m. with votes at 5:30 p.m. AROUND THE HILL Looking quiet, for the moment.
| | | FRIDAY'S WINNER: Noah Oppenheim correctly answered that the Clean Air Act was the first major piece of legislation which the Environmental Protection Agency was tasked with implementing. TODAY'S QUESTION: Who was former Sen. Bob Dole's infamous neighbor at the Watergate in the 1990s? 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 Comcast: Internet access is just the first step to closing the digital divide.
Through Project UP, Comcast is committing $1 billion to programs and partnerships to help ensure more people have the resources and opportunities they need to participate and excel in today's digital economy. | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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