| | | | |  | | By Katherine Tully-McManus | Presented by Sallie Mae® | With help from Nicholas Wu and Andrew Desiderio A TOPLINE…SOMETIME — Key lawmakers and staff say they are close to a bipartisan deal on topline spending for the fiscal year that started back in October, with agreement imminent on budget caps for military and non-defense spending. They are also locking in ground rules for negotiating the details in a final spending package. "We're still talking," Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) said Tuesday. "We're close." Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) said: "We're talking. We're talking. It's going well." Their staffs are in near-constant contact, which is usually a strong sign of acceleration. As unreliable as sports metaphors are for explaining Congress, descriptors like "close" and "going well" from lawmakers makes your Huddle host wish we could tell you what yard line this deal is on. Don't hold your breath for legislative text to drop. Stopgap is Senate-bound: On Tuesday the House passed, 272-162, a three-week spending patch to keep the government funded through March 11 while the broader spending package is still under discussion. The bill now heads to the Senate. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who said he intends to act on the legislation "quickly and in time for the February 18 deadline." That buys appropriators more time to hammer out a deal. STAFFER UNION RESOLUTION GETS ROLLING — Rep. Andy Levin (D-Mich.) will introduce his resolution today, with more than 100 cosponsors, that would codify House staffers' right to organize and bargain collectively. In a Dear Colleague Letter on Tuesday, Levin called on lawmakers to join him in supporting the nascent staffer effort to organize for better treatment and working conditions. "I commend the congressional staff who have spoken out about working conditions and respect the thoughtful process they are driving to improve their workplaces," Levin wrote. "We, as elected officials, can better serve our constituents and improve working conditions here on Capitol Hill by extending them this right." Nuts and bolts: The resolution is very, very brief. You can read it for yourself ! It would ratify regulations that the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights proposed back in 1996, giving congressional staff the right to unionize. The language is almost exactly the same as the resolution from the same year that allowed the Capitol Police, Library of Congress and Government Accountability Office to bargain collectively. (I'm not just taking Levin's word for it: Your Huddle host got cozy with both the Congressional Record and legislative text from the 104th Congress last week.) Not pertinent but a fun thought: How many staff assistants were not yet born when the regulations were promulgated? The "what's next" of it all: Levin said he has talked to leadership but doesn't have a time frame for a formal vote on the floor, especially with the House set to leave town Wednesday through the end of February. Hoyer confirmed Tuesday that the vote is a possibility. Sarah and I dug into what could come after the resolution: House staffers confront reality of unionization: 'No one knows how it would work' Also: Last night AFL-CIO president Liz Schuler put out a video supporting staff unionization , saying "you have a home in America's unions, our doors are wide open." If you're part of the organizing effort and have a clearer picture, we'd love to hear from you. | | | | HAPPENING THURSDAY – A LONG GAME CONVERSATION ON THE CLIMATE CRISIS : Join POLITICO for back-to-back conversations on climate and sustainability action, starting with a panel led by Global Insider author Ryan Heath focused on insights gleaned from our POLITICO/Morning Consult Global Sustainability Poll of citizens from 13 countries on five continents about how their governments should respond to climate change. Following the panel, join a discussion with POLITICO White House Correspondent Laura Barrón-López and Gina McCarthy, White House national climate advisor, about the Biden administration's climate and sustainability agenda. REGISTER HERE. | | | | |
GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Wednesday, February 9, where you can do some holiday shopping at… House Carryout? (More on that below.)
COURTING COURT PICKS — The White House is getting plenty of input from Capitol Hill on exactly who the president should nominate to the Supreme Court. There are two political paths: Biden could nominate someone who would get blanket enthusiasm from Democrats and whom Republicans may be more likely to oppose, like D.C. Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson or California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger. Or he could choose judge Michelle Childs, the perceived moderate candidate, and court GOP votes at risk of splitting Democrats. Childs is backed by both Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and her top cheerleader on the Hill, House Democratic Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.). But some progressives have balked at her background working as a lawyer on behalf of corporations. Sen. Sherrod Brown's (D-Ohio) concerns were allayed after sitting down with Clyburn, report Burgess and Laura Barrón-López. Read more from them on the progressive split in the Senate over the pending court pick. How to Lose a Supreme Court Nominee in 24 Days: Don't miss Marianne's Q&A with Dan Coats, the SCOTUS Sherpa for Harriet Miers' doomed 2005 bid for the court. SUCH GREAT HEIGHTS — Long-awaited legislation to ease the Postal Service's financial woes sailed through the House Tuesday evening. Among other provisions, the bill would require Postal Service retirees to enroll in Medicare and eliminates the requirement that the agency prefund its retiree health benefits for 75 years in the future, saving the beleaguered agency tens of billions of dollars over the next decade. What's next? Schumer said in a statement later Tuesday the Senate would take up and pass the bill in the coming weeks. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), one of the lawmakers spearheading his chamber's push for the legislation, said the reforms would "help ensure the Postal Service's long-term success." Nick and Hailey Fuchs have the full story | | A message from Sallie Mae®: What's the difference between student lending and responsible student lending? For Sallie Mae, the difference is helping students and families borrow responsibly by approving loans they can afford. In fact, fewer than 2% of our loans in repayment default annually. But before we do that, we help students maximize scholarships, grants, and federal financial aid. See how Sallie Mae makes sense of paying for college. | | |
FIREWORKS IN SFRC — Deborah Lipstadt, Biden's nominee to serve as the top U.S. antisemitism envoy, finally got her confirmation hearing yesterday after six months of delays amid GOP efforts to vet her further. The hearing turned into something of a battle between Lipstadt, a renowned Holocaust scholar, and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), over Lipstadt's tweet from last March accusing Johnson of propagating "white supremacy" in his controversial Jan. 6 comments. Johnson asserted that Lipstadt has a political agenda against Republicans, but Lipstadt noted that her criticisms have been bipartisan. She apologized to Johnson but the Wisconsin Republican continued to hammer her for engaging in "malicious poison" and levying "vile and horrible charges" against him. Andrew has more.
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Nothing says love like… a Valentine's Day package from House Carryout or the office coffee cart. Any day now the Sergeants-at-Arms will put out their annual memo filled with dire warnings about not getting flowers or chocolates delivered to the Capitol and how sweet surprises sent by mail will languish at the Capitol's mail processing facilities out in Maryland. With that in mind, the enterprising folks at House Catering and Rako Coffee are providing gifting options in-house (also for folks who won't make it out to buy something).
Capitol Hill Flavours Valentine Gift Box: $24.99 for your choice of two bottles of wine plus chocolate truffles. See the flier. Rako Mon Amour package: $64.99 for three direct source Rako coffees, a Harper MaCaw raspberry cheesecake chocolate bar and a handcrafted "oasis" soy candle. Check it out for yourself. And seriously, secret admirers… buzz off. "Under no circumstances should staff accept delivery of any type of flower arrangement or other gift if the sender is unknown," the SAA memo has read in previous years. | | | | 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. | | | | |
QUICK LINKS
Long read: Who's crafting public policy? A push to diversify Capitol Hill staff, from Christa Case Bryant at the Christian Science Monitor House lawmaker to forgo Senate bid in hope of claiming Ways and Means gavel, from Scott Wong at NBC TRANSITIONS Lucy Herrington is now scheduler for Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.). She most recently was real estate paralegal for Eddins Domine Law Group, PLLC. Kat Cosgrove is moving from national security advisor to legislative director for Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.). Laura Stagno has been promoted to be legislative director for Rep. Jerry Carl (R-Ala.). She most recently was a legislative assistant for Carl. TODAY IN CONGRESS The House convenes at 9 a.m. The Senate convenes at 10 a.m. with votes at 11:30 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. | | | | A message from Sallie Mae®:   | | |
AROUND THE HILL
10 a.m. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing reviewing U.S. drone strikes (216 Hart). 10:45 a.m. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) holds her weekly press conference (Studio A). Noon Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and other GOP senators hold a press conference on crime (Kennedy Caucus Room). Separately, but on the same topic: Democratic Reps. Val Demings (Fla.), Robin Kelly (Ill.), Josh Gottheimer (N.J.), Dwight Evans (Pa.), Adriano Espaillat (N.Y.) and Tom O'Halleran (Ariz.) hold a press conference on the increase in violent crime (House Triangle). 2:30 p.m. Senate Foreign Relations Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism Subcommittee hearing on the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan (106 Dirksen). | | |
TUESDAY'S WINNER: Melody Moxley correctly answered that Nathaniel Hazard of Rhode Island was the first lawmaker to have their funeral in the House chamber (now Statuary Hall) in 1820. The House Historian's office has more details.
TODAY'S QUESTION: Forty-five senators attended this film's world premiere on October 17, 1939. 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®: Not all student lending is the same. At Sallie Mae, we help students maximize scholarships, grants, and federal financial aid before considering a private student loan. Next, we take the right steps to help ensure students don't overborrow and only approve loans we think they can effectively manage and afford. See how Sallie Mae makes sense of paying for college. | | |
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