| | | | |  | | By Katherine Tully-McManus | Presented by the Alzheimer's Association | With help from Sarah Ferris SHRINKING PRICE TAG, GROWING DISAGREEMENT— There's a Senate vote tee'd up today on additional Covid preparedness funding, but disagreements over pay-fors and the size of the bill are putting progress in peril. Negotiations ramped up Wednesday, with a series of meetings between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) along with Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.). Another meeting that added Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) convened at night. Senate Minority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) told The Hill's Jordain Carney that the cost of the package had shrunk from $15 billion to $10 billion investment in vaccines, testing and therapeutics to guard against new waves or variants. The White House says all three will run out in the coming months without Congressional action. On the chopping block is $5 billion in global coronavirus funding aimed at boosting vaccinations abroad. International covid aid is a key priority for many House Democrats, which could put this outline of a deal in jeopardy. Another point of tension is simply how urgent (or not) is the need for pandemic preparedness funding? "We need money so we can have a supply so when, god forbid, the next variant hits, we'll immediately be able to counter it with the kind of medicines that are needed," said Schumer Wednesday. But Republicans aren't convinced. Top GOP Appropriator Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama: "I'm not convinced. But I don't know for sure. I'm not a scientist. But some of that money's been used for various and sundry things" Thune said Democrats are "creating a crisis and urgency around it, and I don't think our guys see it that way. " The reality is that Democrats need 10 Republican Senators on board to move anything through the Senate and the last major Covid legislation was a party line effort a full year ago. Burgess and Marianne write about the disconnect. | | | | 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 Thursday, March 31, where I'll be giving extra love to the Senate Carryout crew (more on that below.)
INSULIN INTERVENTION — The House will vote today on a bill that would cap the cost of insulin at $35, a massive change for patients with diabetes who often pay many hundreds of dollars for the life-sustaining hormone. "A drug that has been off protections by copyright for a long period of time, it still sees prices four, five, six, seven, ten times the price of production. So we need to deal with that," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters Wednesday. The cap was a provision in the Democrats' scrapped Build Back Better bill that died late last year in the Senate. But the upper chamber has its own cap cooking. There are bipartisan discussions between Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) on driving down insulin costs, for which there is an "agreement in principle," according to Shaheen. There's also a separate bill from Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) that would cap the price at $35. LATE NIGHT LABOR PAIN— Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) tanked the nomination of David Weil, the president's pick to lead the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division. More from Nick Niedzwiadek: Manchin, Sinema, Kelly sink Biden labor nominee MICHIGANDER MELEE — Rep. Andy Levin (D-Mich.) says he never had a chance of winning in a newly redrawn, GOP-friendly version of his old district. But other House Democrats disagree, and say he could — and should — have run. Levin ultimately decided to run against fellow Dem Rep. Haley Stevens for the new Michigan 11th. That forced the pair into an awkward member-on-member brawl, while depriving the Democrats of an incumbent to run in that battleground — raising tensions across the caucus. Rep. Cindy Axne (D-Iowa), one of Stevens' supporters, even confronted Levin on the floor recently, saying that if he cared about retaking the House, he would have run in the tougher seat, sources told Sarah. "We need that seat," said Rep. Ann Kuster (D-N.H.), who added she has personally urged Levin not to battle against Stevens and instead run in the tougher seat. "He's got a well-known name, he has most of the constituents in that district, and all he had to do was work hard, roll up your sleeves. Why work hard against a colleague?" Longtime Michigan political observers cast doubt on Levin's odds of winning the new 10th, which includes much more of the blue collar, Trump-backing Macomb County. But other Democrats say his family name could stand a real chance of fending off one of the GOP's top recruits, John James. Even some Republicans feared Levin would jump in: GOP groups have previously undisclosed polling that showed Levin would have been competitive. Key context: Michigan' 11th includes some turf from both Levin and Stevens' districts, but a plurality comes from Stevens'. Meanwhile, two-thirds of Levin's constituents are in the new 10th district, though his actual hometown is in the new 11th. More from Sarah: Dem-on-Dem primary in Michigan spikes party's blood pressure | | | | A message from the Alzheimer's Association: Alzheimer's disease is on track to cost our country nearly $1 trillion annually by 2050. Beyond the toll Alzheimer's takes on those living with the disease and their caregivers, it could also bankrupt our health system. With millions of lives and trillions of dollars at stake, increased research funding and policies that increase the participation of underrepresented populations in Alzheimer's clinical trials will bring the breakthroughs needed to end this devastating disease. Learn more here . | | |
CONGRESS CAN'T THROW ITS WEIGHT AROUND HERE — A draft agreement for the U.S. returning to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran could be close to completion, but President Joe Biden and his diplomatic team will have a hard time selling it on Capitol Hill. But as Andrew reports, that might not matter in the end.
It is unlikely that Congress would be able to block a new agreement with Iran. A disapproval resolution requires 60 votes in the Senate. Even if they meet that threshold, there are not enough votes to reach the two-thirds majority required to override a presidential veto. "It'll be an interesting and challenging path here," said Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), a Biden ally who generally supports the administration's efforts. "But it completely depends on what the deal is, and if there even is one." CAWTHORN 'DOESN'T KNOW WHAT COCAINE IS'— Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) was sent to the principal's office, ehem, GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy's (R-Calif.) office, and told to "turn himself around." After accusing unnamed congressional colleagues of hosting orgies and doing cocaine, he got a talking to (and changed his story, according to McCarthy.) Instead of a lawmaker, the North Carolina freshman told McCarthy he believes "he thinks he saw maybe a staffer in a parking garage maybe 100 yards away," and that Cawthorn told him "he doesn't know what cocaine is." (Even the dictionary felt the need to weigh in and define 'key bumps' on Wednesday.) "It is just frustrating. There is no evidence behind his statements," McCarthy said. (Your Huddle host notes that the House parking garages have undergone serious structural and security upgrades in recent years…does that include security cameras?) Olivia has so, so much more on the Cawthorn cocaine-and-orgies situation , other infractions McCarthy addressed and who else wants to give him a piece of their mind. RELATED:'He's an embarrassment': Republicans threaten to primary Cawthorn over controversial antics, from CNN CANNON CORRUPTION— "Taxpayers were billed for a baby gift, flowers and even business cards by the companies working on the ongoing and over-budget renovation of the Cannon House Office Building," reports Chris Marquette from CQ Roll Call. That's what counts as "outstanding fiscal management" at the Architect of the Capitol, according to the Inspector General's report, because the unauthorized expenses will be less than 1 percent of the total cost of the $934.8 million project (which is $182 million over budget.) | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO NATIONAL SECURITY DAILY : Keep up with the latest critical developments from Ukraine and across Europe in our daily newsletter, National Security Daily. The Russian invasion of Ukraine could disrupt the established world order and result in a refugee crisis, increased cyberattacks, rising energy costs and additional disruption to global supply chains. Go inside the top national security and foreign-policymaking shops for insight on the global threats faced by the U.S. and its allies and what actions world leaders are taking to address them. Subscribe today. | | | | |
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Trouble simmering in the Senate… As House eateries return to almost full service, Senate dining workers are facing layoffs. They work in the halls of power. But Senate dining workers are 'still struggling', from Chris Cioffi at CQ Roll Call
Plaque plans… The recently-passed omnibus spending bill included funding for a plaque at the Capitol to honor the Capitol Police and other law enforcement who defended the building on Jan. 6 2021. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.) said that she has a vision for that: "My hope is that years and years from now when tours come through this capitol, that that will be a stop on those tours and what the children of tomorrow are told is 'that was one of the many dark days in our nation's history and we overcame and here are the men and women who made sure those people failed.'" QUICK LINKS Garcetti aide pushes back on allegations in letter to California's senators, from Christopher Cadelago Burglary reported at Independence office of Missouri U.S. Senate candidate, from KSHB Kansas City Ahead of the Final Four, Democrats weigh college athletes' struggles, from Niels Lesniewski at CQ Roll Call TRANSITIONS Husch Blackwell Strategies is adding Javon Knight as a policy associate. Knight most recently was a Congressional Black Caucus Foundation fellow and legislative assistant for Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.). | | | | A message from the Alzheimer's Association:   | | | TODAY IN CONGRESS The House convenes at noon for legislative business. The Senate convenes at 10 a.m. with votes at 11:45 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. AROUND THE HILL 10 a.m. The House Appropriations Subcommittee for Labor-HHS-Education holds a hearing on the fiscal 2023 budget for the Health and Human Services Department. HHS secretary Xavier Becerra testifies (Rayburn 2359). 10:45 a.m. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) holds her weekly press conference (Studio A). 3 p.m. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) meets with SCOTUS nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson (Dirksen 201). | | |
WEDNESDAY'S WINNER: Max D. Richards correctly answered that Seward's Day marks the anniversary of the United States' purchase of Alaska from Russia. Critics attacked Secretary of State William H. Seward for the secrecy surrounding the deal, which came to be known as "Seward's folly."
TODAY'S QUESTION from Max: While on the campaign trail, this Senator was flown around in a helicopter by his wife, the first female helicopter pilot in the state? 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 the Alzheimer's Association: More than six million Americans are living with Alzheimer's disease, and 11 million more are providing unpaid care to them. In 2022, Alzheimer's and other dementias will cost taxpayers $321 billion and, without medical breakthroughs, these costs will rise to nearly $1 trillion by 2050. Federal funding has grown thanks to bipartisan Congressional champions, but a sustained investment by the federal government is needed to continue the momentum. And while Alzheimer's disproportionately affects older Black and Hispanic Americans, much of the Alzheimer's research to date has not included sufficient participation to be representative of the U.S. population. The Equity in Neuroscience and Alzheimer's Clinical Trials (ENACT) Act (S. 1548 / H.R. 3085), would increase the participation of underrepresented populations in Alzheimer's clinical trials, while researchers work toward treatments for all. Congress must act now. Learn more here. | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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