| | | | |  | | By Katherine Tully-McManus | Presented by The Alzheimer's Association | With help from Daniella Diaz and Jordain Carney
| 
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) has advocated for the elimination of the Department of Education. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images | You get an amendment and you get an amendment and you get an amendment. The House is working through a roster of 22 amendments to a key bill to the Republican agenda, the “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” a measure that mimics bills that GOP-led state legislatures across the country have taken up. The bill would require schools to provide parents with a list of books and reading materials available in the school library as well as posting curriculum publicly. Republicans are harnessing a rallying cry from their base by turning ”parents rights” into a key element of their policy agenda, even if it means increased federal involvement in local school decisions, a position that was once anathema to conservatives. Final passage is expected today. Republicans say they have allowed floor debate on every GOP amendment that was germane to the bill, including some that could make their colleagues sweat. The “structured rule,” which puts parameters on which amendments hit the floor, made 22 amendments in order. Democrats had many more to offer, but were limited to just a handful. While it isn’t a wide open rule, even this curated amendment process had some Republicans sweating whether proposals could tank or tarnish the underlying bill, or force colleagues in tight races to take votes that could be held against them. One GOP member shared their spicy takes on proposals from their colleagues on the education bill, telling Jordain that some of the amendments are “stupid,” and saying fellow Republicans have "made it easy for the Democrats and hard for the Republicans.” But Rep. Lauren Boebert’s (R-Colo.) two proposals to require notification of parents if a school allows transgender girls to play on sports teams and if they are allowed to use restrooms or changing rooms that match their gender identity, sailed through. Neither Boebert nor Democrats called for a recorded vote to put colleagues on the record, allowing both to be adopted by voice vote. One to watch: Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) has a proposal that would take the bill in a totally different direction, getting the federal government out of the K-12 education game, instead of leaning into a nationwide mandate. Massie’s proposal would add a “sense of Congress” clause stating that the Department of Education programs related to elementary and secondary education should be eliminated entirely. He has long sought to abolish the Department of Education. The amendment did get tweaked just before the bill came to the floor on Thursday, to reflect concerns raised privately by GOP moderates, Sarah and Olivia report. House leaders hoped to tamp down any real drama within the conference over amendment proposals that could threaten the bill. More amendment headaches ahead: The amendment stress will continue next week as Republicans bring their signature energy bill to the floor under another structured rule. Who’s counting: Closing in on the end of the first quarter, House Rules has issued 22 closed rules, four structured rules and one modified open rule so far this Congress.
| | | | A message from The Alzheimer's Association: The Biden Administration has made the unprecedented decision to block access to FDA-approved treatments for people living with Alzheimer’s. Each day CMS denies access, more than 2,000 people transition to a more advanced stage of Alzheimer’s where they are no longer eligible for treatment. The role and responsibility of CMS is to provide health care coverage, not to stand between a patient and a doctor when deciding what FDA-approved treatments are appropriate. Learn more at http://alz.org/coverage. | | | TGIF! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Friday, March 24. Have a soggy end of your week.
| 
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) received a what amounts to a strongly worded letter from Senate Ethics. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images | SENATE ETHICS DID THE THING — The Senate Ethics Committee is mostly known for how little action it takes, but on Thursday evening it dropped a public letter of admonition on Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). The evenly divided Ethics panel declared that the “committee finds that you did solicit federal campaign contributions and otherwise impermissibly conducted campaign activity in a federal building.” Remember when he went on Fox News pleading for donations for Herschel Walker’s runoff race? The one time he did it in the Russell Rotunda came back to bite him. “It was a mistake. I take responsibility. I will try to do better in the future” Graham said in a statement to POLITICO on Thursday evening. More on the Senate Ethics sanction, from your Huddle host. JUSTICE FOR MANCHIN? — If West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice doesn’t run for Senate, that would be a bigger surprise than him getting in the race at this point. “He is dropping hints everywhere. He’s put his coal business up for sale to pay off debts and met with National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Steve Daines (R-Mont.) last week. He finished up his state’s legislative session earlier this month, pushing through a tax cut after Manchin helped direct federal funds to the state. And he’s been texting with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), according to two people familiar with Justice’s interactions.” Meanwhile… Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) reiterated in an interview with Burgess that he won’t decide whether he’ll run until the end of the year. Burgess and Ally Mutnick run through why Justice jumping in would thrill Republicans and what he’s weighing before filing the paperwork.
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | ADMITTING PERMITTING — Sarah and Jordain report a growing bloc of House Republicans is urging Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to consider demands beyond the budget — like energy permitting — in the party’s opening offer to Democrats on raising the debt limit. One idea that’s been gaining traction recently is linking the debt limit debate to the GOP's proposal to speed up energy permitting, according to interviews with roughly a half dozen lawmakers. “I think permitting’s got to be part of the debt limit discussion,” said Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.), who chairs the Republican Policy Committee and sits on McCarthy’s leadership team. The Republican Study Committee recently polled its 175 members about their priorities for the looming debt talks and found that members’ top priority for inclusion was energy permitting. Speaking of debt… Double-Barreled Economic Threat Puts Congress on Edge, from Carl Hulse at The New York Times JAN. 6 JAIL VISIT — A group of House lawmakers will tour the D.C. jail on Friday, where inmates are being held in relation to Jan. 6. — the latest example of Republicans revisiting a day many in the party want to move on from. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), a member of the Oversight Committee, will lead the trip, which POLITICO first scooped earlier this month. Unlike her previous trip in Nov. 2021, two Democrats will attend the tour — Summer Lee (D-Pa.) and Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas). A Democratic Oversight Committee spokesperson said the two members will “cut through Republicans’ attempts to whitewash the dangerous realities of January 6.” Related: Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), who has been tasked with reviewing the Jan. 6 panel’s work on behalf of the House Administration Committee, told Jordain that he’s preparing to release the first round of GOP “findings” about the previous panel’s work early next week. (He’s aiming for Tuesday, he noted.) Loudermilk is expected to release redacted transcripts that were not made public by the Jan. 6 committee. He added that a focus of the first round of GOP findings would relate to a tour he gave of the Capitol complex on Jan. 5, which came under scrutiny by the Dem-led panel. Also: Kevin McCarthy met Ashli Babbitt's mom ahead of GOP visit with Jan. 6 prisoners, from Ryan J. Reilly, Ryan Nobles and Liz Brown-Kaiser at NBC News
| | | | A message from The Alzheimer's Association:   | | | LOOK AT THE LINEUP — Here’s a quick rundown of amendment to expect in the Senate next week on the AUMF:
- Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-Texas) amendment would empower “the President to use force against forces of Iran, a state responsible for conducting and directing attacks against United States forces in the Middle East and to take actions for the purpose of ending Iran's escalation of attacks on, and threats to, United States interests.”
- Sen. Ron Johnson’s (R-Wis.) amendment would require Senate approval for any World Health Organization convention or agreement or treaty.
- Sen. Rick Scott’s (R-Fla.) amendment would create a joint select committee to look into the United States/Afghanistan withdrawal in 2021.
- Sen. Pete Ricketts’ (R-Neb.) amendment would require the president to certify “that Iraq, Israel,and other United States partners and allies in the region have been meaningfully consulted on the ramifications of repeal.”
- Sen. Dan Sullivan’s (R-Alaska) amendment ensures that the AUMF repeal won’t impact the effectiveness of U.S. response to Iran.
- Sen. Josh Hawley’s (R-Mo.) amendment would appoint an inspector general to oversee Ukraine aid.
| | | Jumping the jello mold… Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) let Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) know what she was missing at today’s caucus lunch: jello. The tweet was a low key reference to what Sinema told POLITICO’s Jonathan Martin about how lame she found Democratic Caucus lunches. “Old dudes are eating Jell-O, everyone is talking about how great they are,” is how Sinema described them. “The Northerners and the Westerners put cool whip on their Jell-O,” she shared, “and the Southerners put cottage cheese.” Smith skipped the cool-whip on Thursday. And Sinema took notice. Bipartisan pup love… Who can bring a Tennessee Republican and a Bronx Democrat together? A perfect pup on National Puppy Day. QUICK LINKS TikTok Paid for Influencers to Attend the Pro-TikTok Rally in DC, from Matt Laslo for Wired Pelosi on cleric who barred her from Communion: ‘That’s his problem, not mine’, from Jack Jenkins at Religion News Service “Potential Trump indictment pushed, as grand jury hears unrelated case,” from Erica Orden “U.S. strikes deal with Canada over northern border, asylum seekers,” from Hamed Aleaziz and Erin B. Logan at the Los Angeles Times TRANSITIONS Sean Smith is now a legislative assistant for Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.). He was previously with the Alzheimer’s Association and is a Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.) alum. Scott Mackenzie is now a principal at Winning Strategies Washington. He most recently was legislative director for Rep. Dan Webster (R-Fla.).
| | | | DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO MOBILE APP: Stay up to speed with the newly updated POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need, reimagined. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS– DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID. | | | | | TODAY IN CONGRESS The House convenes at 9 a.m. for legislative business. The Senate is out. AROUND THE HILL 9 a.m. House Ways and Means Committee hearing on the president’s 2023 trade policy agenda. U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai testifies. (1100 Longworth) 9 a.m. House Appropriations Legislative Branch Subcommittee member day hearing. (HT-2 Capitol) 11 a.m. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) holds his weekly press conference. (Studio A)
| | | THURSDAY’S WINNER: Jamie Gillespie correctly answered that President Abraham Lincoln is the only president to be granted his own patent. It was an invention that would have helped lift boats over obstacles in rivers. TODAY’S QUESTION: In which year was the State of the Union first live streamed on the Internet? 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: The Biden Administration is continuing to block access to FDA-approved Alzheimer’s treatments. Despite the fact that Medicare has always covered FDA-approved treatments for those living with a disease, CMS has made the unprecedented decision to deny access to FDA-approved treatments for people living with Alzheimer’s. Each day CMS blocks access, more than 2,000 people transition to a more advanced stage of Alzheimer’s where they are no longer eligible for treatment. Each day matters to someone living with early stage Alzheimer's when it comes to slowing the progression of this disease. The Administration’s policy to block access to these treatments eliminates people’s options, resulting in continued irreversible disease progression and contributes to greater health inequities. The role and responsibility of CMS is to provide health care coverage, not to stand between a patient and a doctor when deciding what FDA-approved treatments are appropriate. This decision must be reversed. | | | | | | | Follow us | | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment