| | | | |  | | By Katherine Tully-McManus | Presented by The Alzheimer's Association | With help from Daniella Diaz
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House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's debt limit plan hits the House floor this week. | Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images | DEBT LIMIT ON THE DANCE FLOOR — Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s debt limit bill hits the floor this week, a major test of the California Republican’s leadership of his complex conference and a launchpad for more substantive discussions with the White House. McCarthy was confident on Sunday. “We will hold a vote this week and we will pass it,” he told Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures. But he can only lose four Republicans. Most House Republicans are on board, but the magic number is 218 and they’re not there yet. Conversations continued over the weekend to try and bring stragglers into the “yes” camp. Agitating for changes: Some members were already agitating for changes last week, including a higher bar for work requirements for Medicaid and food assistance programs and a sooner start date. As written, the measure would require Medicaid recipients to work 80 hours per month, or 20 hours per week. “Work Requirements in the House debt limit bill must begin in 2024, not 2025 (as is currently drafted). The reason we demanded 72 hours to review legislation is so we could identify and fix issues with specifics precisely like this. Let’s Get to Work!” tweeted Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) over the weekend. Gaetz was in a meeting Thursday with McCarthy’s leadership team, Budget Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.) and leaders of different factions of the conference, discussing both work requirements and the general temperature across the conference. The elimination of certain tax credits, from ethanol to biofuels, is also stressing out some members, but confidence that those wouldn’t survive any White House deal has dialed down the concerns. D.E.A.R.: Before the House hit the road for the weekend, plenty of Republicans said they needed to read through the proposal, take a closer look and make up their mind. Hope they found some time to drop everything and read and report back to leadership on where they stand. “I cannot imagine someone in our conference that would want to go along with Biden’s reckless spending,” McCarthy said Sunday. The House Rules Committee takes up the bill tomorrow afternoon. Once House Republican leaders have the votes, they’ll bring it for a vote. If McCarthy needs more time, the House is scheduled to be in on Friday. Tenuous timeline: The Treasury Department has already been using “extraordinary measures” for months to hold off a default while an unclear “X-date” looms. But there could be more clarity soon. The Congressional Budget office and the Bipartisan Policy Center are planning to release updated projections the second week of May. A reminder of what’s in the package:
- Rescinding unspent pandemic relief funds
- Cap spending to fiscal 2022 levels
- Roll back energy tax credits from Inflation Reduction Act
- Claw back IRS funding for customer service and finding tax cheats
- Tighter work requirements for recipients of food stamps and Medicaid benefits
- Raise the debt limit through March 2024 or until the debt grows to $32.9 trillion
Related reads: Wall Street starts to fear a debt limit crisis, from Ben White, Sam Sutton and Eleanor Mueller; Is George Santos Holding His Debt Ceiling Vote for Ransom?, from Ursula Perano at The Daily Beast; So much for that promise: Debt bill talks again done in the backroom, from Paul Kane at the Washington Post; Key Democrat fears only a market crash will resolve debt limit impasse, from Mike Lillis at The Hill; House Appropriations ranking member Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) Op-Ed on MSNBC: I warned Republicans about their debt ceiling bill. I was right.
| | | | A message from The Alzheimer's Association: The future of Medicare? President Biden recently called Medicare “a rock solid guarantee.” But that’s not true for beneficiaries living with early Alzheimer’s. For the first time ever, CMS has blocked Medicare coverage to FDA-approved drugs. Now CMS is stalling despite compelling evidence and coverage by the VA. Today it’s people living with early Alzheimer’s. Who will it be tomorrow? Learn more at alz.org/coverage. | | | GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Monday, April 24 where we’ve been given a second chance at spring. Don’t waste it. HUDDLE WEEKLY MOST CLICKED You were quick to click on Sen. Chris Murphy’s (D-Conn.) battle against the loneliness of America, “This Democratic Senator Is Making an Unusual Enemy,” from Grace Segers at The New Republic. You also wanted to see Rep. Aaron Bean’s (R-Fla.) presiding style. |  It's tough to be House Budget Chair. | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images | THE AGONY OF BEING ARRINGTON — Republican appropriators are gearing up to write annual spending bills based on the funding totals outlined in the McCarthy-driven package, leaving any budget that House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) put together on the back burner. “He’s still publicly committed to drafting a budget that could lay out the GOP’s fiscal aspirations for the next decade — even as McCarthy forges ahead with his own separate plan. The chair is still meeting with his committee about advancing his budget,” write Jennifer Scholtes and Caitlin Emma. But any budget he writes would also burden Republicans with political liabilities that Democrats will be eager to strike, from the intra-party divisions on safety net programs and Pentagon spending. CALIFORNIA CALLS FOR HELP — Four Californians in the House, Democratic Reps. Salud Carbaja, Jimmy Panetta, Zoe Lofgren and Jim Costa, are making the first request for a supplemental disaster recovery spending package, focused on agriculture in the Golden State that was walloped by flooding at the end of 2022 and additional deluges that followed in February and March. “The historic storms caused tremendous damage to thousands of acres of farms and ranches. To ensure these agricultural producers can fully recover losses and remain in operation, we are asking for a disaster recovery package,” they wrote to House leaders and appropriators. They said that the Farm Service Agency is already assessing more than 1,000 claims but that Congressional aid is needed “to allow for a full and timely recovery.” Read the letter. While two Democrats are making the ask, McCarthy will be taking note, since he represents some of the top agricultural producing counties in California which were also impacted by the heavy rains and flooding.
| | | | GO INSIDE THE 2023 MILKEN INSTITUTE GLOBAL CONFERENCE: POLITICO is proud to partner with the Milken Institute to produce a special edition "Global Insider" newsletter featuring exclusive coverage, insider nuggets and unparalleled insights from the 2023 Global Conference, which will convene leaders in health, finance, politics, philanthropy and entertainment from April 30-May 3. This year’s theme, Advancing a Thriving World, will challenge and inspire attendees to lean into building an optimistic coalition capable of tackling the issues and inequities we collectively face. Don’t miss a thing — subscribe today for a front row seat. | | | | | ABORTION DIVIDING REPUBLICANS — While all Democrats did a victory lap after Friday’s Supreme Court ruling protecting access, for now, to a widely used abortion medication, some Republicans slammed the decision but avoided making any moves — previewing what’s to come the next two years as abortion becomes a major issue in the 2024 election. Kelly Garrity rounded up the (predictable) GOP responses on the Sunday shows. Katie Glueck at the New York Times laid out where abortion will fit into the 2024 campaign (spoiler alert, front and center). And Melanie Zanona, Annie Grayer and Lauren Fox at CNN write that House Republicans fear a backlash and could punt on pursuing a national abortion ban. FISCHER CRA TRUCKS ON — The clock is ticking on Sen. Deb Fischer’s (R-Neb.) Congressional Review Act resolution to roll back EPA’s recently finalized emission standards for heavy-duty trucks that would cut harmful soot and smog pollution from trucks starting in model year 2027. The measure could hit the Senate floor this Wednesday, with 36 GOP cosponsors but no Democrats signed onto the resolution at this point. GRAHAM ON FEINSTEIN — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said over the weekend that if Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) resigned, he’d push his GOP colleagues to fill the position on the panel. “If she does resign, I would be in the camp of following the precedent of the Senate, replacing the person, consistent with what we have done in the past,” the South Carolina lawmaker told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.” “If she resigned, I would make sure that whatever we did in the past when members resigned would be followed,” he said. “As to Sen. Feinstein, she is a wonderful person. She’s been a very effective senator. I hope she comes back,” the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee added.
| | | | A message from The Alzheimer's Association:   | | | | | One reporter’s Dairy Queen slander won’t run your Huddle host’s sweet childhood memories of the chain. Hari Kondabolu finally apologized to AOC. No, your Huddle host cannot get you into the parties this week. QUICK LINKS How the mayor of a small Inland Empire town became one of Congress’ most powerful Democrats, from Benjamin Oreskesstaff at the Los Angeles Times A look under the hoodie: Inside Sen. John Fetterman’s first week back, from Kara Voght at the Washington Post Slotkin’s Senate run may complicate Dems bid to retake House, from Joey Cappeletti at the Associated Press Lawmakers war-game conflict with China, hoping to deter one, from Ellen Knickmeyer at the Associated Press A Maine senator lays out why everyone should be a YIMBY: Building more housing could bring families extra income and help solve the labor shortage, from Eliza Relman at Insider TRANSITIONS Micki Werner will be a senior congressional liaison officer at the Australian Embassy. She previously was a legislative aide for Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.).
| | | | The McCain Institute will convene its 10th annual Sedona Forum on May 5-6, featuring lawmakers, journalists, military leaders, business executives, and more. This year’s theme, “Indispensable Power,” will examine the diplomatic, military, and economic means employed to protect democracy, human rights, and the global competitive edge. Established by Senator John McCain, the Sedona Forum is held each spring in the red rock country of Sedona, Arizona, to advance the mission of the McCain Institute – fighting for democracy, human dignity, and security. Visit TheSedonaForum.org to register for the livestream today. | | | | | TODAY IN CONGRESS The House convenes at 10 a.m. for a pro forma session. The Senate is out. AROUND THE HILL Quiet Monday.
| | FRIDAY’S WINNER: Logan Ferree correctly answered that Jim DeMint was the GOP’s freshman class president for the new crop of House members in 1998. TODAY’S QUESTION from Logan: Authorized by "The King of Asphalt," this stretch of the Interstate Highway System had its number specifically designated by Congress, ignoring standard federal highway numbering protocol. What is the number of the interstate and who was the former Transportation Committee Chair who advocated for it? 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 | | | | |
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