Subject: POLITICO Huddle - Presented by POWERJobs: HOUSE GOP ROLLS DICE ON DEBT LIMIT – More Obamacare delays for employers – Senate GOP to hit IRS rule today – RUBIO WON’T SAY IF HE SMOKED POT – Yellen faces first Hill grilling – Rise of Ron Wyden
From: "POLITICO Huddle" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 11 Feb 2014 07:56:57 -0600

By Scott Wong (
mailto:[email-masked] 
[email-masked]  or @scottwongDC)

HOUSE GOP ROLLS DICE ON DEBT LIMIT - Jake Sherman and Ginger Gibson write for the hometown paper: "After a few weeks of vote searching - and a good deal of soul searching - House Republicans say they think their best hope of raising the debt ceiling is to tie it to restoring pension cuts for retired soldiers. But even that might not work. The most recent strategy - unveiled in a private Monday night meeting in the Capitol - is meant to maximize Republican support, while daring Democrats to vote against restoring military benefit cuts. The vote is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, but top Republicans concede the bill might never make it to the floor - they won't bring up a bill that won't
 pass.

-- "Republicans cannot pass it by themselves, and Democrats likely won't help push it over the edge. Senior Senate sources say it is likely a nonstarter in their chamber - they've constantly advocated for a debt-limit hike without extraneous policy provisions. On Monday, the Senate advanced a fix to military cost-of-living adjustments on its own, by a whopping 94-0." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9096779847b71ce0ef71f14415a0c3a29f0e087258f10b3f31f50e0c7adedadc 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9096779847b71ce0ef71f14415a0c3a29f0e087258f10b3f31f50e0c7adedadc 

EMPLOYERS GET MORE DELAYS FROM OBAMACARE - Brett Norman and David Nather report for POLITICO: "Once again, it's employers who are getting a break from their Obamacare mandate - and that's sure to increase the pressure on the Obama administration to delay the mandate for individuals, too. Regulations announced by the Obama administration Monday give two levels of delay to employers who would have had to cover their workers next year. Some businesses will get an extra year - until 2016. And the bigger businesses that do have to worry about the mandate will have it phased in over two years. It's the second round of delays to the employer mandate, which will require all businesses with 50 or
 more full-time workers to provide health coverage or pay a fine. The mandate was originally supposed to start this year - until, under pressure from business groups, it got pushed back until 2015." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9096779847b71ce000a316bc75e2a015ef77e2e867ec8754c78f8667ba669e3a 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9096779847b71ce000a316bc75e2a015ef77e2e867ec8754c78f8667ba669e3a 

-- THE FRONT PAGE - Wall Street Journal, 5-col. lead: "Health-Law Mandate Put Off Again: No Fines for Most Employers Until 2016 as Firms Pressure White House in Wake of Troubled Rollout." Washington Post, 2-col. lead: "Employers get new reprieve from health law: MORE TIME FOR MIDSIZE COMPANIES: Insurance mandate won't kick in until 2016." NYT: "Further Delays for Employers in Health Law: G.O.P Assails Change as a Political Step." USA Today, banner headline: "Health law faces new delay: Some businesses get extra year to comply; GOP wants it extended to individuals."

-- SPEAKER BOEHNER: "Once again, the president is giving a break to corporations while individuals and families are still stuck under the mandates of his health care law. And, once again, the president is rewriting law on a whim. If the administration doesn't believe employers can manage the burden of the law, how can struggling families be expected to? This continued manipulation by the president breeds confusion and erodes Americans' confidence in him and his health care law.We need fairness for all, with relief from ObamaCare for every American."

**A message from POWERJobs: Jobs on our radar this week: Regional Political Director at AIPAC, Southeast Program Director at the Junior Statesmen Foundation and Associate Analyst at Height Analytics.Interested? Apply to these jobs and more at 
www.POWERJobs.com 
www.POWERJobs.com ; finally, a career site made for YOU!**

SENATE GOP TO HIT IRS RULE TODAY -- Look for Senate Republicans to hit the floor today to criticize a pending IRS regulation that would block social welfare (501c4) groups from political involvement. Republicans will say the rule limits first amendment rights for these groups by empowering the IRS as arbiter of political speech. GOP Sens. Flake, Roberts, McConnell, Hatch and others will introduce a bill to prevent the rule from taking effect.

-- Here&#39;s an excerpt from Sen. McConnell&#39;s floor remarks: "Commissioner Koskinen could go down in history as a hero, just like the IRS Commissioner who stood up to Nixon and said no to harassment of political opponents. I want to believe that this is the choice he will make - that he wants to be remembered as a strong and independent public servant, rather than some political pawn. But we can't be sure what he'll do. And the American people need a backup plan in case he decides his fealty lies with the opponents of free speech, rather than with them. So that's why today I, along with Senators Flake, Roberts, Hatch and others have introduced legislation thatwould prevent the IRS from
 enacting regulations that would permit the suppression of First Amendment rights."POLITICO's Rachel Bade and Lauren French have a story on the bill for Pros:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9096779847b71ce0d8d57f474837c7fb92637cfbc12502966d9eccf596db0d29 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9096779847b71ce0d8d57f474837c7fb92637cfbc12502966d9eccf596db0d29 

IMMIGRATION GROUPS UNLEASH ANGER - Anna Palmer and Seung Min Kim report for POLITICO: "Immigration reform advocates are done playing nice with House Republicans. After holding their fire for years at the urging of the Obama administration, several immigration reform groups now plan to unleash their anger at the right. A new, more aggressive campaign kicks off Tuesday, when these groups say they will begin confronting Republican lawmakers at public appearances, congressional hearings and events back in home districts. The goal: Shame Republicans in swing districts into taking up the issue - or make them pay at the ballot box in November." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9096779847b71ce0aebd949d8f5f0bb0aa88290b4fc442ce7527d0f8fb12b12f 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9096779847b71ce0aebd949d8f5f0bb0aa88290b4fc442ce7527d0f8fb12b12f 

GOOD TUESDAY MORNING, FEB. 11, 2014, and welcome to The Huddle, your-play-play preview of all the action on Capitol Hill. Send tips, suggestions, comments, complaints and corrections to 
mailto:[email-masked] 
[email-masked] . If you don't already, please follow me on Twitter 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=9096779847b71ce0ec8dcacd40be8508fc6d3ca516d18f5772543ee4766469ed 
@scottwongDC .

My new followers include 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a2b3eee7624766538cdb71399e6c87f3106589e65cbbf4e7b90bde0fbf52dec0 
@MikeBzozowski  and 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a2b3eee762476653a1997166be216ee20b9eaa11c9bbed563eee1d75e2783de8 
@lizzishappell .

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The Senate meets at 10 a.m. and will resume consideration of a bill that would restore cuts to military pensions. The Senate will recess from 12:30 to 2:15 p.m. for party caucus lunches. The House meets at 10 a.m. with first votes expected between 2 and 3 p.m. and last votes to be determined. The House votes under suspension of the rules on several bills: one requiring the FAA to go through the rulemaking process before implementing new sleep apnea policies and the Small Cap Liquidity Reform Act, and the Consumer Financial Protection and Soundness Improvement Act. House Democrats hold their annual issues conference from Wednesday to Friday in Cambridge, Md.

AROUND THE HILL - House Democratic Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra and Vice Chairman Joe Crowley hold a post-meeting availability at 10 a.m. in the HVC-210 alcove. Speaker John Boehner and other GOP leaders hold a post-conference availability at 10 a.m. in the RNC lobby. Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer holds a pen-and-pad briefing at 10:30 a.m. in H-144. Rep. Rush Holt and others mark a Day of Action on NSA surveillance at noon at the House Triangle. Foreign Relations Chairman Ed Royce and the committee host the King of Jordan at 4:30 p.m. in H-137.

RUBIO WON'T SAY IF HE'S SMOKED POT - Alex Leary reports for the Tampa Bay Times: "Sen. Marco Rubio, appearing at an education forum today in Miami, was asked whether he&#39;s ever smoked pot. He wouldn't say. The question came in the context of the Florida ballot measure to allow medical marijuana. A moderator then asked Rubio if he&#39;s ever tried the drug. 'I&#39;ll tell you why I never answer that question,' Rubio replied. 'If I tell you that I haven&#39;t, you won&#39;t believe me. And if tell you that I did, then kids will look up to me and say &#39;Well, I can smoke marijuana because look how he made it. He did all right so I guess I can do it, too.&#39; The bottom line is, it is a
 substance that alters your mind. When I was 17 and 18 and 16, I made dumb decisions as is. I didn't need the help of marijuana or alcohol to further that.' Rubio went on to say that bad choices made as a youth can follow a person through life - an arrest record hurting job prospects, for example. 'At this point,' Rubio said of the question, 'it&#39;s irrelevant.'" 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a2b3eee762476653ff2cf70480d4ef4c805231492e67799dc87726f5ce0ab5d9 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a2b3eee762476653ff2cf70480d4ef4c805231492e67799dc87726f5ce0ab5d9 

TRANSITIONS - TYLER NELSON has been named chief of staff for Rep. Pete Olson (R-Texas). He formerly served as Olson's district director and deputy chief of staff in the Sugar Land Office.

-- STEVE RUHLEN, Olson's current chief of staff, will be departing to become the chief of staff for Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.).

THE ROGERS REPORT: WAXMAN HANDS OFF THE TORCH - "A generation is passing in Congress these days, and with it goes a level of legislative craftsmanship that will be sorely missed by both parties," writes David Rogers. "Just six years ago, the House and Senate still boasted a solid bipartisan block of 32 members from the huge classes elected in the upheaval of the 1970s. By this time next year, no more than a dozen of them will remain in Congress. It's not that these lawmakers cornered the market on all knowledge or virtue. But they were a bridge back to a time when Congress was more a congress, a coming together. When legislation was written by committees, not the partisan leadership, and
 when the institution occasionally stood up for itself - and even the American people. Democrats will feel the losses now most, but for Congress as a whole, the greater casualty is the legislative expertise, even art, that is going out the door. Nothing illustrates this better, perhaps, than the career of Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.)." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a2b3eee7624766531b9b44a7cf11293492b383ab4dd2c1691aa37488dc59971b 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a2b3eee7624766531b9b44a7cf11293492b383ab4dd2c1691aa37488dc59971b 

YELLEN FACES FIRST GRILLING ON HILL - Paul Davidson writes for USA Today: "Janet Yellen, who on Tuesday faces her first grilling by Congress since she became the Federal Reserve chair this month, is expected to reiterate central bank plans to taper its stimulus despite recent weakness in the economy. Yellen is scheduled to deliver her semi-annual testimony on monetary policy before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday and the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday. ... She is generally viewed as more concerned about promoting job growth and less worried about risks such as high inflation than Bernanke. She&#39;s likely to face tough questions from Republicans about whether
 she&#39;ll retreat from plans to pare back the Fed&#39;s massive monthly bond buying, which is intended to hold down interest rates and spur economic and job growth." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a2b3eee7624766535984b3bd591eaba26fdec591b7f67dcffe90058df31f0862 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a2b3eee7624766535984b3bd591eaba26fdec591b7f67dcffe90058df31f0862 

THE RISE OF RON WYDEN - Brian Faler has the story for POLITICO: "Wyden, a one-time backbencher with a penchant for big ideas, is now poised to take over the Senate's most powerful committee. It will instantly vault him into the ranks of the chamber's most influential, giving him a major say over taxes, health care, trade and programs like those Build America Bonds that made its way into Obama's stimulus plan. Wyden, who will officially become Finance chairman as soon as Tuesday, will confront a raft of unfinished business: a package of expired tax breaks, looming cuts in Medicare payments to doctors, a trade deal his predecessor Max Baucus worked out with Republicans, and a highway trust
 fund projected to run dry as soon as this year, among the biggest." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a2b3eee7624766538b4813ffe2e48cb41f5a07b4ccd49c54a50f9e04124ec3c4 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a2b3eee7624766538b4813ffe2e48cb41f5a07b4ccd49c54a50f9e04124ec3c4 

-- Capitol Police investigated a suspicious white powder at Wyden's Senateoffice but test results were negative. Roll Call: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a2b3eee762476653a42ae7103a6dbbed14b563e2876ff4b5fa1628f0647e7709 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a2b3eee762476653a42ae7103a6dbbed14b563e2876ff4b5fa1628f0647e7709 

MONDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER -Drew Thies was first to correctly answer that Thomas Jefferson would bathe his feet in cold water each morning, a ritual he believed kept him free from common colds.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Jonathan Traub has today's question: Montana's John Walsh will join the Senate this week as No. 100 in seniority and, if he loses in November, could exit the Senate without moving up a single position.Name a senator who never made it higher than 100 in seniority.The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day&#39;s Huddle. Email me at
mailto:[email-masked] 
[email-masked] .

GET HUDDLE emailed to your Blackberry, iPhone or other mobile device each morning. Just enter your email address where it says "Sign Up."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a2b3eee7624766532bd5bb954303948ffb4013b04d2b5f4d18724c8d7ac312d3 
 http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a2b3eee7624766532bd5bb954303948ffb4013b04d2b5f4d18724c8d7ac312d3 

**A message from 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a2b3eee76247665328e16282590bbb658f8a81cadf4c40af3b3ae980afe84bc4 
POWERJobs : Tap into the power of POWERJobs for the newest job opportunities in the Washington area from the area's top employers, including AARP, AIPAC and U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Powered by names you trust - POLITICO, WTOP, WJLA/ABC-TV, NewsChannel 8 and Federal News Radio- POWERJOBS is the ultimate career site with more than 2 million job searches and nearly 17,000 applications submitted this year so far. Connect through Facebook or LinkedIn, search jobs by industry and set up job-specific email alerts using 
www.POWERJobs.com 
www.POWERJobs.com , the site for Washington's top talent.**

Go to POLITICO Huddle Now >> http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a2b3eee76247665336d0c03b7c3e70ae52ba4285723d7e0c0bba76abebd8402a

Go to this edition >> http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=74ec01e01094f26561025b202fcf468087874cd764d0e7c15bcc239351a2b004

=================================

2014 POLITICO, LLC

POLITICO Huddle.

To unsubscribe, http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=74ec01e01094f265796412b1a366fd482ac7e3349fa70d3cc2b9e45d8d420916

=================================