Subject: POLITICO Huddle, presented by the American Medical Association: COATS TO RETIRE -- Right comes around on budget -- Israel lobbying backfires with Dems -- Congress welcomes Ghani -- GRAHAM 2016: STRAIGHT TALK
From: "POLITICO Huddle" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 25 Mar 2015 05:50:54 -0600

By Burgess Everett (@burgessev or 
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[email-masked] )

COATS HANGS IT UP: Indiana Sen. Dan Coats will not run for reelection in 2016, telling the Indy Star that "it has a lot to do with age." Coats, who would be nearly 80 at the end of his next term if he ran again, has kept the lines of communication open between the tea party and business wings of his party and said he doesn't fear a tough campaign, but rather wants to spent the rest of his time somewhere other than taking his long walks through the Senate tunnel. 'This is a consuming job if you do it right. It&#39;s long days and schedules dictated by someone else. I really enjoy the job but it all comes with personal sacrifice, and at some point you start thinking about your good health and
 your remaining years.' 
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Is that purple or red? Democrats see a glimmer of hope in his retirement, Kyle Cheney writes, mainly because there's now an open seat that the GOP has to defend and go through the whole primary rigmarole. 
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Hold up: Coats is not going to go quietly, if Tuesday night is any reading. He's blocking a Senate resolution celebrating Greek independence over threats that the country would flood Europe with migrants and jihadists if the Euro bailout ends. In a letter to Ambassador Christos P. Panagopoulos obtained by Huddle, Coats asked the government to "clarify whether they reflect current policy or thinking within your government.With such clarification, I hope I will be able to support the Senate resolution regarding Greek independence and our shared democratic traditions."

HELL NO CAUCUS SAYS YES: We are used to a conservative rebellion whenever the House tries to do much of anything, but that isn't the case on the budget, Lauren and Seung Min report. The key has been getting the House Freedom Caucus on board. "At a closed-door meeting in the Cannon House Office Building, members hashed out plans to work with Budget Chairman Tom Price (R-Ga.) to bring some of the most hard-line House members on board with the GOP's plans. Unlike previous fiscal showdowns, this time it worked." 
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Cruz'n back to D.C.: There had been some question on whether Texas Sen. Ted Cruz would be back this week to vote on the budget due to his 2016 campaign launch, but we are told that he will be here for the vote-a-rama. What we are not told is whether he supports the Senate GOP budget; he's repeatedly declined to weigh in.

Lonely Carper: Sen. Tom Carper was the only supporter for a vote portrayed to be on the president's budget by Republicans on Tuesday, or as Sen. John Cornyn's amendment put it: "To raise taxes and spending by enacting President Obama&#39;s fiscal year 2016 budget."

JOHNSON REMINISCES ON OBAMA: At the weekly stakeout on Tuesday, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell brought a quartet of budget committee members to the mic, including Sen. Ron Johnson, who offered an entertaining account of his exchange with President Obama a year ago when the White House was trying to work the Senate GOP on a big fiscal deal. Here's the exchange, as recounted by Johnson and likely disputed by everyone in the White House.

Johnson: "Mr. President if you want everything on the table, this is how you get it on the table. Use your bully pulpit. Go to the American public, show them the truth, show them the depth of the problem, show them this massive deficit projection over the next 30 years.

Obama: "Ron, we can't show the American people numbers that big. If we do they will get scared, they'll give up hope. Besides Ron, we can't do all the work. We have to leave the work for future Congresses."

IF ISRAEL SPIED, IT DIDN'T HELP THEM ON THE HILL: By now you've likely read that WSJ report that Israel spied on Iran talks to influence lawmakers to come out against the nuclear deal. And indeed, Senate Democrats told me that Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer and his team have put a full court press on members of Congress to change their minds. But it didn't seem to work: Democrats have given the president space to negotiate multiple times despite the lobbying from Israel, and if anything it seems to have driven Democrats closer to the White House. Take New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who met with Dermer a few weeks ago then went to the White House last week, a perfect illustration of the
 squeeze between Obama and Israel. But she came out still deferring to the president: "The president has a right to have the space to negotiate the best deal he can. And then we'll have a chance to opine," Gillibrand said. Asked what Israel's motivations were in her meeting with Dermer, she replied: "I think they're just working hard to be heard." 
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**A message from the American Medical Association: The Deadline is Looming. It's time to repeal Medicare's SGR formula and put patient care first by passing H.R. 2.The current Medicare physician payment patch expires on March 31, 2015.Visit
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b298328d560f3ff76d6f7d6114bfdfd9d550c8aface24e84a0bc03b3202d1d40 
 www.fixmedicarenow.org to see how you can help make significant reforms in how Medicare pays physicians that focus on value and efficiency. **

Good Wednesday, Washington. And welcome to the Huddle, your play-by-play guide to everything Capitol Hill, where I'm celebrating the return of Terps freshman phenom Melo Trimble. Please send tips to 
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TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House comes in at 10 a.m. and will immediately recess ahead of a 10:45 a.m. meeting with Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani. Budget votes will begin around 3 p.m. The Senate is in at 9:30 a.m. and will probably take some budget votes during the day.

AROUND THE HILL - At 9:30 a.m., Sens. Maria Cantwell and Tammy Baldwin talk about transportation of crude oil in the Senate studio. At 10:15 a.m. Senate and House Democrats talk about the budget in the Senate studio and in S 116 Sen. Bob Corker meets with Singapore's ambassador. At noon Sen. Jeff Merkley talks about the GOP's attacks on Dodd-Frank in the Senate studio. At 1:15 p.m. on the House Triangle Reps. Ami Bera and Joe Crowley discuss hate crimes. At 1:30 p.m. in H 139 House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy meets with Ghani. At 2 p.m. on the House Triangle Rep. Scott Perry introduces the Charlotte's Web Medical Access Act. At 3:30 p.m. outside the Old Senate Chamber Senate leaders
 Mitch McConnell and Harry Reid meet with Ghani.

VEEP WATCH: Vice President Joe Biden will be holding meetings on the Hill today as well as watching Ghani's address, according to White House guidance.

OFF THE HILL -- It's a big day for the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce's 35th legislative summit. At breakfast this morning in HC5: Sens. Robert Menendez, Cory Booker and Amy Klobuchar plus Rep. Linda Sanchez. And at 5:30 p.m. at the National Museum of Women in The Arts, Performance Hall, the chamber's speaker series features Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

TUESDAY'S MOST CLICKED LINK: Jake's story on the winner takes all budget votes in the House.

CONGRESS WELCOMES GHANI: Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani seems likely to get a warm bipartisan embrace today during his address to Congress. "Ghani is untested as a leader, yet he is expected to get a warm reception from both Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill. The reason: He&#39;s not former Afghan President Hamid Karzai. The White House said Ghani&#39;s speech Wednesday to a joint meeting of Congress is an opportunity to mark a new chapter in U.S.-Afghanistan relations, which were strained by acrimony between President Barack Obama and Karzai." AP: 
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http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b298328d560f3ff78cc2966482b82d12ff337ba82ad5435484c0c1150b68ad7b 

THE BEGICH CHRONICLES: Ousted Alaska Sen. Mark Begich is joining law firm Sonosky Chambers Sachse Miller & Munson as a policy advisor on Native American Affairs, per a forthcoming announcement. "I look forward to continuing my work fighting to help Alaska Native and Lower 48 Tribes better meet the needs of their citizens ... Sonosky Chambers includes some of the finest Indian law attorneys in the Nation and it will be an honor to work alongside them on these critical issues."

CAPITOL POLICE TRIES TO TAME WILD HILL: It's a bit of a July 4 tradition in the Capitol to bring a cooler of cold ones to watch the fireworks (I prefer to watch kids shoot fireworks at each other in Columbia Heights, but that's just me). The Capitol Police have had enough, sending a letter to congressional leadership, per CNN: "The letter, obtained by CNN, cites security concerns, mounting overtime costs and an abundance of 'coolers containing liquids' as prompting the need for action. It says the changes are needed 'in light of the current heightened threat environment' and 'to reduce the potential for a breach of decorum or conduct that could prove embarrassing to the Congress.'" The
 story: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b298328d560f3ff74c493b5b9d7b52f5ae8779347f7872f42288952ad0a3133e 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b298328d560f3ff74c493b5b9d7b52f5ae8779347f7872f42288952ad0a3133e  | The letter: 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b298328d560f3ff7701a28e3ef37e3ec07c62dd655d2158260e9f077140ac829 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b298328d560f3ff7701a28e3ef37e3ec07c62dd655d2158260e9f077140ac829 

Best line in the story: ''Liquids' is a euphemism for alcohol, according to the multiple congressional sources."

STRAIGHT TALK EXPRESS, CIRCA 2016: Lindsey Graham isn't going to tell you what you want to hear on the campaign trail. "He's intending to look Republican primary voters in the eye and tell them the GOP needs to - yes - cut deals with Democrats if it wants to survive as a party. 'I'm not going to tell people things that they emotionally want to hear that I don't think are going to happen,'" Graham tells Manu Raju. '"You can't govern the country based on being angry.'" 
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http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b298328d560f3ff79b06e2f25fa5e3b3a1bb46fd73aa9ee715ed26d489faeb71 

Whatta bargain: There are still $5 tickets available to see Graham and John McCain talk about violent extremism in Denver on April 1. 
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JACKSON JR. TO LEAVE JAIL THURSDAY: Former Rep. Patrick Kennedy visited with former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. in Alabama, where the disgraced lawmaker told Kennedy he will soon leave jail to head to a D.C. halfway house. 'You can imagine my surprise when I&#39;m there, and I&#39;m talking to him, and he says, &#39;I&#39;m leaving Thursday morning,&#39;' Kennedy told AP: 
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ISSA KNOWS SAVINGS: Matt Fuller of Roll Call reports that Congress's richest man, Rep. Darrell Issa, knows where to find a 50-cent soda. Issa visited the House Press Gallery, and "as he made his way through the gallery, he made ... an observation many reporters have kept as a closely guarded Capitol Hill secret. He reported to a staffer trailing behind him that this particular gallery 'is where the lowest cost Diet Cokes are.'" 
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http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b298328d560f3ff7da95f45be901cfe9bf81db9d3df604019e32596325df0f36 

TUESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Logan Ferree was the first to answer that Reps. Mark Pocan and Jim Sensenbrenner were the two House members to receive the most votes from either party in 2014.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Logan has today's question, and it's a whirlwind: A former House majority leader later died in a mysterious plane crash while campaigning with another member of Congress. This second member of Congress had been born and raised in a small town where a third politician, an incumbent Senator, died in a plane crash during reelection just two miles away from the town&#39;s airport. Name all three politicians. The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day's Huddle. Email me at 
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GET HUDDLE emailed to your Blackberry, iPhone or other mobile device each morning. Just enter your email address where it says "Sign Up."
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**A message from the American Medical Association: The Deadline is Looming. It's time to repeal Medicare's SGR formula and put patient care first by passing H.R. 2.The current Medicare physician payment patch expires on March 31, 2015.

After 17 patches in 12 years, it is clear that the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula does not work and must be repealed.

Congressional leaders now have the opportunity to pass H.R. 2 -- a bipartisan, bicameral repeal bill -- but they must act quickly . Visit
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b298328d560f3ff76d6f7d6114bfdfd9d550c8aface24e84a0bc03b3202d1d40 
 www.fixmedicarenow.org  and tweet using the hashtag #fixmedicarenow so we can finally repeal the SGR to rid Congress of this annual embarrassment and make significant reforms in how Medicare pays physicians that focus on value and efficiency.The time is now. **

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