Subject: POLITICO Huddle, Presented by Discovery Communications: SENATE COMES TOGETHER ON IRAN, SGR -- But what about trafficking? -- Melgen indicted -- BOEHNER’S BUDGET LOYALISTS
From: "POLITICO Huddle" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 15 Apr 2015 06:05:02 -0600

By Burgess Everett (@burgessev or 
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Featuring Lauren French

BREAKTHROUGH ON IRAN: Sifting through my inbox laden with press releases this morning, you might have thought that everyone in Congress was always a huge fan of the Iran congressional review bill passed by Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker and ranking member Ben Cardin on Tuesday. It passed unanimously in committee and you have to look really hard to find any critical statements about the bill at this point. As you know, dear reader, it wasn't always this way: This legislation has been a controversial flashpoint in the Senate for weeks, ever since Corker and a bipartisan group of senators introduced it straight into a veto threat in February. But something happened over the past
 week that might seem unfamiliar to many Hill denizens: Urgent bipartisan deal-making

How Cardin and Corker got it done: The pivot point was right after Sen. Robert Menendez was indicted, elevating Cardin to the ranking member position. The low-key, conciliatory Marylander was immediately designated by Democratic Leader Harry Reid as the Democrats' point man. "Every team has one quarterback," Reid told Cardin, according to sources familiar with the call. "And you're it." From there it as constant phone communication between Cardin and Corker, talks with Sen. Chris Coons while he was in Africa and attempts to hold offconservative members like Marco Rubio from offering his Israel amendment that could kill the bill. By Monday night Corker and Cardin had it, and on Tuesday
 afternoon it passed committee by a whopping 19-0 margin. Let Manu Raju and I take you behind the scenes: 
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LATE NIGHT PRODUCTIVITY: Oh, but the Senate wasn't done with it's bipartisanship. No, they chamber stayed in late on Tuesday night to get another key bit of business of its plate: Finally fixing a flawed Medicare payments system. At 9:33 p.m. the Sustainable Growth Rate was done away with, 92-8, giving Congress one last cliff to confront every year. Resident SGR expert Jen Haberkorn: "It got through the Senate just hours before providers would have seen a 21 percent cut in payments. The legislation repeals the old Medicare payment formula, called the Sustainable Growth Rate, and replaces it with a new one. It also funds the Children's Health Insurance Program and community health centers
 for two more years. It will be paid for by having high-income seniors cover more of their Medicare costs and by requiring basic co-payments in Medigap plans." 
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Presidential contender round-up -- Supporting: Rand Paul, Lindsey Graham. Opposing: Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz.

Best statement on passage of SGR reform: "Stick a fork in it, it's finally done." -- Rep. Fred Upton.

LOOKING AHEAD: In addition to the bicameral budget conference, the next piece of business that the Senate is aiming to take care of is finally passing a human trafficking bill that's tied to a confirmation vote on attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch. Sen. John Cornyn has introduced an amendment that would replace the Hyde amendment language in the current bill with the same language include in the SGR legislation. That's probably not going to do it for Democrats, but maybe they can work something out at the bipartisan Senate lunch today?

MENENDEZ FRIEND INDICTED: "Florida doctor Salomon Melgen, who has been charged with corruption along with New Jersey Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, was indicted on Tuesday on Medicare fraud charges, the U.S. Attorney&#39;s office in Miami said. Melgen, 61, an ophthalmologist in North Palm Beach, was charged with 46 counts of healthcare fraud, as well as 19 counts of fraudulent claims, and 11 counts of making false statements relating to health care, prosecutors said in a statement." Reuters: 
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AMERICAN BRIDGE SLAMS GOP CHAIRS FOR KOCH CONNECTIONS. The liberal Bridge Project, the policy arm for pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC American Bridge, is out this morning detailing fundraising connections between Republican committee chairmen and Koch Industries. Huddle had the first look at the 109-page report, which also dives into past statements and beliefs held by each chairman in the Republican conference. "Despite some platitudes promising bipartisan language when taking control of both the House and Senate, it's clear that the Republicans will continue to offer Koch-funded, Tea Party extremism and partisan investigations," the group wrote in the report - dubbed "Gavels for Sale."

Naming names: The group found that senators like Jim Inhofe, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, received $101,150 from Koch Industries since he was first elected in 1994, making Koch Industries a top contributor to the Oklahoma Republican. Also on Bridge's list? Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan who American Bridge slams for attempting to lower taxes on top earners and voting against the Lily Ledbetter Act. The report notes that Koch Industries has donated $90,900 to Ryan since he was first elected in 1998 - his third highest contributor. The report:
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Don't ever tell someone "Happy Hump Day" on a Wednesday. Just don't. Welcome to the Huddle, your play-by-play guide to everything Capitol Hill, where I'm looking for the imminent return of searing partisanship. Please send tips to 
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TODAY IN CONGRESS - The Senate is in at 9:30 a.m. and will vote on going to a budget conference at 11:45 a.m. with votes on instructing conferees likely later in the day. The chamber will recess for a bipartisan lunch at 12:30 p.m. and will observe a moment of silence for the Boston bombings at 2:49 p.m. The House will meet at 10 a.m. and is expected to vote on a number of tax bills starting around 4:30 p.m.

AROUND THE HILL - At 9:45 a.m. Rep. Marcia Fudge will talk about Loretta Lynch at the House triangle. At 10:45 a.m. Reps. Wilson, Lee and Maloney will speak about the Boko Haram kidnappings on the House triangle. At 11 a.m. in upper Senate Park Democrats and union leaders will rally against fast-track authority. At 3 p.m. House and Senate leaders hold a Gold Medal Ceremony honoring the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders.

TUESDAY'S MOST CLICKED: Elahe Izadi's round-up of how President Lincoln's assassination was covered.

THE WEATHER IS BETTER TODAY: So why not wake up with this photo of Sen. Jeff Sessions strolling through the cherry blossoms? 
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BOEHNER ON TAX DAY: The speaker says that he thinks most Americans should be able to do their taxes "by themselves on two sheets of paper." Come for the speaker's thoughts on tax day, but stay to see him in a sweet red sweater throwback photo. 
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ANOTHER DEADLINE TO WORRY ABOUT: The Export-Import Bank's charter will expire on June 30 without congressional action, so now comes the phase where Ex-Im begs for its life from a Republican Congress filled with conservatives who view the organization as a symbol for everything that is wrong with Washington. Today, Ex-Im President Fred Hochberg will take the hot seat at the House Financial Services Committee, and Kevin Cirilli of the Hill has his testimony early: 'To ... thousands of other Main Street America small businesses, Ex-Im provides peace of mind so that entrepreneurs can focus on beating out foreign competition with high quality, innovative products rather than worrying about
 whether lack of financing will keep them out of the game." 
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Thanks for the oversight! Americans for Prosperity has sent a thank you note to Reps.Jeb Hensarling, Jason Chaffetz, Bill Huizenga and Jim Jordan for their critical oversight of Ex-Im. And they subtly note: "The Ex-Im Bank picks winners and losers in the economy and exposes American taxpayers to unacceptable risk by funneling billions in lucrative, taxpayer-backed assistance to politically connected big businesses and foreign corporations."
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OBAMA MAKES IT OFFICIAL ON CUBA: In a letter to Congress, President Obama informed lawmakers that he's removing Cuba from a list of state sponsors of terrorism, attaching this report explaining why: "(i) the Government of Cuba has not provided any support for international terrorism during the preceding 6-month period; and (ii) the Government of Cuba has provided assurances that it will not support acts of international terrorism in the future." Reaction from the decision fell largely along the same lines as when Obama announced a normalization of relations, with Sen. Jeff Flake tweeting this literally while he was in the committee vote on Iran: "WH and State Dept agree it&#39;s time to
 remove Cuba from Terrorism list. Good move. The list should mean something. It means more now."

SENATE MAP HOT ZONES -- Arizona: People on the right love to talk trash about Sen. John McCain, but he's up for reelection next year and no serious primary challenge has emerged. He still thinks there will be one, of course, but his situation is emblematic of the struggle of the conservative movement to take on sitting senators, Manu Raju and Kyle Cheney report. "Tea party groups are having a hard time ousting GOP senators in key primaries across the country. Coming off an unsuccessful 2014 midterm season - after taking out Republican senators in 2010 and 2012 elections - the activist right has yet to field formidable candidates in any of the 22 states where Republican senators are
 currently running for reelection." 
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West Virginia: Sen. Joe Manchin is looking seriously enough about running for governor that he's commissioning polls that show an easy walk for him back to the governor's mansion. Guess who had it first? Manu, who never sleeps, I guess. 
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HOUSE CHOOSES BUDGET LOYALISTS: The budget conference is about to get real, real serious, so House Speaker John Boehner isn't taking any chances with his team, Rachael Bade reports: "Boehner on Tuesday named five members to a budget conference committee that will hash out a final deal with Senate Republicans: House Budget Chairman Tom Price (Ga.) and panel members Todd Rokita (Ind.), Mario Diaz-Balart (Fla.), Rep. Diane Black (Tenn.) and Rep. John Moolenaar (Mich.). By selecting members who are loyal to leadership, Boehner will keep close watch over the high-stakes budget conference negotiations, which are a top priority for GOP leaders eager to show they can govern." 
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And rules loyalists: Roll Call's Emma Dumain reports that dissidents Rich Nugent and Dan Webster have been replaced on the House Rules Committee by Bradley Byrne of Alabama and Dan Newhouse of Washington. 
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UNIMPRESSED: Former Sen. Mark Begich is not impressed with Marco Rubio's presidential logo, in which the "i" in his last name is dotted with a map of the United States. Well, some of it. Begich emails Manu: 'Based on his logo, looks like Marco Rubio wants to be the first person to run for President of only 48 states.'

SEO problems: If you search for "Rubio logo," Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill shows up well before Rubio's presidential campaign logo. 
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SCORING 2016: Heritage Action is going beyond just irking congressional Republicans with their strict rating system. James Hohmann reports the conservative lobby is rating the 2016 candidates too. 
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TRANSITIONS: Moira Bagley Smith is joining Rep. Ann Wagner's office as the communications director. Smith was most recently with House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and before that Sen. Rand Paul.

TUESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Claude Marx was the first to answer that William Howard Taft converted the White House stable to a garage.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Claude has today's question: The Yankees have done better while Democrats were in the White House. Who was the last Republican in the White House when the Yankees won it all? The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day's Huddle. Email me at 
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