Subject: POLITICO Huddle: OBAMA’S ANTI-ISIL STRATEGY – Republicans slam speech – SPENDING TALKS STALL – Dems revolt over Reid’s tax deal – CRUZ’S AG VOTE SWITCHEROO – Dems have change of heart on refugees
From: "POLITICO Huddle" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 07 Dec 2015 06:57:52 -0600

12/07/2015 07:56 AM EDT

By Seung Min Kim ([email-masked] or @seungminkim) 

HILL OUTLOOK FOR OBAMA'S ANTI-ISIL AGENDA: DIM - In an unusual Oval Office address last night - just the third of his presidency - Obama outlined four demands for Congress on his plans to battle the Islamic State. Of those four, only one has a chance of actually passing, reports Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "Each of the four proposals - to bar people on no-fly lists from buying guns, to restrict the availability of military-style 'assault' rifles, to tighten the practice of waiving visas for millions of visitors to the United States and to formally authorize the use of military force against the Islamic State - vary in political and practical complexity, but only the proposed reform
 of the visa-waiver program is likely to become law in the near term." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3377e587e595ceeed4d3d28602f6c3d86b406dce88344157e1cf94855c625a98

--The House is scheduled to vote on fixes to the visa waiver program, proposed by Rep. Candice Miller (R-Mich.), on Tuesday. The language could wind up in the spending bill due at the end of this week. 

--Still, Obama's speech didn't do anything to win congressional Republicans over. Take this statement from Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.): "The enemy is adapting, and we must too. That's why what we heard tonight was so disappointing: no new plan, just a half-hearted attempt to defend and distract from a failing policy ... Until we hear from the president what more can be done -with our military, our intelligence-gathering, and our international partners - we will remain one step behind our enemy. This is not just the next president's problem. It is our problem, and we must confront it today."

--First Republican reax to land in Huddle's inbox: Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) at 8:20 p.m. The speech wrapped at 8:14 p.m.

--Meanwhile, Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) chastises Obama's Islamic State strategy while standing in front of the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, the site of last week's horrific massacre: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3377e587e595ceee34b2799bf2f2bddeca4036b758e71cccfe2bb6dab8424625

WHAT WAS MISSING? -- @joshrogin: A 'senior administration official' told reporters Obama would talk about encryption and fighting ISIS on social media. Obama didn't.

--Text of Obama's speech, from the AP: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3377e587e595ceeedd20e23f4ffc1c89504beed1af324604e825b95aba097b9e

--If at first you don't succeed, try again. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) says at a Sunday presser that he'll push for another vote on banning those on a federal terrorist watch list from purchasing guns - one of Obama's proposals, which failed in a Senate test vote last week. From the New York Daily News: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3377e587e595ceeece26abd058d84456b8952ccda03ea129e5eba1c38cc50b5a

PANIC TIME FOR THE OMNIBUS? We're not quite there yet, but getting close. The deadline to pass a sweeping spending bill for the federal government is Dec. 11 and though leaders wanted to unveil text today (and to be sure, could still happen), it's becoming more likely that lawmakers will have to pass a stopgap bill to ensure the government doesn't shut down. Lauren French and John Bresnahan take it away: "Senior aides in both parties say Republican leaders offered their Democratic counterparts a new funding proposal last Friday, but the latest offer produced no breakthrough and both sides continued negotiations through the weekend while making little headway. The two sides are hashing out
 policy riders covering Syrian refugees, environmental policy and oil exports, among other issues." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3377e587e595ceee9866590e90ca397d160c919ac72ec1d69b40f32ac2706a44

--You want to read more about the oil exports drama in the year-end fight, you say? POLITICO's Elana Schor has you covered: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3377e587e595ceee33e408ac0e467a812c9a89235e82889c9ea7c8d0e4a55222

QOTD, from the Wall Street Journal's Kristina Peterson: Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) explains why the House Freedom Caucus is going easy on Paul Ryan during the spending fight: "A lot of this is tied to the budget deal. That's John [Boehner] reaching his cold, dead hand from the grave." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3377e587e595ceeed91352b5a139d05bfbe2f987213cab58799f26bbf0c69c82

KEEP YOUR SCHEDS OPEN -- House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) sent out this warning in their weekly lookahead for this week: "Last votes of the week are still TBD but Members are encouraged to keep their schedules flexible as we approach the end of the year." It was bolded, underlined, italicized *and* asterisked. 

--Per McCarthy's notice, there's possible consideration of: The customs bill, tax extenders, spending bill and Obamacare repeal (the version passed by the Senate last week has to go back to the House).

DEMS REVOLT OVER REID TAX DEAL - Alex Bolton for The Hill: "Rank-and-file Senate Democrats are threatening to sink an effort by the White House and Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to extend a centerpiece of President Obama's 2009 stimulus package. Reid and the White House want to permanent extend three tax credits at the core of the stimulus bill: the child tax credit, the earned income tax credit and the American Opportunity Tax Credit for college expenses. To win over GOP support, Reid is offering to make permanent two major business tax breaks backed by the GOP, the research and development tax credit and the Section 179 expensing credit for small business."

--"Instead, it's dissent within Reid's own caucus that threatens to derail the talks. "I'm going to have trouble supporting any extenders package," said Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.). "I think it's too big and there are way too many goodies being given out to special interests ... McCaskill's complaint hints at a big problem for Reid. The cost of the tax package is getting pricey." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3377e587e595ceeeb529f6088252bdfec7f3321d907d2d8bd328ecd04ef40ebd

WELCOME TO THE MAD DASH of what is hopefully Congress's final week of the year. It's Dec. 7, 2015 and you're reading the Huddle. Please send bets on whether we'll be here after Dec. 11, as well as any paper with omnibus details, to [email-masked]. I'm also always on Twitter at @seungminkim.

My new followers include @krstnmccrthy and @MaxAbrahms.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House is in at noon. No votes are expected. The Senate is in at 2 p.m. and will vote at 5:30 p.m. on a judicial confirmation.

AROUND THE HILL - Quiet before the (legislative) storm.

CRUZ'S AG VOTE SWITCHAROO - Burgess Everett for POLITICO: "With the Iowa caucuses less than two months away, Ted Cruz seemed to have an epiphany Thursday night on one of the state's - and agricultural lobby's - biggest issues in Congress. The GOP senator from Texas initially voted with fiscal hard-liners to retain $3 billion in crop insurance cuts that were made as part of a budget deal approved in October. After a visit to the Senate cloakroom, Cruz returned and flipped his vote to side with farming interests, which ultimately prevailed ... The issue put the Republican presidential hopefuls in an especially tough spot, testing their stated commitment to fiscal conservatism against the
 real-life demands of a critical first-in-the-nation voting state." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3377e587e595ceee2526dfe27f2f934d269b982baecd0f9a3ea3cb2940846d82

SCHOCK UPDATE: TUSSLE OVER RECORDS - Bres has the scoop for POLITICO: "James A. Lewis, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois, said that his office has met twice with attorneys from the House General Counsel's office but has not been able to reach a compromise over thousands of electronic records Lewis says he needs to review for his investigation. The House General Counsel's office, however, has countered that Lewis' requests are far too broad and could potentially violate [former Rep. Aaron] Schock's legal protections. House attorneys have turned over some records Lewis is seeking, but want him to narrow his search." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3377e587e595ceee931e5ada4a374c0fe1ba08a68c6a39e619a8a6d3fd1319eb

WHY WARREN WON'T ENDORSE JUST YET - Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) was the suspicious exception at a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton last week with 13 of the 14 female Senate Democrats. It's not because she #FeelsTheBern, but she just isn't ready to back a candidate yet, Warren tells the Boston Herald: "Asked when she thinks she might make an endorsement of any candidate, Warren was noncommittal: 'I don't know.' But she rejected the idea that Sanders is losing popularity, as Clinton holds on to a large lead in the national polls." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3377e587e595ceee1ccad8274a42e7d493881f3004c8e150fa8af70078812313

DEMS' CHANGE OF HEART ON REFUGEES - Karoun Demirjian reports that of the 47 House Democrats who backed legislation toughening up vetting requirements for refugees from Iraq and Syria, 30 have signed letters urging congressional leaders not to include that language in the year-end spending bill and calling for more State, HHS and DHS funding to aid in the refugee process: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3377e587e595ceeecf24520b63cc0d310099b2ab9e98ce36df886740ceae659b

HATS OFF - And a hearty congrats to Senate Periodical Press Gallery Director Ed Pesce, who is retiring from Capitol Hill after 25 years. We laughed at this little nugget from Pesce in this Emma Dumain story: "Back in the day I used to hear shouting matches in the hallway on certain issues. That happens more in phone calls and emails nowadays. That was always one thing I enjoyed." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3377e587e595ceeeea72217ce7604b6cad86d56e5376ba4bc4637318050510da

FRIDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Max Virkus was the first person to correctly answer that the former Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) was the senator who argued federal funds spent for subways was a form of pork barrel spending.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Max has today's question: Dec. 5 is the anniversary of the 21st Amendment's 1933 ratification. However, low alcohol beer and wine had been legalized earlier in the year, with this act signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. What is the name of this act? The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day's Huddle. E-mail [email-masked]. 

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