Subject: POLITICO Huddle: Trillion-dollar funding package, tax plan unveiled with votes expected this week
From: "POLITICO Huddle" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 2015 06:32:17 -0600

12/16/2015 07:30 AM EDT

By Lauren French (@laurennfrench & [email-masked]).

RYAN UNVEILS TRILLION DOLLAR SPENDING PLAN. Jake Sherman, John Bresnahan and your Huddle author report, "Speaker Paul Ryan unveiled a massive tax and spending package Tuesday night, arguing that the GOP didn't win every fight, but they kept many of their policy preferences in place for the next 10 months. In a closed-door meeting with fellow Republicans, Ryan (R-Wis.) touted a pause in Obamacare's "Cadillac tax," the lifting of a longstanding oil-export ban and preservation of several other policy preferences in the year-end deal, which include $1.149 trillion in spending and several hundred billion in tax breaks. The bills will get a vote later this week -- either on Thursday or Friday.
 The omnibus spending bill will likely be carried by Democrats, who consider it a major victory, while the tax bill will get many more Republican votes." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d009a6f9339fa74e446a7a86548bd81fd59e1bcc09e77361c7720498f5e6447

View the extenders package and omnibus here: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d009a6f9339fa745834ccbb3be09eef1dc7f31ff5870a8cbfdfa6d80262517c

THE WINNERS AND LOSERS OF THE OMNIBUS AND EXTENDERS DEAL. The Associated Press breaks it down: "Democrats, Republican defense hawks and businesses seeking permanent tax breaks are the big winners as lawmakers finalize the sprawling, last-train-leaving-Congress spending and tax deal." Other winners: Speaker Paul Ryan (on taxes) and Big Oil. Losers: The budget deficit, Speaker Paul Ryan (on spending) and Caesars Entertainment. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d009a6f9339fa749b2cc96768523ed0a75934fd0d12c121b0703ba3cc7d590f

CRUDE OIL BAN LIFTED. Ed Crooks and Shawn Donnan of the Financial Times have more on the crude oil ban that helped bring the whole omnibus together. "Tight restrictions on US crude oil exports, in place for 40 years, would be lifted as part of a budget deal agreed in Congress on Tuesday evening, news agencies reported. The deal presented to Republicans in a late-night meeting by House Speaker Paul Ryan would also raise spending on defence and a number of domestic programmes. It would also avoid a government shutdown that had been looming as soon as Wednesday. President Barack Obama's administration has expressed opposition to relaxing the controls on crude exports, but he is seen as likely
 to accept a broad spending bill that also includes liberalisation of oil sales." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d009a6f9339fa740cc66c6a4ecfb820798c7ad5fb77a5413bdfe6157f7d0d35

WHAT'S IN: A long-delayed cybersecurity bill. Read more about it in The Hill: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d009a6f9339fa74131c5dc7d92af12f4f0652a7d587c57de88293c978d98d62 WHAT'S OUT: The House Democrats' attempt to get a gun violence research ban lifted. Also from The Hill: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d009a6f9339fa74ea8dae6c0682e7fcba9836d474fdcf9f67b63a7413976fb7

WELCOME, it is December 16, 2015. Here's the deal, everyone was up late waiting on the omnibus and extenders package so tread lightly around the Hill today and make sure to always have coffee in hand. I'm accepting compliments and complaints at [email-masked] and @laurennfrench on Twitter. 

TODAY IN CONGRESS: The Senate will convene at 11:00 a.m. with senators being allowed to speak during morning business until 6:00 p.m. No votes are scheduled. First votes expected between 10 and 11 a.m. in the House and last votes are expected between 2 and 3 p.m.

ON THE HILL: House Republicans will conference at 9 a.m. to discuss the omnibus. Republican leaders, including Speaker Paul Ryan, will hold a media avail immediately after in HC-8. At 2 p.m. Rep. David Cicilline and Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer will introduce the Assault Weapons Ban of 2015 in HVC-114.

TWO CLINTON EMAILS WERE TOP SECRET. Josh Gerstein reports, "The intelligence community is standing by its conclusion that two emails sent to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton contained information classified "Top Secret" at the time it was sent, but is acknowledging that one of those messages can now be treated at a lower classification level, a U.S. official said Tuesday. The State Department had disputed those classifications, prompting the intelligence agencies involved to take a second look at the issue. The review resulted in one email being downgraded to the "Secret" level, based on changed circumstances since the message was sent, the official said. The other message is still
 considered "Top Secret," the official added." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d009a6f9339fa747dbc98393c6093a7dce5884e38d2deb449e732a22fd6da9b

GRAYSON BASHED OIL DEALS HE PROFITED FROM. Marc Caputo with the story, "Democratic Senate candidate Alan Grayson has bragged about cracking down on firms that profit from Iranian oil, but he quietly made as much as $1 million by investing in one of those very companies. Grayson first bought between $350,001 and $700,000 of the Sinopec stock in 2013, according to his financial disclosures, which report investments in a range of figures. The disclosures show he reaped between $5,001 and $15,000 in dividends later that year. The stock transactions came less than two months after the Orlando congressman boasted about how the House Foreign Affairs Committee, on May 22, 2013, adopted the language
 of eight of his amendments to strengthen the Nuclear Iran Prevention Act of 2013. Some of those amendments targeted financial firms; others zeroed in on oil companies." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d009a6f9339fa740a9c6eeb9392434f9cad5f11cd5dfb3d78512fc7a453e3ee

MCSALLY ON WOMEN IN COMBAT: "GET OVER IT." Republican Rep. Martha McSally has some tough words for presidential candidate Rick Santorum after last night's debate when he suggested women shouldn't be on the front lines of combat. "The debate is over. Women have been serving in combat since Revolutionary War," the retired United States Air Force Colonel tweeted. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d009a6f9339fa746f5c34e51d7173326bcb399954297c5c36ebaa23bf76cc72

OBAMACARE DEADLINE EXTENDED. Rachana Pradhan reports, "The Obama administration announced Tuesday night it is extending a crucial deadline for securing health insurance coverage for 2016, citing "unprecedented" demand on HealthCare.gov, the federal enrollment website. The agency overseeing the Obamacare health insurance marketplaces said it has required about 1 million customers to delay enrollment and come back to HealthCare.gov as it tries to manage the wave of customers ahead of the deadline to sign up for coverage starting Jan. 1. Federal officials said the previous few days have been the busiest ever at the Obamacare website, with hundreds of thousands selecting health plans. But it's
 too early to say if the sign-up surge indicates that the administration will meet its modest enrollment goals for 2016." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d009a6f9339fa74acf03de066e4a84e30f473bc45a6059071aa602689400b29

CARTER GOES TO IRAQ TO DISCUSS ISIS DEFEAT. Michael Gordon for the New York Times, "Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter arrived here on Wednesday to confer with Iraq's top leadership on steps to speed the American-led campaign against the Islamic State, including the Pentagon's offer to support Iraqi forces with Apache helicopters. Mr. Carter had planned to meet with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Khaled al-Obeidi, Iraq's defense minister. But because of weather conditions, it was unclear which Iraqi officials he would actually meet with and which ones he might speak with by phone. For security reasons, Mr. Carter's visit was not announced in advance." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d009a6f9339fa74ee1c7f6de28256becdd5d386c1fc15b40518ffc6b61e82e2

DEMOCRATS PREPARE FOR INTEREST RATE HIKE. Jon Prior and Ben White report, "The Federal Reserve's expected interest-rate hike Wednesday has been well-telegraphed to minimize economic volatility. The soft landing may also have another upshot: minimal political turbulence. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, tapped last year by President Barack Obama to lead the Fed and strongly supported by the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, is expected to promise a very slow and cautious approach even as the central bank increases borrowing costs for the first time in almost a decade... Senior Democrats say the economy has come a long way from the depths of the crisis in 2009 and should be able to
 weather slightly higher rates. The U.S. economy added 211,000 jobs in November. Home prices have recovered more than 35 percent since the 2012 lows hit after the bust." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=2d009a6f9339fa74436a6afd5c49f7a02b92329762f120c7de9a8ac11d51423e

TRANSITIONS. The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition has tapped Jason Gross, the longtime chief of staff for Rep. Joe Courtney of Connecticut, to be its executive director. Gross is an alumnus of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Rep. Sam Gejdenson of Connecticut. 

TUESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER: Wilson Golden was the first to answer that Calvin Coolidge was the first president to preside over the official lighting of the National Christmas Tree.

TODAY'S TRIVIA: Wilson has today's question: What 19th century cabinet member served successive Democratic and Republican administrations in two different departments? And what were the departments and administrations? The first one to email the correct answers to [email-masked] gets a mention in tomorrow's Huddle.

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