Two open spending questions: How much and how long?

Presented by Electronic Payments Coalition: An evening recap of the action on Capitol Hill and preview of the day ahead

Jan 11, 2024 View in browser   By Anthony Adragna and Burgess Everett Presented by With assists from POLITICO’s Congress team Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), the Freedom Caucus chairman, is among those pushing Speaker Mike Johnson to renegotiate a spending deal with Democrats. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP ANOTHER DAY, SAME APPROPS MESS Even by congressional standards, things on the government funding front are a complete mess. With the first partial shutdown deadline just eight days away, here's what's up in the air: Whether funding levels agreed to by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Speaker Mike Johnson last weekend are final final. Namely, conservatives want a new deal while pretty much everyone else says that's crazy. Whether they'll need a short-term funding patch — and if they do, how long it should last. Meeting with members of the House Freedom Caucus earlier today, Johnson faced a conservative rebellion over the funding deal reached last weekend. While the hard-liners pushed for more concessions, Johnson said he made no commitments, and House appropriators quickly panned the idea of reneging. “If you break that word, you can never negotiate anything again,” said Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart (R-Fla.). “Those are the numbers we need to live by,” added Rep. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio). Schumer later Thursday then took the first procedural step toward considering an eventual continuing resolution — exact length TBD — and indicating Senate movement next week. Hoping for another bite: Conservatives aren’t ready to give up on additional cuts. “What I'd like [Johnson] to do and what all the conservatives would is, do the best deal you can do. I know he's working on it,” said Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who speaks often with the House Freedom Caucus. It all portends a protracted fight ahead to finalize the spending measures, heightening the need for a short-term spending patch — possibly into March, as floated by Minority Whip John Thune earlier this week. But that's not settled, either. Senate Appropriations Vice Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) said there is talk of maintaining the “laddered” structure favored by the House on any new stopgap — an idea, she said, she’s “come around to accepting.” “Maybe we can at least get some of the bills across the president's desk,” Collins added. “That would be progress.” Meanwhile, Rep. Ben Cline (R-Va.), a House appropriator and Freedom Caucus member, held out hope for both reopening the funding levels discussion and avoiding another patch: “Nobody wants to shut down the government, but at the same time, we can move quickly.” Timing concerns: There’s a practical issue at play: The two chambers are only scheduled to overlap for one week next month following the Feb. 2 deadline for the rest of the spending bills. Absent a change to the usually-sacrosanct congressional schedule, the House and Senate are then only slated to be in Washington at the same time the week of March 4. That points to the need for a CR at least into March. “Let's say you actually had really good negotiations and they lasted a week, and you got everything done, then that's gonna take about three weeks to get the bills through,” said Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), a senior appropriator. Others aren’t willing to talk about a new deadline just yet, even as they concede its necessity. “I know it takes time to get things done,” said House Appropriations ranking member Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.). — Anthony Adragna and Burgess Everett, with help from Caitlin Emma, Katherine Tully-McManus and Nicholas Wu GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Inside Congress, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Thursday, Jan. 11, where we’re always here for “good meetings,” “walking and chewing gum at the same time” and other Capitol Hill-isms.   A message from Electronic Payments Coalition: CREDIT UNIONS & COMMUNITY BANKS IN All 50 STATES OPPOSE THE DURBIN-MARSHALL CREDIT CARD BILL: Local credit unions and community banks serve an essential role in supporting Main Street. So, when 9,600+ credit unions and community banks throughout the country oppose the Durbin-Marshall credit card bill, Congress should pay attention. Durbin-Marshall lines the pockets of corporate mega-stores by shifting costs and risks to credit unions, community banks, and their 135 million customers. Click here to learn more.   NEWEST POLITICAL THREAT A wave of so-called “swatting” incidents over the holidays — in which false calls are placed to 911 triggering a large or significant police response — has left lawmakers wondering if Congress needs to do more to keep lawmakers safe. “What these people want to do is, they want somebody to get shot — whether it's law enforcement or you,” said Scott, who was the victim of one holiday season incident. “We need to change the law to make sure that it's easy to prosecute these people.” Scott said he “unfortunately” pays for private security, something he acknowledged not all members could do. House Administration Committee Chair Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) told POLITICO the rise in incidents is “incredibly concerning” and that Congress needs to make “sure members are taking security precautions, making sure that we have the resources — which we do for the House Sergeant at Arms, Capitol Police — to make sure that members are able to protect themselves to be safe.” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), another recent swatting victim, told POLITICO: “I've personally been swatted eight times, but then they targeted my family over Christmas, elevating the issue. … We need to be able to track these people down. The FBI needs to be able to track them down. Law enforcement needs to be able to track them down because it's extremely dangerous.” She said she’s working with Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise on legislation to expand resources available to law enforcement in tracking down swatters. It’s a bipartisan problem. Democratic officials around the country, including Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, have also been targeted by recent hoax calls, as have judges and prosecutors in former President Donald Trump’s criminal cases. “We're just seeing more and more security challenges for public servants across the board — whether that's local elected officials or U.S. senators,” said Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.). “It’s not only dangerous for public servants, it’s also dangerous for cops and firefighters who respond to those incidents.” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who had protestors show up at his home following the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and his challenges to President Joe Biden’s victory, said: “Rhetoric has consequences here and what you need to tell people is: ‘Listen, you want to protest? Go for it. You want to disagree with public officials? Sure. But let's not terrorize their families.’ That's outrageous for anybody to do — I don't care, either side.” — Anthony Adragna   A message from Electronic Payments Coalition:   SENATE HAS TAIWAN’S BACK Before breaking for the week, the Senate passed a resolution led by Sens. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) by unanimous consent praising Taiwan’s democratic institutions and calling the island a “great strategic strength for the free world” ahead of elections this weekend. The resolution goes on to state the U.S. “remains concerned about interference in Taiwan’s 2024 elections by the Chinese Communist Party” and that nothing in the resolution “shall be construed as an authorization for the use of military force.” — Anthony Adragna HUDDLE HOTDISH Scott Peters took to the House floor with a “This S#*!’s Gotta Stop” poster. Mike Johnson met with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. C-SPAN gave Tim Burchett an (early?) promotion. Laurie-Anne Sayles, running for Congress is Maryland, got a reminder on what causes earthquakes. Do you believe in bad omens?   GROWING IN THE GOLDEN STATE: POLITICO California is growing, reinforcing our role as the indispensable insider source for reporting on politics, policy and power. From the corridors of power in Sacramento and Los Angeles to the players and innovation hubs in Silicon Valley, we're your go-to for navigating the political landscape across the state. Exclusive scoops, essential daily newsletters, unmatched policy reporting and insights — POLITICO California is your key to unlocking Golden State politics. LEARN MORE.     QUICK LINKS  Too radical? Too moderate? With Warnock, it depends on whom you ask, from Tia Mitchell at The Atlanta Journal Constitution Watchdog finds Senate yoga spending was a stretch, from Chris Marquette at Roll Call Spanberger reports hot start with $3.6 million in bank for governor's race, from Michael Martz at the Richmond Times-Dispatch More money is helping the IRS. Republicans still want to cut its budget, from Jacob Bogage at The Washington Post   A message from Electronic Payments Coalition: CREDIT UNIONS & COMMUNITY BANKS IN All 50 STATES OPPOSE THE DURBIN-MARSHALL CREDIT CARD BILL: The Durbin-Marshall credit card bill would create new government mandates on credit cards that would put consumer data and access to credit at risk. The bill would benefit corporate mega-stores, like Walmart and Target, at the expense of Main Street and the 135 million Americans who rely on credit unions and community banks. The threat of Durbin-Marshall to small financial institutions is so clear that 9,600+ credit unions and community banks in America are opposed to the bill. They also see through the so-called “carve out” for smaller banks which is a hoax to try and buy their support. Their message to Congress is simple: on behalf of credit unions and community banks in all 50 states, commit to actively opposing the Durbin-Marshall credit card bill. Click here to learn more.   TRANSITIONS  Jeremy Slevin, previously senior adviser to Rep. Ihan Omar (D-Minn.), is joining Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) office as a senior adviser. Shivani Pampati is now director of tax and policy for Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and the Senate Small Business Committee. She was previously the tax and policy adviser for Cardin and the committee.   POLITICO AT CES® 2024: We are going ALL On at CES 2024 with a special edition of the POLITICO Digital Future Daily newsletter. The CES-focused newsletter will take you inside the most powerful tech event in the world, featuring revolutionary products that cut across verticals, and insights from industry leaders that are shaping the future of innovation. The newsletter runs from Jan. 9-12 and will focus on the public policy-related aspects of the gathering. Sign up today to receive exclusive coverage of the show.     TOMORROW IN CONGRESS The House convenes at 9 a.m. for legislative business. The Senate is out. AROUND THE HILL *crickets* TRIVIA TUESDAY’S WINNER: Matthew J. Tobar was the first to name the senators who met while recovering in the same hospital after sustaining injuries during World War II. There were three, not two: Dan Inouye, Philip Hart, and Bob Dole. TODAY’S QUESTION: Which future senator worked for a day as a “pooper scooper,” a bellhop and Santa Claus? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Inside Congress. Send your answers to aadragna@politico.com. 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