The Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by Facebook – Budget negotiators: 72 hours and counting

                        Presented by Facebook

 

 

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Total U.S. coronavirus deaths each morning this week: Monday, 735,941; Tuesday, 737,321. 

Congressional Democrats returned to work on Monday in search of a deal on President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda, with all eyes on Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and other centrists as the party races to turn months of negotiations into compromise.

 

Manchin, fresh from a weekend meeting with Biden in Wilmington, Del., struck an optimistic note, telling reporters in the Capitol that a framework deal on the White House’s top priority “should be” in reach by the end of the week (The Hill). An accord among Democrats hinges on a range of sticking points, including climate provisions and progressives’ efforts to expand Medicare and to close the Medicaid coverage gap.

 

“I’m concerned about an awful lot of things,” Manchin said.

 

According to The New York Times, the coal state senator wants to remove more climate change provisions, including a proposed fee on emissions of methane gas, a pollutant that leaks from oil and gas wells. If he succeeds, it would be the second major climate provision Manchin blocked. He also nixed a proposal that would hasten replacement of coal and gas power plants with cleaner wind and solar energy.

 

Manchin also shut down one of Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) top priorities: expanded Medicare benefits, which Manchin warned could undermine the solvency of the mammoth health program for seniors. 

 

“My big concern right now is the 2026 deadline [for] Medicare insolvency and if no one’s concerned about that, I’ve got people — that’s a lifeline. Medicare and Social Security is a lifeline for people back in West Virginia, most people around the country,” Manchin said. “You’ve got to stabilize that first before you look at basically expansion. So if we’re not being fiscally responsible, that’s a concern” (The Hill).

 

During an invitation-only gathering of journalists and business leaders later on Monday hosted by The Hill’s Steve Clemons at Cafe Milano, Manchin declined to discuss the ongoing negotiations on the record, but defended the federal government as “a partner, not a provider,” a perspective he says is distinct from some Democratic colleagues. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, was also at the event. Manchin, gazing around the room, said President Biden calls him “Joe-Joe.” To laughter he added, “Do I look like a Joe-Joe?” 

 

Politico: Manchin gets closer to “yes” on Dems’ $1 trillion-plus social spending plan.

 

The New York Times: Biden and Democrats push for budget deal this week as rifts remain.

 

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has said “three or four” issues remain unresolved. “First we have to get agreement on those and then move forward from there,” he told reporters.

 

“Any negotiation with 50 senators is going to have a lot of different points of view,” added Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) (The Hill). “But I think we’re all trying to head in the same direction and we know the most important part of that is we need to deliver.”

 

The Hill: Five sticking points holding back the Democrats’ budget package.

 

The Washington Post: Democrats haggle over Medicare, other spending priorities as Biden enters critical week.

 

The Wall Street Journal: Democrats negotiate tax, health care provisions as Biden seeks deal this week.

 

Jonathan Allen: What drives Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.)? A different view of politics.

 

Democrats have roughly 72 hours left this week before Biden departs for Rome on Thursday. He wants to nail down some success on his domestic agenda before meetings in Italy and next week in Glasgow, Scotland, during a global climate change summit. 

 

Questions surrounding a final bill continue to center around the final price tag of the package. Manchin on Monday reiterated he wants it to be in the neighborhood of $1.5 trillion. Democratic leaders continue to press for a $2 trillion social spending proposal, having trimmed it down already from $3.5 trillion. 

 

Alexander Bolton, The Hill: Sanders faces difficult choice on slimmed-down budget bill.

 

The Hill: Billionaire tax gains momentum. 

 

The Associated Press: What’s a “wealth tax,” and how would it work?

 

The Washington Post: Democrats quietly scramble to include immigration provision in social spending bill.

 

 

 

 

More Congress: Some GOP lawmakers implicated in discussions with planners of the Jan. 6 “Stop the Steal” rally maintained their innocence on Monday, denying they were involved in coordination or organization. Reps. Louis Gohmert (Texas), Lauren Boebert (Colo.) and Mo Brooks (Ala.) released statements that they did not participate in the planning of the event that left five people dead at the Capitol. The comments were in response to a Rolling Stone article Sunday in which organizers of the protest said they held “dozens” of meetings with GOP members, including some who are sympathetic to rioters arrested as a result of the Jan. 6 events. … As The Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch reports, House Democrats re-upped their calls to expel any member implicated in the riot. 

A MESSAGE FROM FACEBOOK

Why Facebook supports updated internet regulations

 

Jack is one of 40,000 people working on safety and security issues at Facebook.

 

Hear more from Jack on why Facebook supports updating regulations on the internet’s most pressing challenges, including reforming Section 230 to set clear guidelines for all large tech companies.

LEADING THE DAY

CORONAVIRUS: Today, a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel could pave the way for children as young as 5 to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. Extending federal approval for vaccine eligibility among children younger than 12 has been seen in vaccination programs abroad and sought in the United States by public health officials and many families. The expert panel will specifically weigh authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, after which the government will make its recommendation, likely within days (The Hill).

 

 

 

 

Moderna says its COVID-19 vaccine is effective and safe in young children. Pfizer has shared data demonstrating that a smaller dosage of its vaccine in young children is effective in preventing COVID-19, reducing the risk of severe illness and limiting transmission to others (Reuters).  

 

> Booster vaccine doses are not needed by everyone who is now deemed eligible to get them, according to some physicians and medical experts, who say the vast majority of Americans are already well protected against severe illness and don’t require another jab at this time (The New York Times).

 

> Travelers from abroad who are unvaccinated will be admitted to the United States under limited circumstances, according to revised federal international travel rules released on Monday. Individuals younger than 18 traveling from overseas, for example, beginning on Nov. 8 will need proof of a negative COVID-19 test before boarding a flight to this country but will not need proof of vaccination, the White House said (The Hill). 

 

> Seventy percent of South Korea’s adult population has been inoculated against the coronavirus, encouraging the government to unveil looser restrictions to take effect next month (The New York Times). … In the United States, if COVID-19 infection rates drop, should officials lift indoor mask mandates? In Montgomery County, Md., outside Washington, D.C., the answer is about to be “yes” (The Washington Post).

 

> Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla says his company will double its projected output of COVID-19 vaccine doses for 2022 to 4 billion in response to unequal distribution of vaccines among rich and poor countries (Yahoo Finance). “We changed, dramatically, our strategy,” Bourla told Yahoo. “We had invested to produce 1.3 billion doses for 2021. When we realized the situation, we put way more investments into the system and we were able to raise the volumes to 3 billion for this year, and 4 billion for next year.”

 

> The Hill’s Nathaniel Weixel profiles Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, who believes the pandemic has improved health literacy by introducing the public to scientists, doctors and clinicians, and researchers. The downside is that some who had been little known but moved to center stage because of the pandemic, including front-line responders, found themselves targets of unanticipated threats and harassment, Benjamin says.

IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES

POLITICS: Biden tonight will attempt to hand former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) a boost as he headlines a campaign event for the Democratic gubernatorial nominee a week out from the nation’s top electoral contest. 

 

As The Hill’s Julia Manchester and Alex Gangitano write, next week’s contest to determine the future of the Richmond governor’s mansion will be the biggest test of Biden’s political brand since taking office more than nine months ago. In recent months, the president’s approval ratings have ticked down, helping to put the race between McAuliffe and GOP nominee Glenn Youngkin squarely in the toss-up category.

 

“The fact that Joe Biden is only willing to barely cross the Potomac and rally in blazing-blue Arlington tells you everything you need to know about how scared Democrats are about their base and also their toxicity with middle-of-the-road voters in the rest of the state,” said Brent Buchanan, a GOP pollster and CEO of the polling firm Cygnal.

 

Biden follows a number of other big-name Democrats who have made appearances for McAuliffe in recent days, including former President Obama, first lady Jill Biden and Stacey Abrams. It will be his second event on behalf of the former governor, having also appeared at one in Arlington in July.

 

The New York Times “The Daily” podcast: Why are all eyes on the Virginia governor’s race?

 

 

 

 

> 2022 watch, Jan. 6 edition: Republicans are itching to see a midterm election wave that could carry the party to power on Capitol Hill next year. However, a small but vocal group of GOP candidates with ties to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol risks upending a conservative effort to make the 2022 cycle a referendum on Biden’s presidency.

 

The GOP attacked Biden over his response to COVID-19, a sluggish economy and the administration’s Afghanistan withdrawal. The Hill’s Tal Axelrod reports that some Republicans believe messaging is upended by GOP candidates who wage fringe campaigns and force more mainstream contenders to respond to ongoing controversies tied to former President Trump’s spurious election fraud claims. 

 

“If those voters understand who’s controlling the levers of the federal government, they’re gonna vote against that. If that’s not the case, if we’re talking about rehashing Jan. 6 or some of these people who want to talk about fraudulently run elections, yeah, we sound like the kooky party,” said one GOP strategist working on House and Senate races.

 

Niall Stanage: The Memo: Charlottesville reverberates as new trial begins.

 

*****

 

ADMINISTRATION: The State Department is planning to roll out organizational changes intended to confront international cybersecurity challenges such as ransomware and waning global digital freedom, the latest of several bureaucratic overhauls by the Biden administration aimed at prioritizing cyber threats as a top-tier national security issue, The Wall Street Journal reports.

 

The restructuring will include the creation of a new bureau of cyberspace and digital policy to be led by a Senate-confirmed ambassador-at-large and a new, separate special envoy for critical and emerging technology. 

 

> U.S. Customs and Border Protection: Sixty agency employees violated Border Patrol conduct requirements when they participated in a private Facebook group where racist and offensive posts circulated. Two employees were fired, which the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Monday described in a report as minimal discipline for such misconduct. The investigation began in 2019, but the agency was aware of the misconduct beginning in August 2016. Some of the Facebook postings included explicit and offensive comments about members of Congress. The committee asserted that the Trump administration refused to comply with its requests for documents and information during the probe (The New York Times). 

 

“C.B.P. will not tolerate hateful, misogynist or racist behavior, or any conduct that is unbecoming of the honor we hold as public servants,” spokesman Luis Miranda said on Monday in a statement. “C.B.P. is working to review policies and to underscore the need to respect the dignity of every individual, fight against discrimination, safeguard civil rights and civil liberties, and increase transparency and accountability.” 

 

> White House: Biden’s White House counsel rejected new claims by former President Trump asserting executive privilege over documents requested by the House select committee probing Jan. 6 events (The Hill). … Not all of Biden’s top international advisers (examples, John Kerry and Jake Sullivan) are in perfect harmony about China policy ahead of next week’s climate summit in Glasgow (The Washington Post). 

The Morning Report is created by journalists Alexis Simendinger and Al Weaver. We want to hear from you! Email: asimendinger@digital-release.thehill.com and aweaver@digital-release.thehill.com. We invite you to share The Hill’s reporting and newsletters, and encourage others to SUBSCRIBE! 

OPINION

I used to run a police homicide unit. The rage behind so many of today’s murders feels new, by Liz Thomson, opinion contributor, The Washington Post. https://wapo.st/3GxdOM7

 

The Hertz-Tesla deal will help normalize electric cars, by Liam Denning, Bloomberg Opinion. https://bloom.bg/3vHGxIS

A MESSAGE FROM FACEBOOK

Why Facebook supports updated internet regulations

 

Jack is one of 40,000 people working on safety and security issues at Facebook.

 

Hear more from Jack on why Facebook supports updating regulations on the internet’s most pressing challenges, including reforming Section 230 to set clear guidelines for all large tech companies.

WHERE AND WHEN

The House convenes at 10 a.m.

 

The Senate meets at 10 a.m. and resumes consideration of the nomination of Jia Cobb to be a district judge for the District of Columbia. 

 

The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief at 8:30 a.m. Biden at 9 a.m. will participate virtually in the annual U.S.-Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit. The president will have lunch with Vice President Harris at 12:15 p.m. He will campaign at 7:50 p.m. with McAuliffe, candidate for governor, at an event in Arlington.

 

The White House daily briefing is scheduled at 10 a.m., and will include White House national security adviser Sullivan.

 

INVITATION: The Hill’s Virtually Live hosts “A More Perfect Union” Festival, TODAY – THURSDAY at 11:30 a.m. EDT, featuring thought-provoking conversations with Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, White House chief of staff Ron Klain,  Manchin, NIH’s Anthony Fauci, John Bolton, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), filmmaker Michael Moore and others. Information is HERE.

 

Foreign Policy hosts the third annual “Her Power Virtual Summit” today and Wednesday about women’s leadership and gender parity with Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Melinda French Gates and Prime Minister of Serbia Ana Brnabić.  

 

Hill.TV’s “Rising” program features news and interviews at http://digital-release.thehill.com/hilltv or on YouTube at 10:30 a.m. ET at Rising on YouTube.

ELSEWHERE

➔ UNIONS: From transportation workers in Philadelphia, to McDonald’s employees, to auto union members, organized labor is roiling. In recent weeks, as tens of thousands of workers from Colorado to Georgia have voted for or gone on strike to demand better pay and work conditions, much of the organizing has been driven by workers themselves. The dynamic has left national and international union leadership scrambling to keep up (Time). 

 

 

 

 

➔ TECH & CYBERSECURITY: TikTok and Snapchat executives will make their debut on Capitol Hill today, testifying for the first time before a Senate panel about safety precautions put in place for young users. The social media companies, along with YouTube, will be grilled by members of the Senate Commerce consumer protection subcommittee about their platforms’ impact on kids and teens as lawmakers look to use the building momentum from leaks about Instagram and Facebook to push proposals for new regulations on tech companies (The Hill). … According to Microsoft cybersecurity research, the Russia-linked hackers behind last year’s compromise of SolarWinds Corp. and government agency systems have stepped up their attacks by breaking into technology companies this year in an effort to steal sensitive information (The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and The Hill).  

 

➔ FEDERAL RESERVE: The nation’s central bank faces two challenges to its credibility as its handling of inflation and internal ethics remain under scrutiny. As price increases run higher and longer than many Fed officials expected, the bank is defending its new, more tolerant approach to inflation. The central bank also is trying to tamp down a trading scandal with implications for both the bank’s standing and the potential renomination of Chairman Jerome Powell, reports The Hill’s Sylvan Lane. 

THE CLOSER

And finally … Have you always wanted an Andy Warhol painting but never had the opportunity? Well, here’s your chance (kind of). 

 

An art collector known as “MSCHF” acquired an original Warhol painting for $20,000 and is reselling it for $250. 

 

Sounds too good to be true? That’s because it is (again, kind of). A simple 1954 authentic Warhol drawing, “Fairies,” is mixed among 999 forgeries of the Warhol work. Beginning this week, collectors can buy one, titled “Possibly Real Copy Of ‘Fairies’ by Andy Warhol,” for $250 in an attempt to find the needle in the haystack (CNN).

 

 

 –Updated at 1:28 p.m.