

Tea Party Patriots Weekly Report from Washington for 1/3/16

CALENDAR:
The House returns Tuesday, and will stay in session through Friday.
The Senate will remain in recess through the course of this week, and won’t be back until next week.
THIS WEEK ON THE HOUSE FLOOR:
No votes will take place before 6:30 PM Tuesday. At that point, we expect a quorum call to establish that a quorum exists in the House of Representatives for the Second Session of the 114th Congress.
On Wednesday, the House will vote to concur in the Senate Amendment to H.R. 3762, the budget reconciliation bill – officially, the Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015. This is the reconciliation bill that originated in the House, passed, and then went to the Senate, where it also passed, but only after it was strengthened significantly, thanks to the determination of Senators Cruz, Lee, and Rubio. It includes repeal of several key elements – but not all – of the Affordable Care Act, including effective repeal of the individual and employer mandates, repeal of the Medicaid expansion, repeal of the taxpayer subsidies, and repeal of the Cadillac and medical device taxes. It also includes repeal of taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood.
It is widely expected to pass on Wednesday, and then be sent to the President. It is also widely expected that the President will veto it at his earliest convenience.
THIS WEEK ON THE SENATE FLOOR:
The Senate will remain in recess until Monday the 11th.
On Tuesday, January 12, the Senate is expected to conduct a cloture vote on the motion to proceed to S. 2232, Sen. Rand Paul’s bill to audit the Federal Reserve. There will be 60 votes required to invoke cloture and begin debate on the legislation.
IRAN:
Last Wednesday morning, in the wake of two Iranian ballistic missile tests conducted in October and November, the White House notified congressional offices that at 10:30 AM the Treasury Department would release a statement announcing new U.S. sanctions against nearly a dozen companies and individuals in Iran, Hong Kong, and the United Arab Emirates for their roles in developing Iran’s ballistic missile program. These sanctions would have been the first new U.S. sanctions imposed since the JCPOA negotiations were concluded last July.
But then, at 11:12 AM, the White House sent a second email to congressional offices, declaring that the sanctions announcement would be “delayed for a few hours.” “A few hours” stretched to after 10 PM, when, in its final email for the day on the subject, the White House said the sanctions had been delayed, and didn’t say anything specific about when they might actually be imposed.
The following morning, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced on Twitter that he had ordered the Iranian Ministry of Defense to accelerate the ballistic missile program in response to news of the impending U.S. sanctions.
SUGGESTED READING:
JENNY BETH MARTIN/TPP:
WT: Jenny Beth Martin: Failures Of The Obama Doctrine
WT: Jenny Beth Martin: Political Correctness Now Trumps National Security
AGENDA:
Hill: Congress Speeding Toward Battle Over Puerto Rican Debt
Hill: Reid Lists Minimum Wage, Visa Programs As Goals For 2016
LAT: For 2016, House Speaker Paul Ryan Sets Sights On Crafting A GOP Campaign Vision
Hill: Six Fights Set To Erupt in Congress
BENGHAZI:
WE: Emails Suggest Pentagon had Troops Ready During Benghazi Siege
CLINTON EMAILS:
Hill: Happy New Year! State Drops 5,500 Pages Of Clinton Emails On New Years Eve
Politico: Intelligence Agencies Say 2 Clinton Emails Were “Top Secret” But One Is No Longer
COMMON CORE:
WSJ: US Senate Votes To Replace No Child Left Behind Law
Hill: Senate Sends No Child Left Behind Rewrite To Obama
EX-IM BANK:
RC: Shelby Stalling One Crucial Ex-Im Board Confirmation
IMMIGRATION:
NYT: US Doesn’t Know How Many Foreign Visitors Overstay Visas
Politico: Visa Rules Put Obama In A Vise
Hill: US Officials To Deport ‘Border Surge’ Families In Large-Scale Raids
The Blaze: Obama Administration Sends Mixed Message On Monitoring Immigrant’s Social Media
Fox News: As Lawmakers Clash Over Refugees Syrian Immigration Quietly Tops 100,000 Since 2012
Hill: Funding Deal Hits Backlash Over Increase In Foreign Worker Visas
AP: House Set To Tighten Restrictions On Travel To US
Hill: Extremists Have Targeted Refugee Program To Enter US Says McCaul
IRAN:
Politico: Iran Blasts Talk Of New US Sanctions
WSJ: White House Delays Imposing New Sanctions On Iran For Missile Program
WSJ: US Lawmakers Blast Delay On Iran Sanctions
WSJ: The Mullahs Thank Mr. Obama
WaPo: With All Eyes On ISIS, Democrats Worry That US Could Lose Focus On Iran
NATIONAL SECURITY:
Gallup: Americans Name Terrorism As Number One Problem
OBAMACARE:
Hill: ObamaCare Fear After Tax Freeze
HuffPo: The Biggest Blow To ObamaCare Yet Could Come From Democrats
NYT: Marco Rubio Quietly Undermines The Affordable Care Act
SPENDING/TAXES:
Hill: This Week Crunch Time For Congress
WSJ: House Conservatives Work To Shape Spending Bill
RC: Negotiations On Year End Legislation Stuck
Hill: Hope Rise For A Major Tax Package
RC: Congress And Its Endgame Are Complicated
RC: Negotiators Hope To Unveil Omnibus On Monday
Hill: Spending Bill Could Be Unveiled Monday Night
Hill: Negotiators See $1.1 Trillion Deal In Sight
Hill: Congress On Verge Of Major Deal Freezing ObamaCare Taxes
Politico: Ryan Unveils Budget Deal, Touts Benefits To GOP
NYT: Winners, Losers In Congress’ Year-End Budget & Tax Endgame
Hill: House Democrats Lose Fight To Nix Gun Research Ban In Budget
Heritage: Conservative Priorities For Omnibus Package
Heritage: “No” on $1.1 Trillion Year End Omnibus Spending Bill
Hill: Leadership Allies Reject Effort To Move Funding Bill To The Right
Hill: House Approves $622 Billion Tax Package
Hill: Pelosi Unsure If Omnibus Can Pass
WE: Grassley Says Omnibus Raises Terrorist Risks
Hill: Ryan And Pelosi Corral Votes As $1.1 Trillion Funding Bill Speeds To Floor
Hill: Senate Sends $1.8 Trillion Deal To Obama
RC: Congress Sends Omnibus To Obama
Politico: Concerns Raise Over $1.1 Trillion Spending Bill
Politico: Cruz, Rubio Miss Chance To Fight Massive Budget Bill
CR: McConnell Misleads Senators To Prevent Filibuster Of Omnibus
Politico: How Old Fashioned Logrolling Produced Congress’ Massive Budget Deal
NJ: What’s Inside Congress’ Huge New Spending Bill?
LEADERSHIP FIGHTS:
Hill: Fury Of The Right Falls On Ryan
Politico: Mitch McConnell’s Improbable 2015 Partner: Democrats
WE: Ryan Gets Pass On Boehner Like Spending Bill
Politico: GOP Group That Hit Conservatives Changes Its Tune