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By Lauren French (
mailto:lfrench@politico.com
lfrench@politico.com or @laurennfrench)

DRIVING THE DAY: HOUSE REPUBLICANS UNVEIL THEIR BUDGET - House Republicans will kick off the budget process today at 10:30 a.m. when Chairman Tom Price unveils his Fiscal Year 2016 budget resolution. Democrats will follow shortly with their critic of the non-binding budget document. Expect to see clashes between conservatives and more moderate, defense hawks who have widely differing views on spending. The Washington Post offers a preview, "Expect documents that hit the same high notes as Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) budgets: Balanced within 10 years, repealing the Affordable Care Act, cutting social programs and turning Medicaid into block grants... The budget battle will test the Senate
GOP's cohesion too. Sen. Mike Enzi's (R-Wyo.) budget doesn't cut as deeply into social programs as the House version, a nod to vulnerable Republicans up for re-election in 2016. But at only 54 members, Republicans' margin in the Senate is a lot narrower. Sources tell us even a single defection will lead to a race to cover backsides."
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DEFENSE HAWKS PREPARE. From John Bennett with Defense News, "Congressional defense hawks are rattling their sabers, saying they will try and block any 2016 budget resolution that fails to give the Pentagon more money. The House Budget Committee this week is slated to unveil a spending blueprint that will keep in place defense and domestic spending caps first established by the 2011 Budget Control Act (BCA). The Senate's version is expected to do the same. A House GOP aide tells CongressWatch a group of 70 pro-defense Republican members will 'vote against any budget that comes in under $561 billion on defense.'"
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OBAMA ALREADY CLAIMING UPPER HAND IN BUDGET BATTLES. From the Associated Press' Josh Lederman and Jim Kuhnhenn, "President Barack Obama is claiming the upper hand in the budget fight unfolding in Congress, aiming to exploit recent Republican stumbles to give Democrats an advantage despite their status as a weakened minority. But while Obama retains full use of the bully pulpit, his leverage over matters of government spending may prove limited. The White House has put a spotlight on GOP missteps and infighting in recent weeks, arguing that Republicans who promised to govern effectively are falling down on the job since taking control of Congress earlier this year. Drawing an implicit
contrast, Obama has been playing up his own, unilateral economic steps as a way to show he's the one setting Washington's agenda."
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LYNCH CONFIRMATION HEATS UP. Burgess Everett and Seung Min Kim report, "As a partisan clash over abortion threatens to further delay Loretta Lynch's confirmation vote, the White House lashed out at Senate Republicans on Monday, calling the brinkmanship surrounding her nomination for attorney general "unconscionable." Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has vowed the Senate will finish work on a human-trafficking bill before taking up Lynch. But that trafficking measure includes abortion language that most Democrats would filibuster unless it's removed. Now, Democrats want a win on the abortion issue - and a prompt vote on Lynch."
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COMING ATTRACTIONS: IRAN BILL. Burgess Everett and John Bresnahan report, "The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is planning to act as soon as next week on a bipartisan bill that would allow Congress to approve or reject any nuclear agreement that President Barack Obama reaches with Iran. The panel's chairman, Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), said Monday he hopes to move forward on the measure as early as March 25, one day after a rough deadline set by the White House for a deal to wind down Iran's nuclear program. The move would be a stern rebuke to the president: In a letter released last weekend, Chief of Staff Denis McDonough told Corker that moving on his Iran legislation would 'potentially
prevent any deal from succeeding.'... Corker doesn't expect his bill to have any chance of reaching the Senate floor before mid-April. Corker also warned that he had to work out scheduling the markup of his legislation with ranking member Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), who led a group of 10 Democrats in vowing not to move on the Corker legislation until March 24."
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Sláinte! and welcome to The Huddle. We're a big-time celebrator of St. Patrick's Day around here so lift up your green beer and make sure to send tips, suggestions, comments, complaints and corrections to
mailto:lfrench@politico.com
lfrench@politico.com and please follow along on Twitter at @laurennfrench.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House Republican leadership team will have a media unveil at 10 a.m. at the Republican National Committee lobby. Democratic Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra will also hold a press avail at 10 a.m. at the HVC-210 alcove. At 2:15 p.m., Rep. Chris Van Hollen, the ranking member of the House Budget Committee, will hold a pen and pad briefing on the Republican budget in Cannon 234. The Senate will hold two votes at 11 a.m. The House will have two votes series starting at 1:15 p.m.

AROUND THE HILL -The House Budget Committee will unveil its Fiscal Year 2016 budget resolution in CVC-117 Studio A at 10:30 a.m. Reps. John Garamendi and Leonard Lance will discuss rare diseases and welcome Noah Coughlan to the Capitol at 4:30 p.m. at the House Triangle. House Speaker John Boehner will host President Barack Obama, Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Enda Kenny of Ireland and Vice President Joe Biden for the annual Friends of Ireland lunch at 1:15 p.m. Democratic Whip Hoyer will hold his weekly pen and pad briefing at 11 a.m.

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TRANSITIONS. Sen. Mike Lee has announced that Conn Carroll will be his new communications director starting March 30. Carroll is currently the White House correspondent for Townhall.com.

CLANCY IN THE HOT SEAT. From CNN's Kevin Liptak, "Joe Clancy, the longtime agent President Barack Obama named to reform a troubled Secret Service, will appear before lawmakers on Tuesday to face questions over the latest episode at the White House. Two top-ranking officials were suspended following the March 4 incident, which involved a late-night disruption at a White House command post during an investigation of a possible bomb. Clancy, who once headed up Obama's own personal protection detail, will appear before the House Appropriations Committee Tuesday morning in a hearing on his agency's budget. But questions about the mishap, and broader inquiries into the culture and
management at the Secret Service, are expected."
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BENGHAZI PANEL GIVES CLINTON TWO WEEKS. Your Huddle author reports, "The House Committee on Benghazi has given Hillary Clinton an additional two weeks to respond to a subpoena asking for her private emails on Libya and the 2012 terrorist attacks. Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) subpoenaed the former secretary of state after it was reported that she used a personal email that stored her communications on an off-site server at her home."
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AND STATE WIDENS ITS PROBE. From Josh Gerstein and your Huddle author, "The State Department has broadened its efforts to recover work emails from high-level officials that could be related to a congressional investigation of the Benghazi attack, sources said Monday. Josh Gerstein and Lauren FrenchThe effort could help the agency address lax record-keeping practices for senior officials that it acknowledged last week, when a spokeswoman told reporters that emails sent to or from agency officials were not routinely preserved. The acknowledgement raised questions about the completeness of the agency's historical record. The department has been under scrutiny because former Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton used a personal email server for official business rather than a .gov account."
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A FORMAL INVESTIGATION FOR SCHOCK. Jake Sherman, Anna Palmer and John Bresnahan report, "Investigators from the Office of Congressional Ethics have begun reaching out to individuals in Rep. Aaron Schock's political orbit, a possible first sign of an official investigation of the Illinois Republican. OCE is seeking to speak to people who have worked for Schock or otherwise interacted with him, according to sources familiar with the matter.... It is unclear exactly what OCE is seeking, but it does not have subpoena power to compel testimony and cannot sanction Schock. But it can make a recommendation to the Ethics Committee, which has the ability to compel people to be interviewed."
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FIRST LOOK: LIEU, RUSSELL SEND LETTER ON EMAIL PRIVACY. Reps. Ted Lieu and Steve Russell sent a letter to Admiral Michael Rogers, the director of the NSA, yesterday expressing deep concern over allegations that the NSA potentially searched emails sent by Americans overseas addresses. The two lawmakers asked Rogers to respond - in an unclassified briefing - about the agency's surveillance programs, including what "is the legal authority on which the NSA reies to justify its internet bulk collection program."
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MOOD MUSIC ON CONGRESS. Jennifer Steinhauer reports for the New York Times, "An amazing thing about Congress: Things can always get worse. After several years of troubles with spending bills that were once routinely bipartisan, the Senate has now found a way to disagree on a bill that would protect victims of sex trafficking. And in the process, that dispute has ensnared President Obama's largely uncontroversial nominee for attorney general, Loretta E. Lynch. The latest impasse sweeps up five years of the lowlights of congressional dysfunction: abortion and immigration policy disputes, White House exasperation, garden-variety distrust, and mutual loathing between Democrats and Republicans."
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MONDAY'S TRIVIA - Joe Kalmin was the first to name Ted Kennedy, Tip O'Neill, Hugh Carey, and Patrick Moynihan as the members who kicked off the St. Patrick's Day statement tradition.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Joe has today's question. Who was the first president to attend the St. Patrick's Day parade in New York City? Bonus points if you guess the year! The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day's Huddle. Email
mailto:lfrench@politico.com
lfrench@politico.com .

GET HUDDLE emailed to your Blackberry, iPhone or other mobile device each morning. Just enter your email address where it says 'Sign Up.'
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