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

TODAY: SENATE FOLLOWS HOUSE TO UNVEIL BUDGET. The Associated Press reports, "Senate Republicans are putting down a marker with their budget blueprint, one day after the House GOP unveiled a 10-year plan that boosts the military, makes deep cuts in social programs and targets President Barack Obama's laws on health care and financial reforms. Slated for release Wednesday afternoon, the GOP senators' companion measure contains greater cost cuts to Medicare - $431 billion over the coming decade, which matches Obama's savings if not his policies - but doesn't call for the dramatic transformation of the program for future beneficiaries that House Republicans are pushing. The
House plan reprises deep cuts to social programs such as Medicaid, food stamps and student loans as well as a controversial plan that would transform Medicare into a voucher-like program for seniors joining in 2024 or later. They would receive a subsidy to purchase health insurance on the private market."
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DEFENSE HAWKS BAULK AT HOUSE PLAN. Austin Wright and Jeremy Herb write for POLITICO, "House Republicans who back a bigger defense budget are revolting against their leaders' new proposal to use a separate war fund to add additional money to Pentagon coffers - and may have enough support to kill it. Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio, a member of the Armed Services Committee, vowed Tuesday to vote against the budget resolution and predicted many of the 69 House Republicans who joined him last month in signing a letter seeking a defense budget boost would do the same. Rep. Trent Franks of Arizona said he opposes the budget plan as it stands now also because a portion of the new war funding would be
dependent on finding savings elsewhere in the federal budget - savings Franks fears will never actually materialize."
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....SO DO SENATE REPUBLICANS. Seung Min Kim reports, "Senate Republicans on Tuesday panned a House GOP strategy to dramatically boost defense funding by using a contingency fund for war spending - setting up a major clash between the two chambers as the new GOP-controlled Capitol tries to agree on a budget this year....[the] strategy quickly ran into a major obstacle."
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SCHOCK RESIGNS. Jake Sherman, Anna Palmer and John Bresnahan report, "Aaron Schock's Tuesday began with a quiet early-morning stroll near the Capitol with his close friend, Missouri Rep. Jason Smith. Sporting shorts and a sweatshirt, Schock's eyes frequently darted down to his iPhone. Within hours, his once-promising congressional career would be over. Schock's resignation, effective March 31, came so abruptly that the Illinois Republican didn't even give Speaker John Boehner or his leadership team a heads up. Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) had been planning to keep Schock on the GOP's vote-counting team. Fellow congressmen from Illinois also had no idea. 'He told no one. As far as I
know, no other member (of Congress) knew,' Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) said shortly after Schock's announcement around 2 p.m. 'I don't even think his staff knew.'

QUESTIONABLE BILLING PRACTICES. Also from the congressional dream team, "Schock billed the federal government and his campaign for logging roughly 170,000 miles on his personal car from January 2010 through July 2014. But when he sold that Chevrolet Tahoe in July 2014, it had roughly 80,000 miles on the odometer, according to public records obtained by POLITICO under Illinois open records laws. The documents, in other words, indicate he was reimbursed for 90,000 miles more than his car was driven."
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WHITE HOUSE HEADS TO HILL FOR IRAN BLITZ. Manu Raju and Burgess report, "The White House is moving aggressively to limit Democratic defections on Capitol Hill that could undermine its negotiations with Iran, dispatching senior officials and President Barack Obama himself to lobby senators against taking action before a nuclear deal with the rogue regime is reached. Senior administration officials have asked Senate Democrats to notify the White House if they are considering signing onto a bill drafted by Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) that would give Congress the ability to accept or reject any nuclear deal. The push, several Senate sources said, is to prevent a
veto-proof majority from building by heading off any fresh Democratic support for the plan and persuade supporters to keep their powder dry until the conclusion of multilateral negotiations with Iran."
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GOOD MORNING, and welcome to The Huddle. It's Wednesday, March 15. Thanks for waking up early with me. As always, 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 - Rep. John Larson will join several Ways and Means Committee lawmakers to introduce the Social Security 2100 Act at 9 a.m. at the House Triangle. The House will hold its first and only vote series of the day at 1:30 p.m. The Senate has no votes scheduled.

AROUND THE HILL - The Joint Economic Committee will hold a hearing featuring Jason Furman, the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers at 2:30 p.m. in 562 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building on President Barack Obama's economic support. - Sen. Tom Cotton will join the Hudson Institute at 11:30 a.m. for a discussion with Walter Russell Mead. - Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi will hold an event paying tribute to the female justices on the Supreme Court. The press event featuring Pelosi, justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Sandra Day O'Connor and Republican Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers begins at 3:15 p.m. - Sens. Murray and Baldwin will discuss Loretta
Lynch at a 10 a.m. press avail in the LBJ room.

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TRANSITIONS. Communications director Moira Bagley Smith is leaving Majority Whip Steve Scalise's office this week, Huddle as learned. She's departing to "pursue opportunities in the private sector," the former Rand Paul staffer. In the interim, TJ Tatum, the deputy communications director, will head up the press operation."Moira has been an integral part of getting the Whip operation up and running. Her professionalism and communications expertise has been a great asset to Team Scalise," Scalise said.

LYNCH NOMINATION STUCK IN SENATE MUD. Seung Min Kim and Burgess Everett report. "Senate Republicans are in no hurry to confirm Loretta Lynch as attorney general, meaning a final vote on her nomination could slip into April as a floor fight over abortion continues to drag on and a battle over the budget waits in the wings. Lynch still has enough Republican support to be confirmed, but before senators even get to a final vote, they have to resolve the abortion impasse - a feat that seems elusive at the moment. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell dug in on Tuesday, demanding the chamber finish work on an anti-human trafficking measure before considering Lynch. The Kentucky Republican said the
Senate would hold repeated votes on the bill in the coming days."
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CLANCY TAKES BEAT DOWN DURING CAPITOL HILL APPEARANCE. Michael Shear writes for the New York Times, "Lawmakers from both parties lashed out at the newly appointed director of the Secret Service at a hearing Tuesday, accusing him of doing little to restore the public's faith in an agency jolted by embarrassing scandals and security breaches. Republican lawmakers seized on accusations that two drunken Secret Service agents crashed a government car into a White House barricade after a party this month. Representative Harold Rogers, Republican of Kentucky and the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, called the incident 'unacceptable' and said it represented a 'breakdown, to put it
mildly, of the discipline within the ranks of your agency.'"
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DWS IS OUT FOR SENATE BID. Mark Caputo and Kyle Cheney report, "Debbie Wasserman Schultz announced Tuesday she won't run for a Senate seat in Florida next year, leaving Democrats without a candidate known statewide to vie for the post Marco Rubio is expected to leave to run for president. The decision by the Democratic National Committee chair came a day after former Gov. Charlie Crist decided he wouldn't run - an announcement made as some Washington Democratic leaders try to clear the field for Rep. Patrick Murphy. But Murphy - a 31-year-old, one-time Republican in his second term - might face a tough challenge from fellow Rep. Alan Grayson, who is better-known among liberals outside his
congressional district."
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TUESDAY'S TRIVIA - James Casto was the first to correctly name Truman as the first president to attend the St. Patrick's Day parade in New York City.

TODAY'S TRIVIA -James has today's question. On May 14, 1948, the United States became the first country to recognize Israel when President Truman extended de-facto recognition eleven minutes after Israel's proclamation of independence. What was the second country to recognize Israel and when did it do so? The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day's Huddle. Email
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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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** Honda's commitment to building fuel-efficient products, creating jobs and innovating here in America continues with the new HondaJet. With Honda Aircraft Company world headquarters right here in the U.S., we're proud to strengthen the American economy and employ a skilled workforce.

Honda provides jobs for tens of thousands of people across America, with the Honda Aircraft Company alone employing over 1,000 workers. Our partnerships with various U.S. colleges are also helping create more opportunities for young Americans interested in manufacturing and engineering. In addition, Honda continues to invest millions in U.S. growth and innovation with the creation of the HondaJet-the fastest, highest-flying, most fuel-efficient jet in its class, developed right here in the U.S.

For additional information about Honda's impact, the HondaJet and more, please visit
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