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By Burgess Everett (@burgessev or
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CRUZ LEAPS INTO 2016 CAMPAIGN: The man who pulled off a 21-hour speech aimed at defunding Obamacare has a flair for the theatrics, and it doesn't sound like Ted Cruz will disappoint when he announces his campaign for the presidency today at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. In a tweet that launched a thousand scalding hot takes, the Texas senator said over the weekend that he is running for the White House, skipping the exploratory stage and becoming the first major candidate. Cruz is "choosing to begin his campaign at the Christian college founded by the Rev. Jerry Falwell rather than his home state of Texas or the early voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire. It's a fitting
setting for Cruz, a 44-year-old tea party darling whose entry into the 2016 campaign drew cheers Sunday among fellow conservatives." AP:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=869eb8706edbf68d64b3b07296e30c0f2b7702a698f0f47c35abc24949bae6c6
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=869eb8706edbf68d64b3b07296e30c0f2b7702a698f0f47c35abc24949bae6c6

Here's your biopic campaign launch video: Complete with defund Obamacare, anti-debt ceiling increase and fighting "unconstitutional amnesty" highlights.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=869eb8706edbf68d979c360ed95e2ab4b58338862636eaa240e182a59d7bdccb
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=869eb8706edbf68d979c360ed95e2ab4b58338862636eaa240e182a59d7bdccb

Ouch: Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe was supposed to speak at Liberty but was bumped by Cruz. "McAuliffe, a Democrat, was originally slated to be Monday's speaker. Falwell and a spokesman for the governor's office said after discussing various ideas, including the possibility of the politicians sharing the convocation stage, it was agreed McAuliffe's visit would be postponed." News & Advance:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=869eb8706edbf68db80e4728d3356de111584286af7affa2ea77942426cb796e
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=869eb8706edbf68db80e4728d3356de111584286af7affa2ea77942426cb796e

Domino effect: Cruz's colleague and potential opponent, Marco Rubio of Florida, is under a little more pressure to choose between a White House run or reelection. Rep. Patrick Murphy will run for his seat, telling my colleague Marc Caputo that he's "doing this because I think I can make a difference."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=869eb8706edbf68d383d296ce0b8534900a524574cf7dfe78b19dcd753914ea7
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=869eb8706edbf68d383d296ce0b8534900a524574cf7dfe78b19dcd753914ea7

OK, BACK TO THE HILL: Where Cruz, Rubio, Rand Paul and Lindsey Graham will have big decisions to make on the GOP budget -- and on all of the political amendments that Democrats are set to launch. Budget week, the last in a long work period for us Senate reporters, has steep consequences for nearly everyone, Bres and Seung Min report. "If Boehner and McConnell are successful, it could eventually lead to a vote by both the House and Senate to repeal Obamacare. That would be a highlight-reel moment from Boehner, McConnell and other GOP leaders, though overturning the health care law stands no chance as long as President Barack Obama is in the White House to veto it. Getting a budget approved
would also position the GOP to pass appropriations bills to fund the government - a task Congress has regularly failed to accomplish."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=869eb8706edbf68dfe7b6afb8f11fb35336dbca67687e30e6a6398337c601de5
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=869eb8706edbf68dfe7b6afb8f11fb35336dbca67687e30e6a6398337c601de5

LEADERS EYE LONG-TERM DOC FIX: House Speaker John Boehner is hoping to send a long-sought reform to Medicare's payment formulas over to the Senate by the end of the week. "This could be one of the two or three accomplishments of the 114th Congress,' a GOP leadership aide told The Hill. 'It's a really big deal.'??
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=869eb8706edbf68d77714e2a633c93fdeef2477d3f571e0379b1f28a52a74a82
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=869eb8706edbf68d77714e2a633c93fdeef2477d3f571e0379b1f28a52a74a82

Hyde and seek: But Democrats have to contend with Hyde Amendment language in the bill, which sounds familiar because that's what brought down the bipartisan trafficking bill and is keeping Loretta Lynch's nomination on ice. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is trying to tamp down opposition ...we'll see.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=869eb8706edbf68d7eb4b2a3f6970e85292ed92200b2436baf370f3d11bb409a
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=869eb8706edbf68d7eb4b2a3f6970e85292ed92200b2436baf370f3d11bb409a

Last time around: The House passed a one-year doc fix by voice vote, which was interesting.

DEMS MAKE MOVES IN MINORITY: Led by ranking member (and Senate candidate!) Chris Van Hollen, House Democrats will unveil their alternative today in a 1:15 p.m. press call. A House Democratic aide tells us that the budget "reflects policies that will boost the economy to create more broadly shared prosperity," decreases the debt relative to its share of the economy and abolishes the sequester's spending caps.

First Senate amendment? Tax loopholes: It's been awhile since the Senate has had any amendment votes, but that will change this afternoon when the chamber votes on a plan from Budget Committee ranking member Bernie Sanders to kill some overseas tax breaks in return for nearly half a trillion bucks in infrastructure development. Also coming up on the budget later this week: Votes on preserving social security, raising taxes on millionaires to pay for war, pay equity, campaign finance and killing sequestration, per aides to the committee.

**A message from the American Medical Association: The Deadline is Looming. It's time to repeal Medicare's SGR formula and put patient care first by passing H.R. 1470/ S. 810.The current Medicare physician payment patch expires on March 31, 2015.Visit
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=869eb8706edbf68d1a7614132c4480562b228afb4d969a29568f46290d228aa7
www.fixmedicarenow.org to see how you can help make significant reforms in how Medicare pays physicians that focus on value and efficiency. **

It was a bad weekend for the Terps, Wahoos and Hoyas. But it's a good to week to readHuddle, your play-by-play guide to everything Capitol Hill. Please send tips to
mailto:beverett@politico.com
beverett@politico.com and follow along on Twitter @burgessev.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The House is in at noon and will vote on suspensions at 6:30 p.m. The Senate is also in at noon, and will vote on a budget amendment at 5:30 p.m.

AROUND THE HILL: Reps. Scott Rigell and David Cicilline will take ethics training this afternoon and hold a media avail at 1015 Longworth.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, OBAMACARE: The health care reform law is now five years old, but there's no sign that anyone is throwing a bipartisan bash. While the White House is touting big numbers that show millions of people have benefited (as well as the number "zero": the number of "death panels created"), the congressional GOP is not adjusting to the law as it grows older. Here's how Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell sees things five years later: "Obamacare has been one rolling disaster after another ... fewer choices, higher costs, increased taxes, broken promises-and it's still not working like the president said it would."

MENENDEZ CHARGED THIS WEEK? The Wall Street Journal reports that it's a real possibility that federal corruption charges are filed against New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez by the end of the week. "Washington-based federal prosecutors specializing in public corruption cases are preparing to file charges against the senator in his home state of New Jersey .... A lawyer for Mr. Menendez declined to comment, as did a spokeswoman for the senator." Such charges have been expected for weeks, but when and if they come it will mark a major turning point in his battle for political survival, presenting a much more tangible dilemma for his leadership and his party.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=869eb8706edbf68dc2b33d69d78e58545126a28f490bc59d09fee88c0efa3ce7
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IRAN TALKS DOWN TO WIRE: Here's where things stand ahead of the last round of nuclear negotiations this week, per The Guardian: "The negotiators are due to gather once more in Lausanne on Wednesday, for a session that is due to last until Sunday, but could spill over until the following Tuesday, the deadline for producing a framework accord that lays out the main points of agreement. They would then have three more months to fill in the details for a comprehensive deal at the end of June. The lead western negotiator, US secretary of state John Kerry, met his counterparts from the UK, France, Germany and the EU at London's Heathrow airport on Saturday and declared that 'substantial progress
had been made in key areas although there are still important issues on which no agreement has yet been possible.'"
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Congress is watching closely: Though the Senate has postponed a committee vote until April on its congressional approval bill for an Iran deal, expect a lot of bellyaching all week from Republicans that are skeptical the White House can bring home something acceptable from the Iran nuclear talks. Here's Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker on Sunday: "The concern has been from Day 1 that we keep moving from our initial position... toward Iran's position. So, there's concern this administration cares more about making a deal versus the right deal."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=869eb8706edbf68d80b537886d7655f562607116ca93ebb9b514ecdae3025b43
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'Hey Bibi, it's Lindsey': Sen. Lindsey Graham telephoned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the weekend to assure him that Congress would weigh in on an Iran agreement.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=869eb8706edbf68d5a970adc28f6ff6f570d8b2c43b911def6eeebf4e84a831c
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=869eb8706edbf68d5a970adc28f6ff6f570d8b2c43b911def6eeebf4e84a831c

BPC FLOODS HILL: Rosemarie Calabro Tully is leaving the Bipartisan Policy Center to helm communications for top Senate Energy Committee Democrat Maria Cantwell. Just a few weeks ago Ashley Berrang left BPC to join Republican Shelley Moore Capito's office, so they are actually doing the bipartisan thing over there.

Living free: Shripal Shah and Liz Kenigsberg are leaving the press office of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. No word on their next whereabouts.

Got office news or gossip about someone else's office? Shoot me an email,
mailto:beverett@politico.com
beverett@politico.com

MARK THE CALENDAR FOR WEDNESDAY: "[F]our congressmen [Tom Emmer, Erik Paulsen, Pat Meehan and John Katko] as well as congressional aides and lobbying types playing in the 7th annual Congressional Hockey Challenge. The game is at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Arlington's Ballston neighborhood. ... [Gerrit Lansing,] Herald Group lobbyist John Goodwin and Brad Dayspring ... are playing on the lobbyists team. ... When he was a New York congressman, Anthony Weiner played as the goalie on the lawmakers team for two years and was listed on the trophy (and was also MVP) when the team won during the first year of the game." Daniel Lippman:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=869eb8706edbf68d03caca7cb3b09d6e76c6d38e80428a5437005b9a60acc91b
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=869eb8706edbf68d03caca7cb3b09d6e76c6d38e80428a5437005b9a60acc91b

FRIDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Trivia master Sean Neary was the first to answer that Richard Nixon performed "Piano Concerto #1" on "The Tonight Show."

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Sean has today's question: On this day in 1981, John Hinckley, Jr. attempted to assassinate President Reagan.Name the Secret Service agent who turned into the line of fire and took a bullet for the President. The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day's Huddle. Email me at
mailto:beverett@politico.com
beverett@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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**A message from the American Medical Association: The Deadline is Looming. It's time to repeal Medicare's SGR formula and put patient care first by passing H.R. 1470/ S. 810.The current Medicare physician payment patch expires on March 31, 2015.

After 17 patches in 12 years, it is clear that the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula does not work and must be repealed.

Congressional leaders now have the opportunity to pass H.R. 1470 -- a bipartisan, bicameral repeal bill -- but they must act quickly . Visit
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=869eb8706edbf68d1a7614132c4480562b228afb4d969a29568f46290d228aa7
www.fixmedicarenow.org and tweet using the hashtag #fixmedicarenow so we can finally repeal the SGR to rid Congress of this annual embarrassment and make significant reforms in how Medicare pays physicians that focus on value and efficiency.The time is now.**

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