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11/17/2015 08:21 AM EDT


By Rachael Bade (rbade@politico.com or @RachaelMBade)

HOUSE GOP SEEKS TO CUT OFF SYRIAN RESETTLEMENT PROGRAM. John Hudson for Foreign Policy: "House Republicans are proposing to block federal funding for resettling Syrian refugees until a series of new conditions are met, Foreign Policy has learned...The draft legislation, a copy of which was obtained by FP, is backed by Reps. Brian Babin, Lou Barletta, Diane Black, Mo Brooks, Jeff Duncan, John Duncan, Blake Farenthold, Louie Gohmert, Frank Guinta, Gregg Harper, Walter Jones, Steve King, Mike Pompeo, Mark Meadows, and Bill Posey."

"It would prevent funding for the resettlement of refugees from the Middle East and North Africa until authorities adopt 'processes to ensure that refugee and related programs are not able to be co-opted by would-be terrorists.' Once those processes are in place, details of the security checks must be given to Congress in both classified and public forums, and the administration must establish a 'longer-term monitoring process' to track refugees in the U.S..."

"Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions (R) has proposed legislation to restrict U.S. funding for refugee resettlement and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul (R) has said he will introduce legislation to prevent Syrian refugees from obtaining U.S. visas. Additionally, House Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul plans to raise the issue of blocking Syrian refugee resettlement at a Tuesday meeting with fellow Republicans, according to two congressional sources." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=18157df9bc848927c054d7e1139f7d897290db96785d41d950a4f7aee5e7f751

SYRIAN REFUGEE FIGHT SPARKS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN THREAT. Seung Min, Jake and Burgess take it away: "[T]he sudden standoff is raising the possibility of a government shutdown next month. Throughout the day a host of Republican governors around the country, wary that refugees could end up in their home states, blasted President Barack Obama's plans. But those governors lack real sway over the process, and some are asking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to insert a provision in the Dec. 11 spending bill that would bar more Syrian settlers." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=18157df9bc84892754b56b2a0df7a4f6c227fbda023cd3bc0dddb0cd76005039

SENATORS SEEK DETAILS FROM OBAMA ON REFUGEE VETTING. Jordain Carney for The Hill: "A bipartisan group of senators is asking President Obama to detail any additional steps the administration will take to vet Syrian refugees in the wake of last week's attacks in Paris.... Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), Shelly Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Dan Coats (R-Ind.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.)... They also want the president to address previous comments from FBI Director James Comey, who told House lawmakers last month that the U.S. government could face challenges vetting refugees if they aren't already in the agency's database."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=18157df9bc84892727d82921cea49aa1eb1e324d5068e86ef436b38085bee39b

PRESSURE FROM THE TRAIL - "Carson to Congress: Block funding for Syrian refugees," per Rebecca Shabad with CBS News: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=18157df9bc8489272cd516ba6f8cb786b6fe8b6a7a90000106c4736898258abf "Trump Warns of 'Trojan Horse' on Syrian Refugees," by Bloomberg's Kevin Cirilli http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=18157df9bc8489274fc81ecbee5f326de9173e62b546d88ab410837e0806d036 "John Kasich Shifts His Stand on Accepting Refugees," NYT's Alan Rappeport http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=18157df9bc848927ca9f120179ba42fc80a4ccbff4d21bfbe8b4c20eae288f0b

-"Two Senate Candidates Buck Parties on Syrian Refugees," by Simone Pathe at Roll Call: "New Hampshire's Maggie Hassan has the distinction of being the only Democratic governor so far to call on the federal government to stop accepting Syrian refugees. At the same time, vulnerable Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin is one of the few Republicans who is not calling for a halt on Syrian immigrants." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=18157df9bc8489279ce50dd60f387939d8944541e9e23af86b0c4c64dd846a5e

SHOT - Obama's got his mood music going: "Obama says Strategy to Fight ISIS Will Succeed": by Michael Shear and Peter Baker: "Time after time, the question was essentially the same: Why isn't your strategy against the Islamic State working? And time after time, President Obama pushed back... standing by an approach that he said would eventually succeed if given enough time. His plan to cripple the Islamic State through airstrikes and assistance to local forces was making progress, the president asserted... he vigorously rejected the idea that he should go further, dismissing critics who were playing 'political games' or offering shallow solutions."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=18157df9bc848927efb3b1870bc2ee17ac5556a9b8e7c2590fafb36d5ae97aa2

CHASER - Contrasted with Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.), who yesterday broke with Obama in what became the most-read story on POLITICO: 'I have never been more concerned. ISIL is not contained." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=18157df9bc8489279c97c8f90680358e2d32fb06e5e5ee1d1636a06fa8c6b31e

LOCAL NEWS-"Capitol Police: No Specific Threat To Capitol But Be Careful," by AP's Alan Fram: "Lawmakers and their aides should take precautions and be vigilant but there are no specific threats against the Capitol following the Paris terrorist attacks, the police agency that provides security for Congress said in a memo to lawmakers' offices Monday. In an email to congressional offices obtained by The Associated Press, the Capitol Police wrote that 'out of an abundance of caution' people should use the tunnels connecting the Capitol with adjacent House and Senate office buildings."

PARIS AFTERMATH CONSUMES HILL POLITICS. It's Nov. 17, 2015. Thanks for reading Huddle, where the refugee debate, as we predicted yesterday morning, is erupting in the nation's capital. Send story pitches, scoops and news here: rbade@politico.com, or Tweet: @RachaelMBade.

TODAY IN CONGRESS: The House returns at 10 a.m. First votes expected: 1:30-2:30 p.m. Last votes expected: 3:30-4:30 p.m. The Senate will convene at 10 am for a moment of silence for the victims of the Paris attacks. THUD appropriations cloture vote on tap for Wednesday unless an agreement is reached sooner. Also on the deck: a resolution disapproving EPA rules on carbon emissions.

DRIVING THE DAY: CLASSIFIED HOUSE BRIEFING ON PARIS. The Speaker's office last night announced that Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and FBI Director James Comey will brief House members at 5:30 p.m. in the CVC. The Administration will brief the Senate tomorrow, per Roll Call's Bridget Bowman.


AROUND THE HILL: At 9:30 a.m., Sens. Markey, Cardin and Whitehouse discuss Clean Power Plan. At 10 a.m., Speaker Ryan and crew will hold their post-Conference media avail while Minority Leader Pelosi and House Democratic leaders do theirs. At 10:30 a.m. at the House Triangle, Rep. Honda and the LGBT Equality Caucus announce a new Transgender Equality Taskforce. And in the same spot an hour later, Reps. Maloney and Nadler, Sen. Kirk, and Iraq and Afghanistan veterans will discuss a health & compensation extension. At noon, Hoyer holds his usual pen and pad. At 2 p.m., Rep. Honda and the LGBT Equality Caucus hold forum on violence against the transgender community.

** A message from The Broad Tax Extenders Coalition: Chairman Brady, we commend your immediate leadership and commitment to apermanent tax extenders deal. The Broad Tax Extenders Coalition, a group of over 2,000 organizations, looks forward to working with Congress and the Administration to promote certainty and growth by passing a long-term tax extenders deal. Learn more at www.consensusisclear.org **

"PARIS ATTACK REOPENS U.S. PRIVACY VS. SECURITY DEBATE." WSJ's Damian Paletta: "Friday's terror attack has begun to feed into the turbulent American debate over privacy versus security, with current and former U.S. intelligence leaders alleging recent leaks and limits on surveillance played into the terrorists' hands. The most direct salvo came Monday from Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan, who linked the Paris attacks with several years of intense criticism of spying and data collection methods in the U.S. and Europe...

"Mr. Brennan was careful not to identify specific policy changes that may have made it harder to prevent the Paris attacks. The highest-profile debate in Washington on government surveillance came to a head earlier this year, when Congress voted to phase out a program run by the National Security Agency that swept up bulk telephone records - not the content of conversations, but such information as the number called and the duration of the call. That program was slated to end Nov. 29, though a case about its legality is moving through the federal court system." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=18157df9bc8489272889d9bceecaa3044dda6ab5258fba5821009358773394be

MORE BLACK LAWMAKERS PAY 'DUES' AFTER CLASH. Lauren French reports: "Tensions had been mounting between the two groups for years: CBC members have ranked near the bottom in terms of fundraising for the DCCC, causing some other Democrats to grumble they're failing a basic test of party loyalty with no repercussions. But African-American lawmakers responded they owed little to the DCCC. They said the committee took them for granted by assuming black incumbents would win because they represent overwhelmingly minority districts and that it gave short shrift to candidates who really needed the help..."

"Now the party's campaign arm, under new management, is looking to mend the rift - and DCCC records obtained by POLITICO show that many CBC members are responding by upping their fundraising for the campaign committee heading into the 2016 election season. The new DCCC chairman, Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), pledged to repair the relationship with the CBC when he took over early this year. The 43-year-old, fourth-term lawmaker has met with at least a half-dozen black lawmakers about fundraising, headlined money-raising events for African-American members and committed to hire more minority-owned vendors." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=18157df9bc8489277f6ad277eed27f96d62841d97d4f1a706db361a851411beb

SENATE GOP REASSESSES PLAN ON OBAMACARE REPEAL. Burgess has the story: "Senate Republicans are considering significant changes to their proposal to repeal Obamacare and defund Planned Parenthood and will temporarily delay consideration of the measure to ensure it can pass the Senate. GOP leaders are even mulling removing the Planned Parenthood provision if it gets them closer to putting Obamacare repeal on the president's desk. They need just a majority of votes to pass the legislation, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and his team are being squeezed between moderates balking at the Planned Parenthood language and a trio of conservatives that say the Obamacare repeal
language doesn't go far enough..."

"The 54-member Republican majority got its first ruling from the parliamentarian last week, which found that the Planned Parenthood language withstood scrutiny but repeal of the individual and business mandates as passed by the House would need to be rewritten. The parliamentarian's ruling is being kept closely by both parties, though Democrats say the GOP's hopes of easy passage of Obamacare have been doomed." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=18157df9bc848927fc02421647ca2bd82b2b28721d40273ef9fdc82c11e5d5c9

JIM JORDAN TO KEEP FREEDOM CAUCUS POST. Mike DeBonis for the Post: "The man who led the House Freedom Caucus during its fast rise to power and influence on Capitol Hill will remain in that role through the remainder of the 114th Congress. Members of the compromise-averse conservative group re-elected Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) as their chairman, giving him another year as their leader less than 10 months after the group's founding."

"It has, by most any measure, been a remarkable run for Jordan and for the Freedom Caucus. The group played a key role in pushing House Republican leaders to confront President Obama over a wide range of issues, including immigration, abortion and government spending. And Freedom Caucus members were at the vanguard of efforts to oust former speaker John A. Boehner, while the caucus played a kingmaker role in the ascension of Rep. Paul D. Ryan (R-Wisc.) to succeed him. Here's one indication of the influence the group now holds: In a 60 Minutes interview that aired Sunday, reporter Scott Pelley asked Ryan this question: 'Do you work for the Freedom Caucus or do they work for you?'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=18157df9bc848927744cc5d52f7c5069d6498b1511cd6fd1fc13651e2b409e1e

MONDAY'S TRIVIA - BECOMES TUESDAY'S, TOO... So Johnny Zagrodnik was the first to answer that Sargent Shriver in 1972 was the last person who had never held public office before, to be nominated as Vice President. But in a twist, Leader McConnell wrote in to Huddle noting that Shriver had actually been in government as Director of the Peace Corps, so if one counts THAT as public office - unelected though it may be - what's the answer? Re-upping yesterday's question: Who was the last person nominated as Vice* President with zero public office experience? Email rbade@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.' http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=18157df9bc84892705e4f1abeb9136fc43b26b489fb40f4e31bcdf0f09284b76

** A message from The Broad Tax Extenders Coalition: The consensus is clear: failure to pass tax extenders would hurt families, farmers, charities, and businesses. Over 2,000 nonprofits, charitable organizations, businesses and associations agree: permanent and multiyear tax extenders will support jobs, generate new investment and innovation, and boost charitable giving. Learn more at www.consensusisclear.org **

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