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Omnibus DA...................................................................2

Omnibus Shell..............................................................3

Omnibus Now................................................................8

Top of the Docket.........................................................11

Spending Link.............................................................12A2: Immigration Thumper...................................................13

Tax Extenders DA............................................................14

Tax Extenders U...........................................................15

Political Capital Internals...............................................17

Impact Scenario...........................................................18

Other Das...................................................................20

Obama Investing in Climate Change Solutions...............................21

Iran DA – Republicans Could Push Sanctions................................22

Winners Win Answers.......................................................24

Aff.........................................................................26

Political Capital NU......................................................27

Gridlock NU...............................................................30

No GOP Coop...............................................................31

Democratic Infighting NU..................................................32

GOP Unity NU..............................................................33

Omnibus – NU..............................................................35

Omnibus – No Shutdown Impact..............................................36

AUMF Answers..............................................................37

Terrorism Risk Insurance Answers..........................................40

Cybersecurity Answers.....................................................41

Tax Extenders Answers.....................................................42

Tax Credits Impact Answers................................................44

Surveillance Reform Answers...............................................47

Tax Reform – Bipart Key...................................................48

Tax Reform 2AC............................................................49

Other.......................................................................50

US Leadership Collapsing..................................................51

NASA Spending Brink.......................................................53

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Omnibus DA

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Omnibus Shell

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Omnibus is top of the agenda and will pass – failure to reach a deal causes a short-term continuing resolution

FP News Team 11/11“9 Ways Foreign Policy Will Dominate the Lame-Duck Congress”

[http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/11/12/9_ways_foreign_policy_will_dom

inate_the_lame_duck_113th_congress]

At the top of the lame-duck agenda is agreeing on how to fund the federal

government for the rest of fiscal year 2015, which began Oct. 1. To avoid a

shutdown, Congress passed a stopgap spending measure in September. The

continuing resolution, or CR, expires Dec. 11. At a minimum, Congress will

have to pass another short-term spending bill.¶ The preference on Capitol Hill

is for passing omnibus legislation -- a catchall measure expected to fund

most government operations at 2014 levels. That measure may also include newappropriations bills for the Defense, Veterans Affairs, and Homeland Security

departments, in addition to perhaps one or two other civilian agencies, before

Congress gavels the session closed on Dec. 17, said Todd Harrison, a defense

budget expert at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.¶ For 2015,

the budget caps negotiated a year ago by the House and Senate budget committee

heads, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), still apply.

Republicans don’t appear interested in reopening that debate in the lame-duck

session, Harrison said.¶ “They’d prefer to keep their powder dry” for the 2016

budget fight, Harrison said. For now, it looks like an omnibus spending

measure has a “good chance of passing,” he added.¶ If, however, a spending

agreement looks impossible to reach, Congress could try to pass a stand-alone

defense spending bill, but it is going to be difficult to get that done with so

little time left on the clock, Harrison said. If Congress is close to a deal,

but needs a few more days past Dec. 11, the result could be a very short CR. But

if a deal is out of reach, lawmakers will be forced to pass a CR that

stretches into January or February, if they want to avoid a government

shutdown.

The plan destroys Obama’s agenda (insert)That derails the omnibus – breaks down GoPs willingness to compromise

Bolton 11/12Alexander, “McConnell, Reid look for deal”

[http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/223803-mcconnell-reid-look-to-make-deal]

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and Democratic Leader Harry

Reid (Nev.) are both looking for a deal at the end of the 113th Congress.¶

The two party leaders, who have dueled for nearly a decade with Reid in the

majority and McConnell in the minority, are about to flip positions.¶ But before

they switch roles each man wants to craft a lame-duck agreement that allows his

party to claim some small measure of victory at the end of what has been an

otherwise dysfunctional legislative session.¶ McConnell wants to clear the

agenda of several “must-pass” bills so the new Senate Republican majority

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can start 2015 with a clean slate.¶ He’s ready to work with eid to pass

bills that have been stalled for months — as long as Democrats don’t try to

load up the December calendar with partisan legislation or controversial

nominations.¶ Reid, with just a few weeks left in the majority, has priorities of

his own. After a depressing election result, he wants to pass legislation to

keep the government open; provide new funds for the fights against Ebola and the

Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS); and confirm as many of President Obama’s

nominees as possible.¶ Both sides believe the veteran lawmakers can reach a

deal. ¶ A senior Democratic aide said brokering a deal with McConnell on

what will pass in the lame-duck period is possible if the GOP leader agrees

to move a bloc of nominees and pass an omnibus spending bill despite the

objections of conservatives.¶ “It depends, No. 1, on their ability to keep their

hard right in line so we can get an omnibus done. If they can do that, that will

help. And we need some kind of agreement that processes a lot of the nominees

without dragging them out,” the aide said of the GOP leadership. ¶ Republicans

believe Reid has incentive to compromise with them instead of attempting to

wear them down with a marathon lame-duck session because senators who justlost reelection, such as Sens. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) and Kay Hagan (D-N.C.),

won’t want to hang around the Capitol while still feeling the sting ofdefeat.¶ A senior Republican aide said it’s likely Reid and McConnell will craft

an agreement to move a bloc of noncontroversial nominees, as usually happens at

the end of every Congress. But any Democratic bundlers or other political

patrons that Obama wants to reward will get blocked, the aide warned.¶ “ !t’s in

his interest to stick to the stu" that needs to get done and not fool around

with partisan e#traneous matters ,” said a senior GOP aide in reference to

Reid. “If he sticks to the essentials, everybody wants to do the essentials.”¶

McConnell faces some wild cards in Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Mike Lee (R-

Utah), who argue outgoing senators should not finish a large chunk of their

legislative work now that they are no longer accountable to voters. They say

passing non-emergency bills before newly elected lawmakers have a chance to take

their seats subverts the democratic process.¶ “Why should we do anything on our

side?” said one senior GOP aide, reflecting the Tea Party view. “Why should we

agree to anything in the lame-duck? We should turn off the lights, head out the

door and come back when we have a bigger majority.” ¶ McConnell is signaling

to colleagues that he wants to pass legislation to keep the government

funded and to extend a variety of expired tax provisions.

Omnibus key to military readiness and tech dominance – ! guts it

Alexander 11/12David, “Pentagon Number two urges end to U.S. defense cut 'madness'”

[http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/12/us-usa-defense-budget-

idUSKCN0IW1GL20141112]

(Reuters) - U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work on Wednesday appealed

to lawmakers to "stop the madness" of across-the-board Pentagon spending

cuts, saying they threaten U.S. military readiness and technological

dominance at a time of rising global challenges. ¶ Work, addressing a think-

tank defense conference, said unless Congress gave the Pentagon greater

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budgetary stability and certainty, it ran the risk of fielding a military

that was "increasingly misaligned with the strategic environment."¶ Work's

comments came as Congress, returning from a lengthy mid-term election break,

prepared to take up measures to authorize and fund U.S. defense activity in the

2015 fiscal year, which began on Oct. 1.¶ ¶ ¶ While the year has started, Congress

has not yet appropriated funding for the Pentagon, which has requested a

base budget of $496 billion plus overseas war and disaster money of more

than $64 billion. ¶ The government is currently funded through a resolution that

continues spending through Dec. 11 based on last year's priorities. Congress

will soon have to decide whether to approve 2015 appropriations or extend

the c ontinuing r esolution to keep the government running.

"uclear war

Frederick Kagan and Michael O’Hanlon 7, Fred’s a resident scholar at AEI,Michael is a senior fellow in foreign policy at Brookings, “The Case for Larger

Ground Forces”, April,

http://www.aei.org/files/2007/04/24/20070424_Kagan20070424.pdf

We live at a time when wars not only rage in nearly every region but

threaten to erupt in many places where the current relative calm is

tenuous. To view this as a strategic military challenge for the United

States is not to espouse a specific theory of America’s role in the world

or a certain political philosophy. Such an assessment flows directly from the

basic bipartisan view of American foreign policy makers since World War II that

overseas threats must be countered before they can directly threaten this

country’s shores, that the basic stability of the international system is

essential to American peace and prosperity, and that no country besides the

United States is in a position to lead the way in countering major

challenges to the global order. Let us highlight the threats and theirconsequences with a few concrete examples, emphasizing those that involve

key strategic regions of the world such as the Persian Gulf and East Asia, or

key potential threats to American security, such as the spread of nuclear

weapons and the strengthening of the global Al Qaeda/jihadist movement.

The Iranian government has rejected a series of international demands to

halt its efforts at enriching uranium and submit to international

inspections. What will happen if the US—or Israeli—government becomes

convinced that Tehran is on the verge of fielding a nuclear weapon? North

Korea, of course, has already done so, and the ripple effects are

beginning to spread. Japan’s recent election to supreme power of a leader

who has promised to rewrite that country’s constitution to support increased

armed forces—and, possibly, even nuclear weapons — may well alter the

delicate balance of fear in Northeast Asia fundamentally and rapidly.

Also, in the background, at least for now, SinoTaiwanese tensions continue to

flare, as do tensions between India and Pakistan, Pakistan and

Afghanistan, Venezuela and the United States, and so on. Meanwhile, the

world’s nonintervention in Darfur troubles consciences from Europe to

America’s Bible Belt to its bastions of liberalism, yet with no serious

international forces on offer, the bloodletting will probably, tragically,

continue unabated. And as bad as things are in Iraq today, they could get

6

http://www.aei.org/files/2007/04/24/20070424_Kagan20070424.pdfhttp://www.aei.org/files/2007/04/24/20070424_Kagan20070424.pdf


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worse. What would happen if the key Shiite figure, Ali al Sistani, were to die?

If another major attack on the scale of the Golden Mosque bombing hit either

side (or, perhaps, both sides at the same time)? Such deterioration might

convince many Americans that the war there truly was lost—but the costs of

reaching such a conclusion would be enormous. Afghanistan is somewhat more

stable for the moment, although a major Taliban offensive appears to be inthe offing. Sound US grand strategy must proceed from the recognition that,

over the next few years and decades, the world is going to be a very

unsettled and quite dangerous place, with Al Qaeda and its associated groups

as a subset of a much larger set of worries. The only serious response to

this international environment is to develop armed forces capable of

protecting America’s vital interests throughout this dangerous time.

#oing so re$uires a military capable of a wide range of missions — including not only deterrence of

great power conflict in dealing with potential hotspots in %orea& the Taiwan 'trait& and the PersianGulf but also associated with a ariety of 'pecial orces actiities and stabili*ation operations. For

today’s US military, which already excels at high technology and is increasingly

focused on re-learning the lost art of counterinsurgency, this is first and

foremost a question of finding the resources to field a large-enough standingArmy and Marine Corps to handle personnel intensive missions such as the ones

now under way in Iraq and Afghanistan. Let us hope there will be no such large-

scale missions for a while. But preparing for the possibility, while doing

whatever we can at this late hour to relieve the pressure on our soldiers

and Marines in ongoing operations, is prudent. At worst, the only potential

downside to a major program to strengthen the military is the possibility of

spending a bit too much money. Recent history shows no link between having

a larger military and its overuse; indeed, Ronald Reagan’s time in office

was characterized by higher defense budgets and yet much less use of the

military, an outcome for which we can hope in the coming years, but hardly

guarantee. While the authors disagree between ourselves about proper increases

in the size and cost of the military (with O’Hanlon preferring to hold defenseto roughly 4 percent of GDP and seeing ground forces increase by a total of

perhaps 100,000, and Kagan willing to devote at least 5 percent of GDP to

defense as in the Reagan years and increase the Army by at least 250,000), we

agree on the need to start expanding ground force capabilities by at least

25,000 a year immediately. Such a measure is not only prudent, it is also badly

overdue.

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Omnibus $ow

Omnibus legislation now

Scott Wong, 12-2-14, The Hill, “Reid Backs Boehner on Deal to Avoid Governmentshut-down, htt!"##thehill$com#news#%%&'(&-reid-)acks-)oehner-on-deal-to-avoid-shutdown

After two years of constant fighting, Republicans and Democrats are laying down

their arms and working to strike deals in the hopes of leaving town at the end

of next week.

While there are voices of dissent in both parties, congressional leaders appear

to be coalescing around legislation that would fund the government through

September, likely avoiding the shutdown fight that threatens to keep them

working through the holidays. On the other two agenda items lawmakers are

seeking to finish before the end of the year — a Defense authorization bill and

legislation renewing corporate tax breaks — tentative deals are also taking

shape. If the spirit of compromise holds, it could give GOP leaders in the House

and Senate what they have long wanted: a chance to “clear the decks” for their

new majority in January. The key issue is the government funding bill, and

Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) strategy for avoiding a shutdown and ending the

113th Congress won surprising support Tuesday from Senate Democratic Leader

Harry Reid (Nev.), who suggested the proposal would be “a big accomplishment.”

Reid’s support makes it much more likely that Boehner’s proposal of a

“cromnibus” could become law.

The Hill, 12-2, 14, htt!"##thehill$com#)lo*s#)lo*-)rie+in*-room#%%&(-o)ama-and-mcconnell-to-meet-wednesda.

House Republicans have said they are likely to pass an omnibus bill as well as a

measure that would only fund the Department of Homeland Security for the short-

term. Republicans believe the latter will give them some leverage over the White

House as they protest Obama’s executive action on immigration.

McConnell is still fresh off his successful bid to recapture the Senate for

Republicans and become Majority Leader. He was part of a post-election meeting

between congressional leaders and Obama in November.

/ake Sherman, 11-24-14, 0olitico,htt!"##www$!olitico$com#stor.#%(14#11#re!u)lican-leaders-shutdown-immi*ration-1114$html2h!3)1l%

House Republican leaders are beginning to coalesce around a strategy to avoid a government shutdown in less

than a month. The likely proposal would fund nearly the entire government through September 2015, butimmigration enforcement related funding would be renewed on a short-term basis, according to several high-ranking

GOP lawmakers and aides who described the plan as it stands now. The strategy is designed to keep the government

open, while satisfying the base, which is livid with President Back Obama for issuing an executive order that ends

deportations for millions of undocumented immigrants. Republican leaders have struggled to come up with a plan that

would satisfy both goals — of keeping the government open, while allowing members to express their anger at Obama.

GOP sources believe that keeping immigration funding on a short leash could be the answer. The short-term portion

would most likely expire sometime in the first quarter of 2015, sources said. The delay would give Republican leaders

more options to counter Obama’s executive order without inducing a government shutdown. In GOP circles, this plan

has taken on the name of “CROmnibus” — a combination of CR, the short-term funding bill, and omnibus, the longer-

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term way to fund the government that includes the 12 annual funding bills. Michael Steel, a spokesman for Speaker

John Boehner (R-Ohio), said no final decision has been made on how the House will move forward on the issue.

Jennifer Hing, a spokeswoman for the House Appropriations Committee, said, “Negotiations with the Senate

continue, and the committee has made significant progress on a full year, 12-bill omnibus bill. We expect to have that

bill ready for the floor the week of Dec. 8.” Congress returns to Washington Dec. 1, just 10 days before government

funding is set to expire, and Boehner and incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) say they are

intent on avoiding a government shutdown. Obama’s executive action has inflamed conservatives, who believe he has

overstepped his constitutional authority. Some hard-line GOP lawmakers are calling for a showdown with Obama, but

Boehner and McConnell have no desire to relive the October 2013 government shutdown. McConnell, Boehner and

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said that the Republican-controlled Capitol Hill would stop

governing by crisis. Boehner last week, however, said that he has plenty of energy to fight Obama.

Cromnibus

Rebecca Shabad, 12-2-14, The Hill, “What is ‘cromnibus?”

http://thehill.com/policy/finance/225783-what-is-the-cromnibus

Both chambers of Congress on Tuesday appeared to be leaning toward movingsomething called a “cromnibus” to fund the government through next year.

The cromnibus isn’t some tasty new donut. It’s a combination of a long-term

omnibus spending bill and a shorter-term continuing resolution (CR). Here’s how

it would break down. Omnibus The omnibus portion of the spending package would

contain 11 appropriations bills that would fund most government agencies until

next September. The only agency that wouldn’t be included in the omnibus would

be the Department of Homeland Security. Republicans want to fund that department

for a shorter period of time so that they can wage a new battle next year over

President Obama’s executive actions on immigration. There's also a difference

between how an omnibus package and CR directs money to be spent.

Regular appropriations bills target funds to specific areas depending on current

needs and they're done on a line-by-line basis with much more oversight and

accountability, House Appropriations Committee spokeswoman Jennifer Hing said.

CRs, by contrast, merely carry forward previous spending levels and don't allow

for new programs to start or for new needs to be met.

CR

The CR would only fund the Department of Homeland Security until “sometime in

March,” House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) said Tuesday.

It would be funded at the same level as its existing funding.

The Appropriations panel has not provided any further details about what the CR

would include, but it will likely not cut off any funding to immigration-related

services for now, despite the demands of some conservatives.

Would Obama sign a cromnibus?

White House spokesman Josh Earnest on Tuesday reiterated the president would

like to see Congress pass a long-term funding bill, but did not say whetherObama would sign or veto a cromnibus package that didn’t extend funding for the

Homeland Security agency through September.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), however, signaled he could support

such a measure and would be open to bringing it to the floor if it passed in the

House.

“That would be a big accomplishment if we could get a bill over here that would

fund all the appropriations subcommittees except for one,” Reid told

reporters. “I think it's kind of unfortunate that they're talking about not

doing Homeland Security but that’s the way it is.”

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Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski might also accept it

because it would at least preserve most of what she had been working on for the

omnibus.

%omentum for omnibus now

Jory Heckman , 11-28-14 Federal News Radio, “Continuing resolution or omnibus? Decision Looms for Congress as

Holiday Approaches,” http://www.federalnewsradio.com/153/3752258/Continuing-resolution-or-omnibus-Decision-

looms-for-Congress-as-holidays-approach DOA: 11-30-14

Appropriations leaders Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md) and Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky) have both advocated for passing a

comprehensive omnibus bill that would incorporate the dozen appropriations bills that their committees have worked

on. Mikulski, the Senate Appropriations Committee chair, has said appropriators are making steady progress towards

an omnibus bill. David Hawkings, senior editor of Roll Call, said that with time running out, Congress may push out

something called a "cromnibus" bill.

Omnibus spending bill push now

The Main Wire, November 24, %(14

US Hill GOP Still Pondering Broad FY15 Spending Bill Strategy

A+ter several listless weeks, the 5ame Duck 6on*ress is on a week-lon* )reak +orThanks*ivin*, )ut when it reconvenes Monday congressional leaders must decide

what they can do to ee! the government "unded# The +ederal *overnment iscurrentl. o!eratin* under a sto!-*a! s!endin* )ill that e7tends until Decem)er11$ Re!u)licans leaders insist the. want to kee! the *overnment +unded, )utthe. also want to send a tou*h messa*e to their rank-and-+ile mem)ers and to0resident Barack 8)ama that his e7ecutive order on immi*ration will )e !unished$$or several wees, tals have been underway to cra"t an omnibus s!ending !acagethat combines the 12 annual s!ending bill and "unds the government "or the resto" the "iscal year# The %(1& +iscal .ear )e*an on 8cto)er 1, %(14 and e7tendsuntil Se!tem)er (, %(1&$ Senate A!!ro!riations 6ommittee 6hair Bar)ara9ikulski, Sen$ Richard Shel)., the rankin* Re!u)lican on the committee, HouseBud*et 6ommittee 6hair Hal Ro*ers, and Re!$ :ita 5owe., the rankin* Democrat onthe !anel, are scheduled to meet 9onda. to review e++orts to cra+t an omni)us)ill$

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mailto:[email protected]://www.federalnewsradio.com/153/3752258/Continuing-resolution-or-omnibus-Decision-looms-for-Congress-as-holidays-approachhttp://www.federalnewsradio.com/153/3752258/Continuing-resolution-or-omnibus-Decision-looms-for-Congress-as-holidays-approachmailto:[email protected]://www.federalnewsradio.com/153/3752258/Continuing-resolution-or-omnibus-Decision-looms-for-Congress-as-holidays-approachhttp://www.federalnewsradio.com/153/3752258/Continuing-resolution-or-omnibus-Decision-looms-for-Congress-as-holidays-approach


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Top of the DocketThe ;ashin*ton 0ost, 11-%, %(14Congress's bargaining chip, p. A26

TH% $&'ST order o" business "or (ongress when it returns "rom its Thansgiving brea will be reaching agreement on an omnibus a!!ro!riations bill to avoid a*overnment shutdown )e+ore +undin* e7!ires Dec$ 11$ Horse-trading between the

White House and the lame-duc (ongress will be an inevitable !art o" the !rocess, )ut we ho!e the !rice o+ kee!in* *overnment o!en won


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Spending &ink

Changes in spending le'el or new spending allocations killsomnibus budget agreement




Appropriations leaders Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md) and Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky) have both advocated for passing

a comprehensive omnibus bill that would incorporate the dozen appropriations bills that their committees have

worked on. Mikulski, the Senate Appropriations Committee chair, has said appropriators are making steady

progress towards an omnibus bill. David Hawkings, senior editor of Roll Call, said that with time running out,

Congress may push out something called a "cromnibus" bill. "No kidding, that's the word that they're using — acromnibus," Hawkings said on In Depth with Francis Rose. "Just like how a Cronut is half-croissant and half-donut, a

cromnibus is some of the 12 bills that are some of the more politically controversial would be maintained as just

a CR — no changes in policy or funding levels, just running in place from last year." Congress will return from its

Thanksgiving recess on Dec. 1. Jessica Klement, legislative director of the National Active and Retired Federal

Employees Association, said she's unsatisfied with the continued procrastination from Congress. "It never ceases to

amaze me that they have been back for two weeks, they're out this week, and then they're back for two more weeks, and

still it appears that very little progress has been made on FY 2015," Klement said in an In Depth interview. Klement

told Francis Rose that, as far as she can tell, Congress has been working hard behind the scenes can get the omnibus

done. "As best as I can tell in conversations I've had with folks on the Hill, appropriations staff is very, very

busy, and their focus is an omnibus. And they are trying as hard as they can to get an omnibus done by Dec. 11 ,"

Klement said. "Maybe we'll have another short-term CR." Maddocks urged Congress to make the most of their brief

session in December. "I really hope they allocate a good majority of their time to the budget," she said. "People arealready scraping the bottom of the barrel to get their congressionally mandated goals missions and goals accomplished,

and it's a struggle to get it done at those levels."

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mailto:[email protected]://www.federalnewsradio.com/153/3752258/Continuing-resolution-or-omnibus-Decision-looms-for-Congress-as-holidays-approachhttp://www.federalnewsradio.com/153/3752258/Continuing-resolution-or-omnibus-Decision-looms-for-Congress-as-holidays-approachhttp://www.federalnewsradio.com/108/3749779/David-Hawkings-Senior-Editor-Roll-Callhttp://www.federalnewsradio.com/108/3749779/David-Hawkings-Senior-Editor-Roll-Callhttp://www.federalnewsradio.com/108/3749779/David-Hawkings-Senior-Editor-Roll-Callhttp://www.federalnewsradio.com/146/3750578/Jessica-Klement-Legislative-Director-NARFEhttp://www.federalnewsradio.com/146/3750578/Jessica-Klement-Legislative-Director-NARFEmailto:[email protected]://www.federalnewsradio.com/153/3752258/Continuing-resolution-or-omnibus-Decision-looms-for-Congress-as-holidays-approachhttp://www.federalnewsradio.com/153/3752258/Continuing-resolution-or-omnibus-Decision-looms-for-Congress-as-holidays-approachhttp://www.federalnewsradio.com/108/3749779/David-Hawkings-Senior-Editor-Roll-Callhttp://www.federalnewsradio.com/146/3750578/Jessica-Klement-Legislative-Director-NARFE


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A() !mmigration Thumper

!mmigration won’t block an omnibus bill

The Main Wire, November 24, %(14

US Hill GOP Still Pondering Broad FY15 Spending Bill Strategy

Some Re!u)licans have su**ested addin* a !olic. rider to an. omni)us s!endin*!acka*e that would )lock 8)ama +rom im!lementin* his e7ecutive order onimmi*ration !olic.$ But Democrats counter that this is tantamount to shuttin*down the +ederal *overnment )ecause the !resident would never a*ree to si*n sucha )ill$ Another idea that is )ein* reviewed care+ull. ). Re!u)licans is !assin*the omni)us s!endin* )ill in Decem)er to +und the *overnment as well as ase!arate )ill that would cut +unds +or an. o+ !ro*rams that would im!lement theimmi*ration e7ecutive order$ But it now seems that many congressional'e!ublicans want to a!!rove another sto!-ga! "unding bill in early )ecember andthen brace "or a tough battle with *bama early in the new year#

6.)er securit. )ill won=t !ass, 8)ama not !ushin*

>nside 6.)er Securit., :ovem)er %&, %(14U.S. Chamber keeps up pressure for cybersecurity info-sharing bill

The 6ham)erSTntelli*ence 6hairman 9ike Ro*ers @R-9>, who s!onsored the House version o+ thein+o-sharin* )ill, is holdin* a hearin* on Thursda. to hi*hli*ht advanced c.)er

threats and the need to !ass le*islation$ However, the !ros!ects "or thein"ormation-sharing legislation a!!eared to su""er a serious, !erha!s "atal,setbac on Tuesday when the Senate "ailed to advance a National Security +gencysurveillance re"orm bill$ That measure was stron*l. )acked ). !rivac. and civilli)erties *rou!s that are e7!ected to o!!ose an in+o-sharin* )ill in the a)senceo+ :SA re+orms$ The *bama administration has also e!ressed concerns about boththe Senate and House-!assed in"ormation-sharing bills, while o""ering su!!ort

"or the other measures on N&ST, )HS and securing "ederal networs# -- 6harlie9itchell @cmitchelliw!news$com

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Ta# *#tenders DA

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Ta# *#tenders +

,hite House will support the new deal on ta# e#tenders

Justin Sink, 12-2, 14, The Hill, “White House Signals Support for Tax Deal,”

The Hill, http://thehill.com/policy/finance/225740-white-house-signals-support-

for-one-year-tax-package

The White House on Tuesday signaled it might be able to support a tax deal that

would extend dozens of tax breaks for a year. The measure is gaining momentum

one week after the White House said President Obama would veto an earlier

package of tax cut extensions that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.)

had been negotiating. That package would have made some of the tax cuts

permanent. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the administration does not

have “as bad a view” of the emerging deal as it had of the previous one.

“There's a significant difference between taking one element of the tax code andextending it for one year, and making it permanent,” he said. “And that

certainly is a significant factor as we evaluate the proposals that are being

generated by both the House and the Senate." Asked specifically if the

administration would veto a one-year package of tax extension, Earnest

sidestepped.

“I didn't walk out here today planning to issue any veto threats, so I don't

think I'm going to,” he said. “We're hopeful that we'll be able to come up with

something that we believe is good for middle-class families.”

Earlier Tuesday, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said he would back the

one-year House bill, although he said he preferred a two-year extension offered

by Senate Democrats.

$ew deal

Associated Press, 12-2-14, Republican American, “Congress crams unfinished

agenda into final days,” http://www.rep-

am.com/articles/2014/12/03/news/national/846753.txt

Tax 'extenders.' Dozens of tax breaks for individuals and businesses have

expired. An attempt to strike a deal between Senate Democrats and House

Republicans on permanently renewing some of these so-called extenders foundered

last week. Now, a one-year renewal seems most likely.

D ta# credit likely to be restored

Christina Marcos, 11-30-14, “Will Lame Duck Limp to Christmas?” The Hill,

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/225409-will-lame-duck-limp-into-christmas DOA 11-30-14

More than 50 tax credits expired at the end of 2013 that lawmakers want to renew by the end of the 113th

Congress. Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen has warned that tax refunds could be delayed next

year if there isn't a decision soon. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) and Senate

Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) came close to a deal earlier this week, but it fell apart after the White House

threatened to veto the emerging $450 billion package. The Obama administration and other top Democrats thought

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the measure would renew more tax breaks benefiting corporations than average Americans. Among the credits

likely to be restored are the research and development credit, a provision to allow business to write off expenses

more quickly and the commuter tax credit to reduce workers' mass transit costs. Still at issue is whether some of those

credits will become a permanent part of the tax code.

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.olitical Capital !nternals

Ta# credits a hard sell

Andre Taylor, 11-30-14, Associated Press,

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2014/11/30/congress_crams_unfinished_agenda_into_final_days_124806.html

Congress Crams Unfinished Agenda Into Final Days, DOA: 11-30-14

The tax-writing committees are trying to renew a bundle of expired tax breaks

such as the deduction for state and local sales taxes and the research and

experimentation credit. Some, like tax credits for renewable energy projects

such as wind farms, are a hard sell for GOP conservatives, but eagerly sought by

Midwestern Republicans such as Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa.

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advantage while lowering the risk of armed conflict. This is, after all, the nuclear age . A war could

end in the annihilation of all who take part in it . Short of that, unbridled animosity and contentionbetween great powers and their allies and friends have high opportunity costs and foster the tensions inherent in military posturing,

arms races, instability, and impoverishment.

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Other Das

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Obama !n'esting in Climate Change Solutions

Obama in'esting capital to control climate change

Neela Banerjee, 11-27-14, “EPA’s proposed ozone limit faces political, cost

hurdles,” http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-epa-ozone-rule-20141127-story.html

EPA already has air quality rules on the books and we are improving air quality," said Howard Feldman, director of

regulatory affairs at the petroleum institute. "So we don't need another layer on top of that, which is what a tighter ozone

standard would do." With major industries backing them, some in Congress are ready to battle President Obama over

the ozone limit. They are banking, in part, that he has little stomach for the fight, given that he shelved a tighter standard

in 2011 at the start of his reelection bid. "The administration only has so much political capital at its disposal. It has

made clear that controlling greenhouse gases is its legacy issue," said Scott Segal, a lobbyist for the energy industry in

Washington. "It is unclear that the administration has the bandwidth to sustain both rules." Proponents of the new limit

say the backlash the president suffered from supporters by ditching a new ozone standard three years ago would make

him more determined to stick with it now.

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!ran DA 1 epublicans Could .ush Sanctions

!ran talks continuing2 epublicans could sabotage with newsanctions

Leon Hadar, 11-26, 14, Business Times, Obama's foreign policy goals more distant

now, Obama's foreign policy goals more distant now;

With US global positions seen eroding, and the power of ISIS, Russia and China

rising, Republicans may be in a position to make it even harder for him to

achieve his aim, p. 1

The "ailure by the negotiators in ienna to reach a com!rehensive deal with &ran by the deadline that was set "or Monday night doesn.t mean that the di!lomatice""orts to !revent the &ranians "rom ac/uiring nuclear military ca!abilitieshave colla!sed# The Cnited States, to*ether with Russia, 6hina, rance, Britainand German. - the so-called &E1 - have alread. made some !ro*ress durin* the

+irst sta*e o+ the ne*otiations, reachin* an a*reement last .ear under which>ran a*reed to +reeFe !arts o+ its nuclear !ro*ramme in e7chan*e +or the li+tin*o+ some o+ the economic sanctions on Teheran$ And des!ite missin* the deadline+or a deal this week, all sides seem to )elieve that it would )e !re+era)le tocontinue the talks than allowin* them to colla!se$ 'e!orts suggest that thedeadline "or an agreement would be etended until the middle o" net year# CSo++icials have su**ested that their *oal o+ limitin* >ransraeli Democraticsenators, may be able to gain a two-third ma0ority in the Senate that wouldallow them to override the !resident.s veto# 8ne o+ the ar*uments that 9r 8)amaand his aides have em!lo.ed in su!!ort o+ im!rovin* relationshi! with >ran, has)een that Teheran and her Shiite allies in the re*ion could assist the Cnited

States and its ;estern allies in their current +i*ht a*ainst the Sunni radicalsthat lead the >slamic State o+ >raI and S.ria @>S>S that now controls lar*e!arts o+ S.ria and >raI$ But the 8)ama AdministrationS>S strate*. has also)een +acin* stron* criticism +rom the Re!u)licans on 6a!itol Hill who )lame the;hite House +or what onl. a +ew months a*o would have )een re*arded as a maorachievement - the swi+t withdrawal o+ American troo!s +rom >raI - +or creatin* astrate*ic vacuum in the re*ion that >S>S is now tr.in* to +ill$ The Re!u)lican+orei*n !olic. narrative de!icts the 8)ama Administrationran and the stren*thenin* o+ >S>S - asre+lectin* ?weakness? i+ not ?a!!easement? ). the ;hite House towards America


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a**ressive moves in Ckraine and 6hinaS>S,Russia, 6hina, and other real and ima*inar. adversaries, the 'e!ublicans may now

be in a !osition to mae it even more di""icult "or Mr *bama to !ursue his"oreign !olicy goals that seemed to )e realistic and achieva)le in %(('$

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,inners ,in Answers

,inners don’t win 1 their e'idence is only theoretical and

doesn’t assume Obama’s particular relationship with Congress3Drum, Mother Jones, 10-10-14 (Kevin, “Was Obama Naive?”http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2014/10/was-obama-naive)

Paul Krugman has finally come around to a fair assessment of Barack Obama's term in office: not

perfect, by any means, and he probably could have accomplished more with

better tactics and a better understanding of his opponents. Still and all, heaccomplished a lot. By any reasonable standard, he's been a pretty successful liberal president.

Ezra Klein says this is because he abandoned one of the key goals of his presidency: From 2009 to

2010, Obama, while seeking the post-partisan presidency he wanted, established the

brutally partisan presidency he got . Virtually every achievement Krugman

recounts — the health-care law, the Dodd-Frank financial reforms, the financial rescue,

the stimulus bill — passed in these first two years when Democrats held

huge majorities in congress. And every item on the list passed over screaming Republican opposition . ....Obama spent his first two years keeping many of his policypromises by sacrificing his central political promise. That wasn't how it felt to the administration

at the time. They thought that success would build momentum ; that change

would beget change. Obama talked of the "muscle memory" congress would

rediscover as it passed big bills; he hoped that achievements would

replenish his political capital rather than drain it. In this, the Obama

administration was wrong , and perhaps naive. This is, to me, one of the most interestingquestions about the Obama presidency: was he ever serious about building a bipartisan consensus? Did

he really think he could pass liberal legislation with some level of Republican cooperation? Or was

this little more than routine campaign trail bushwa? To some extent, I think it was just the usual

chicken-in-every-pot hyperbole of American presidential campaigns. American elites venerate

bipartisanship, and it's become pretty routine to assure everyone that once you're in office you'll

change the toxic culture of Washington DC. Bush Jr. promised it. Clinton promised it. Bush Sr.

promised it. Carter promised it. Even Nixon promised it. (Reagan is the exception. Perhaps that's

why he's still so revered by conservatives despite the fact that his actual conduct in office was

considerably more pragmatic than his rhetoric.) So when candidates say this, do they really believe

it? Or does it belong in the same category as promises that you'll restore American greatness and

supercharge the economy for the middle class? In Obama's case, it sure sounded like more than pro

forma campaign blather. So maybe he really did believe it. Hell, maybe all the rest of them believed

it too. The big difference this time around was the opposition. Every other president has

gotten at least some level of cooperation from the opposition party.

Maybe not much, but some. Obama got none . This was pretty unprecedentedin recent history, and it's hard to say that he should have been able to predict this back in 2008.

He probably figured that he'd get at least a little bit of a honeymoon, especially given the

disastrous state of the economy, but he didn't. From Day 1 he got nothing except an adamantine wall

of obstruction. Clearly, then, Obama was wrong about the prospects for

bipartisanship. But was he naive? I'd say he's guilty of a bit of that, but the truth isthat he really did end up facing a hornet's nest of unprecedented

proportions. This might have taken any new president by surprise.

Obama doesn’t win 1 4osters 5O. backlash 1 *'en if the ,hiteHouse gets momentum2 they can’t capitali6eParnes 10-15-14 [Arnie Parnes, The Hill, "Where did it go wrong for Obama?"thehill.com/homenews/administration/220775-where-did-it-go-wrong-for-obama da

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11-7-14]cd

To be sure, the decline in Obama’s political fortunes cannot be blamed on the

kind of major scandal that has marred other modern second terms, such as

Watergate, Iran-Contra or the Monica Lewinsky affair. That leaves observers who

are sympathetic to Obama putting forth all kinds of explanations, even as

Republicans suggest the dwindling support for the president was both inevitableand overdue. Tony Fratto, who served as deputy press secretary to former

President George W. Bush, believes Obama’s second term was o'er before it

e'en started . He pinpoints the start of the problem as the “fiscal cliff”

negotiations in December 2012, the month before Obama would take the oath of

office for the second time. Obama won the tit-for-tat fight. But Fratto argued

that the president pushed epublicans so far into a corner on that occasion

that there was no possibility of them working with him on any other issue .

“He got what he wanted and that was clearly a victory for him,” Fratto

said. “But what I really don’t understand is why he thought the

relationship would improve after that. !t could only get worse 2 and it got

worse .” Democrats take issue with that characterization, contending that the

GOP has taken an obstructionist approach to Obama since he was first elected.

More broadly, senior administration officials disagree with any suggestion that

Obama’s second term has fallen flat. They point out that the president has

overseen an economy that has added 10.3 million jobs over 55 straight

months of employment growth, the longest streak in recent history. The

national unemployment rate fell to 5.9 percent in September, the lowest

figure since 2008. There is more to boast about than just the economy,

the officials add. When it comes to climate issues, the use of wind power

has tripled and solar power has increased tenfold, they say. And they

highlight Obama’s second-term work on healthcare, noting that 10.3

million previously uninsured Americans are now covered. But e'en former

aides to Obama are casting around for e#planations as to why his stock of

political capital has depleted so rapidly . “I’m still struggling to figure this

out,” said one former senior administration official. “I think a lot of it boils

down to this mindset that, ‘we all have the answers and we’re smarter than

everybody else and we can do this.’ ” This source said that the element of

hubris was exacerbated by the “level of insularity,” adding, “I don’t know if

the president has stopped trying or he’s tired of it but the White House seems

to be perpetually in a bunker mode.” A second former senior administration

official suggested that a lack of focus had allowed erstwhile priorities like

immigration reform and gun control to slip away. “With immigration, the

mistake was always letting other things become a bigger priority and notputting it [on the] front burner,” the second former official said. “Once it

passed the Senate, they should have kept their foot on the gas. There was a lot

more momentum at the time. “Once you put it off, it’s ove r,” the former aide

continued. “It should have never waited that long. It fell off the radar.”

Former officials and other observers agree that, above all, Obama has failed to

connect with the American public, particularly on big, unfamiliar issues such as

the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq

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A"

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.olitical Capital $+

!mmigration action killed capital

Global Risk Insights, 11-30, 14 “Four Consequences of Obama’s Immigration Action,” International Policy Digest

http://www.internationalpolicydigest.org/2014/11/30/four-consequences-obamas-immigration-action/ DOA 11-30-14

One of the more frequently-heard Republican responses to President Obama’s actions is that they destroyed any

chances for a bipartisan immigration reform bill next year. Whether this is true or not remains to be seen, but the

line is more likely an attempt to shrink the President’s political capital when it does come time to negotiate

reforms. The “prosecutorial discretion,” as the White House describes the action, to temporarily allow certain

undocumented workers to remain in the US without being deported, is more of an affront to Republicans simply

because the President circumnavigated them, rather than because of the action itself. Either way, the action is only a

stop-gap measure and will need to be addressed again. The heart of the immigration debate, and the two parties’

common ground, largely remains untouched. Any major negotiation legislation requires areas of agreement to get off

the ground followed by deal-making and cunning to get the rest of the way. The deals that would be made are still far

off, but the common ground of enhancing border security, visas for highly-educated workers, and some sort of qualified

path to citizenship remains. The biggest tangible threat that the President’s executive actions pose is the cost in

political capital. For a relatively tame action (in the scheme of the larger policy question), President Obama had

been forced to endure a week’s worth of negative sound bites – such as being called “King Obama.” Already in a

weakened position after the Democrats’ election loss, the political capital incurred for this executive order may

prove better used during negotiations over legislation.

$o capital

Hindustan Times, 11-17, 14,

http://www.hindustantimes.com/comment/anirudhbhattacharyya/act-fast-to-act-

east/article1-1286980.aspx Anirudh Bhattacharyya

At their encounter in Myanmar, Obama called Modi a “man of action”. Unlike Obama

who’s broke when it comes to political capital, the PM has plenty to expend.

That could be paid into turning the Act East policy into an Act Fast strategy.

Warren Roberts, 11-18, 14, “Healthcare in America isn’t ‘Stupid’”

http://blog.timesunion.com/roberts/healthcare-in-america-isnt-stupid/786/

It is clear to me now that President Obama used up more political capital on his

health-care plan than he could afford. His enemies in Congress have used clubs

to batter him, weaken his presidency, and compromise his initiatives in his last

two years in office. America is the loser in this outcome. Republicans aregleeful; historians will look back on all of this shaking their heads over how

it could have happened.

Arnold Ahlert, November 18, 2014, “Two More Years of ‘By Any Means Necessary,’

http://patriotpost.us/opinion/31019

And all of it is A-OK with the Times, which notes that “the back-to-back moves

have reinforced Mr. Obama’s desire to assert himself in a period when his poll

numbers and political capital are at their lowest ebbs. While losing Congress

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was a grievous blow that will further challenge his capacity to govern, advisers

said that he feels liberated. He can now pursue his long-term agenda, they said,

without being tethered to the short-term electoral concerns of his party’s

leadership in Congress.”

$o .CGolub, Communities Digital News, 11-10-14 (Eric, “How Barack Obamadestroyed his presidency,” http://www.commdiginews.com/politics-2/how-barack-

obama-destroyed-his-presidency-29502/#2hkgbUYYwTfTJ4Uy.99, accessed 11-13-1)

In 2004 Barack Obama rocketed onto the national scene with a political

speech for the ages. That one speech took an unknown Illinois Senator and propelled him tothe White House. His 2008 presidential run saw him travel to Germany to speak in front of 200,000

adoring fans. He accepted the Democratic nomination for president in front of Greek columns. When he

took his next trip to Germany, 196,000 fewer people showed up. Although he won reelection, by early

2014 the crowds had all but disappeared. His biggest supporters were walking out of his speeches

while he was still talking. Now his presidency has been reduced to ash es . The 2010

election was a “shellacking” for Democrats. (789 was a bloodbath .

Republicans now control the House , the Senate, and over 30 governorships .In 23 states Republicans control the governorship and both houses of the

state legislature. Obama’s biggest supporters still try to offer

scenarios where Obama can rebound and go out in a blaze of glory. A more

useful exercise would be to understand how a man who inspired so many

with “Change we can believe in” failed on such a spectacular le'el . His

errors were numerous , unforced, and most tragically of all, avoidable.

His 2009 inauguration speech — Presidential speeches are supposed to be

unifying and uplifting. Obama built his profile on soaring rhetoric . This

made is initial inaugural speech as head-scratching as it was petty,

partisan and nasty. He took repeated shots at his predecessor. For Obama, the

campaign never ended . This was the beginning of his undoing, as he turnedaway people who wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. Refusing to

be honest with the American people — He made statements that he knew to

be untrue. He told Americans that if they liked their doctors and their

health plans, they could keep them. He promised the most transparent

administration in history and instead offered the most secretive. He took his bond

of trust with the American people and left it irreparably broken. Failing

to forge relationships — Obama at his core is an introvert who does not

like bonding with people. He is a devoted family man who prefers being home every night to

help his children with their homework. The presidency does not allow for this. Every president

faces the reality that congress consists of 535 people who require more

strokes than the average ego. Obama loves golf, but he hardly ever invites the key

political players to join him on the links. Obama joked recently that he would share some KentuckyBourbon with incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The comment was well-meaning, but

Obama after six years has no idea what McConnell drinks. Democrat President Lyndon Baines Johnson

frequently shared adult beverages with Republican Senate Majority Leader Everett Dirksen.

Refusing to listen to the American people — Americans wanted improvements

in the healthcare system, but for the most part people were happy with

their own healthcare. Obama was convinced that the Affordable Care Act would become as

beloved as Social Security and Medicare, but those programs had popular support. The ACA never

reached 50% approval . Parts of it are liked, but the overall law was passed against the willof the people. Opponents benefitted by campaigning against it while supporters, even in 2012,

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refused to acknowledge its existence. Repeatedly insulting political opponents —

Obama tends to resort to school playground style “rankouts” to belittle

people who disagree with him . He is too quick to abandon the substance of

an argument and resort to tactics that deserve to be considered childish

bullying and beneath the dignity of the Oval Office. Obama on several

occasions has berated political opponents as they sat in the front row

listening to him. Injecting himself unnecessarily into racial

controversies — Whenever a conflict arises involving people of different races, Obamareflexively sides with the black individual without bothering to look at the facts. He claimed that

a white police officer “acted stupidly” when the evidence suggested otherwise. He sided with Trayvon

Martin and Michael Brown despite the facts showing that neither one of these men were blameless in

their respective situations. Obama on occasion has even ascribed racist motives to critics of his

policies. Letting ideology and politics trump policy — Obama had a carefully craftednarrative of a successful terror warrior who caught Osama bin Laden. On September 11th, 2012, al

Qaeda Islamists stormed the United States Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. Ambassador Chris Stevensand a pair of Navy SEALs were among four murdered Americans who might have been saved if the help

they requested had arrived. An order for rescuers to stand down condemned four Americans to certain

death. The administration refuses to say who gave the stand down order. Making matters worse, the

administration blamed well-coordinated Islamist attacks on a film-maker who made an anti-Muslim

video that virtually nobody ever saw. The film-maker still sits in jail as the administration keeps

witnesses hidden from the media and the general public. Perceived weakness abroad — From

enemies of America including Iran to strategic opponents such as Russia,

America has allowed aggression to go unchecked. Cuba, North Korea, Afghanistan andMexico all held American prisoners hostage as the administration seemed helpless to bring them home.

This tactic of kidnapping Americans and holding them hostage did not happen when Obama’s predecessor

was in charge. The American public does not like being publicly emasculated.

They take particular umbrage at determining, fairly or not, that their

president is either too feeble or too uninterested to bring Americans

safely home. Personal targeting of political opponents — The Obama

administration used the IRS to target Tea Party groups, pro-Israel groups and

other groups participating legally in the political process. The Department of

Justice raided Gibson Guitar, whose only sin seems to be donating money to candidates who disagreewith Obama. Journalists have been spied upon, with Fox News reporter James Rosen being targeted for

conspiracy. The National Security Agency has even been caught spying on United States Senators and

ordinary Americans. President Obama was not a victim of circumstance. He was not a

victim of bigots. He was not a victim at all. He made conscious choices . He chose to

target political opponents , demonize legitimate critics personally, put

politics over human lives, and use coercion and falsehoods to pass

unpopular legislation. On top of everything else, his policies from the

stimulus to green energy bankruptcies to foreign policy debacles have

just failed. It took six years, but Obama’s obsessive desire to win at all

costs ended up wrecking his own presidency .

Obama has no PC

South Coast Today 11/13 (Our View, 2014, “Our View: No more games onimmigration”,

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/article/20141113/OPINION/141119722/101229)

If President Obama ignores that first word — “Together” — he risks losing any

hope for reform in the next two years in a country that can waste no time in

getting it. The president has felt the pressure to do something where Congress

has so far failed, but he decided to let the election play out before making any

dramatic changes through executive order. That strategy might have been

misguided . Instead of keeping that hot issue from interfering with Democrats’

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prospects on Nov. 4, a Republican-majority with a decidedly negative view toward

executive orders awaits him in the next session. The majority leadership for

that next session has already informed the president and the public of its

displeasure with that approach. Obama has run out of political capital on this

subject, and if he wants to see reform — not to contribute to his legacy, but to

do what’s best for the country — he should put the pen down . Instead, he shouldlisten, talk, and listen some more.

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$o 5O. Coop

$o oli'e branch2 Obama bucking the 5O.

David 5i*htman, 11-%', 5ewiston 9ornin* Tri)une @>daho, %(14

Obama charts anti-GOP course :President is ignoring the GOP's landslide

victories on Nov. 4

0resident Barack *bama has s!ent November acting with a de"iant "ury, movin*with little re*ard +or the messa*e voters sent at the !olls$ &nstead o" reachingout to 'e!ublicans who won control o+ ne7t .ear


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Democratic !n:ghting $+

Democrat in:ghting now

David Milbans, 11-2, :orth 0ort Sun @lorida, ;ashin*ton 0ost 6olumnist,

:ovem)er %, %(14, Democrats' family feud is counterproductive, p. 11

;ith Democrats actin* like this, who needs Re!u)licans2 6huck Schumer, the No# 5Senate )emocratic leader who would ver. much like to )e :o$ 1, caused a "urorlast wee when he *ave a s!eech at the :ational 0ress 6lu) )ashin* +ellowDemocrats and the ;hite House$ He said that )emocrats "ocused on the wrong

!roblem when they !assed *bamacare and that the wa. the. handled stimulusle*islation was a ?mistake$ +s i" by way o" re!ly, the White House announcedthe same day that it would veto a 6447 billion ta bill the Senate )emocraticleadershi! had negotiated with 'e!ublicans$ Meanwhile, "ormer White Houseo""icials

who serve as surro*ate de+enders o+ 0resident 8)ama went a"ter Schumer

on Twitter$ ormer 8)ama aide Tomm. Nietor" ?Shorter 6huck Schumer -- > wish8)ama cared more a)out hel!in* Democrats than sick !eo!le$ ormer 8)amas!eechwriter /on avreau" ?unn., > don


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5O. +nity $+

5O. in:ghting non-uni;ue

David Milbans, 11-2, :orth 0ort Sun @lorida, ;ashin*ton 0ost 6olumnist,

:ovem)er %, %(14, Democrats' family feud is counterproductive, p. 11

The Democrats< circular +irin* sIuad is all the more !uFFlin* )ecause this is atime when Re!u)licans, now with uni+ied control o+ 6on*ress, should )e the !art.stru**lin* with internal stri+e, )etween hard-liners seekin* ma7imum disru!tionand those takin* seriousl. their o)li*ation to *overn$ There were si*ns o+ that+issure in recent da.s a+ter the House &ntelligence (ommittee, controlled by'e!ublicans, released a declassi"ied re!ort essentially debuning all thecons!iracy theories conservatives had been cooing u! about the %(1% attacks onC$S$ !ersonnel in 9engha:i, 5i).a$ The !anel +ound that ?a!!ro!riate C$S$!ersonnel made reasona)le tactical decisions that ni*ht, and the committee +oundno evidence that there was either a stand-down order or a denial o+ availa)le

air su!!ort$? The G80-led !anel +urther +ound that ?there was no intelli*ence+ailure !rior to the attacks? and that while the 8)ama administration


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Omnibus 1 $+

!mmigration blocking omnibus legislation

The Main Wire, November 24, %(14US Hill GOP Still Pondering Broad FY15 Spending Bill Strategy

9ut the !ush "or an omnibus s!ending bill clearly has been slowed by *bama.sdecision last wee to issue a broad eecutive order on immigration !olic.$6on*ressional Re!u)licans had warned the !resident +or weeks that issuin* suchan order would dama*e his relationshi! with Re!u)licans in 6on*ress and havelon*-term im!lications$ House S!eaker /ohn Boehner and Senate Re!u)lican leader9itch 9c6onnell, who will )ecome the Senate 9aorit. 5eader ne7t .ear, must nowwei*h what actions the. will take$ At a )rie+in* rida., 9oehner said House'e!ublicans will rise to this challenge on immigration, declaring We will notstand idle as the !resident undermines the rule o" law in our country and !laces

lives at ris# ;hen asked s!eci+icall. a)out his !lans on s!endin* le*islation,Boehner was evasive$ ?;e will sa. to .ou, the House will, in +act,act,? Boehner said$ Boehner and 9c6onnell will meet with their res!ectivecaucuses Decem)er %, and the to! item on the a*enda will )e the O %(1& +undin*)ill$ Several *3 lawmaers and sta++ers have said the. think *bama.simmigration order maes it di""icult to secure 'e!ublican su!!ort "or an omnibuss!ending bill that "unds the government "or the rest o" the "iscal year# Theysay an increasingly realistic o!tion is !assing another sto!-ga! bill that +undsthe *overnment until earl. in %(1& -- when Re!u)licans +ull. control 6on*ress$>n the current 5ame Duck session, Re!u)licans control the House and Democratsare the maorit. !art. in the Senate$ The 114th 6on*ress )e*ins /anuar. $

$o omnibus bill now2 short-term e#tension

Bur*ess verett,9anu Rau, 11-%4,0olitico, ;amest lame duck

But those are hardl. all the challen*es at the )e*innin* o+ the .ear# *bama.sannouncement last wee to shield < million undocumented immigrants "romde!ortation has enraged 'e!ublicans, who now warn that it could scuttle e""ortsnet month to !ass a long-term s!ending bill through Se!tember$ :ow, it a!!ears,a short-term s!ending measure until mid-$ebruary seems an increasingly lielyo!tion, allowin* newl. em!owered Re!u)licans to use the !ower o+ the !urse totie 8)ama


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Omnibus 1 $o Shutdown !mpact

C at worst




With the latest continuing resolution set to expire at midnight on Dec. 12, all eyes are on Capitol Hill's next big decision

— whether to pass another short-term continuing resolution, rush to pass a more comprehensive omnibus bill or perhaps

push through a hybrid funding bill. The question for most budget experts is what Congress will have time to do before

the upcoming holiday season. "Suppose we get through Dec. 11, but for how long will Congress extend the budget and

the authority to spend? We may be going through these brinkmanship games on-and-off for a long time," Don Kettl,

professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, told Tom Temin in a Federal Drive interview. Katie

Maddocks, governmental affairs representative for the Federal Managers Association, said that whatever happens,

another government shutdown seems unlikely. "When that happened last time, too much was at stake. Our economy

suffered greatly. We cannot let that happen again," Maddocks said in an In Depth with Francis Rose interview. "No one

in the federal workforce wants to start the holiday season with a government shutdown. If we have to take it, we'll do

the CR. We want government to keep being funded, but in the long run, this is going to catch up on this. This isn't how

we manage the federal budget."

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mailto:[email protected]://www.federalnewsradio.com/153/3752258/Continuing-resolution-or-omnibus-Decision-looms-for-Congress-as-holidays-approachhttp://www.federalnewsradio.com/153/3752258/Continuing-resolution-or-omnibus-Decision-looms-for-Congress-as-holidays-approachhttp://www.federalnewsradio.com/146/3749261/Don-Kettl-School-of-Public-Policy-University-of-Marylandhttp://www.federalnewsradio.com/146/3749261/Don-Kettl-School-of-Public-Policy-University-of-Marylandhttp://www.federalnewsradio.com/146/3750579/Katie-Maddocks-Federal-Managers-Associationhttp://www.federalnewsradio.com/146/3750579/Katie-Maddocks-Federal-Managers-Associationmailto:[email protected]://www.federalnewsradio.com/153/3752258/Continuing-resolution-or-omnibus-Decision-looms-for-Congress-as-holidays-approachhttp://www.federalnewsradio.com/153/3752258/Continuing-resolution-or-omnibus-Decision-looms-for-Congress-as-holidays-approachhttp://www.federalnewsradio.com/146/3749261/Don-Kettl-School-of-Public-Policy-University-of-Marylandhttp://www.federalnewsradio.com/146/3750579/Katie-Maddocks-Federal-Managers-Association


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A+%4 Answers

$o A+%4 until ne#t year

Alexander Bolton, 11-30, 14 “Incoming Senators call for debate on fighting Islamic militants,” The Hill,

http://thehill.com/policy/defense/225539-incoming-senators-call-for-debate-on-fighting-isis DOA: 11-30-14

“I think it would probably be wise so that you move forward again,” Tillis said.

“The president and the Congress need to find opportunities to show some way of

coming together. “That would be a show of good faith from the president and I

think it would give Congress more confidence they’re part of the process,” he

added. Tillis said he would vote for a use-of-force resolution. Senate leaders

are not inclined to vote on the issue before the year’s end and Speaker John

Boehner (R-Ohio) says it should wait until next year.

Obama won’t spend capital to get an A+%4Meghan Foley, 11-2-14, “Obama’s Legacy: Eschewing Congress When Using Military Force,”

http://wallstcheatsheet.com/politics/obamas-legacy-eschewing-congress-when-using-military-force.html/?a=viewall

This document authorized the president to invade Afghanistan and pursue the Al

Qaeda operatives who orchestrated 9/11 and the Taliban rulers who sheltered and

aided those terrorists. U.S. officials have widely used the AUMF as

justification for continuing U.S. military actions all over the world, applying

the authorization to any group with previous associations to al Qaeda. Obama

began his presidency calling for the repeal of the 2001 authorization, with his

administration dwelling on how his predecessor used the document as “an excuse

to kidnap hundreds of people — guilty and blameless people alike — and throw

them into secret prisons where many were tortured,” noted the editorial board ofThe New York Times. Bush “used it as a pretext to open the Guantánamo Bay camp

and to eavesdrop on Americans without bothering to obtain a warrant. He claimed

it as justification for the invasion of Iraq, twisting intelligence to fabricate

a connection between Saddam Hussein and the 9/11 attacks.”

In a key speech in May 2013 at the National Defense University, Obama expressed

his intention to “engage Congress about the existing Authorization to Use

Military Force, or AUMF, to determine how we can continue to fight terrorism

without keeping America on a perpetual wartime footing.” But this year that

desire was eclipsed by the pressing need to find a strategy to handle the rise

of ISIL. According to Goldsmith, the president — who had believed the AUMF

should be construed narrowly — interpreted that authorization to say that in

2001 Congress gave him the power to use force against the Islamic State in 2013,

even though the organization did not exist in 2001. The predecessor to the groupdid exist, but even so, Goldsmith argued there is no way it could be seen as a

co-belligerent. Still, the Obama administration has suggested that AUMF covers

any group with a thread of connection to al Qaeda. “If a past nexus is now all

that is required, the door may be opened to applying the AUMF to any situation

in which members of some new entity have substantial prior ties to AQ or an AQ

associated force,” wrote Robert Chesney for a Lawfare piece. Given the sprawling

social network that undergirds the larger salafist jihadi movement, and the

constant froth of new groups and entities that movement produces (often building

38

http://thehill.com/policy/defense/225539-incoming-senators-call-for-debate-on-fighting-isishttp://thehill.com/policy/defense/225539-incoming-senators-call-for-debate-on-fighting-isishttp://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/opinion/sunday/repeal-the-authorization-for-use-of-military-force-law.htmlhttp://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/05/23/remarks-president-national-defense-universityhttp://www.lawfareblog.com/2014/09/the-2001-aumf-from-associated-forces-to-disassociated-successor-forces/http://thehill.com/policy/defense/225539-incoming-senators-call-for-debate-on-fighting-isishttp://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/opinion/sunday/repeal-the-authorization-for-use-of-military-force-law.htmlhttp://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/05/23/remarks-president-national-defense-universityhttp://www.lawfareblog.com/2014/09/the-2001-aumf-from-associated-forces-to-disassociated-successor-forces/


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December 4 Politics

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from the remains of earlier groups and entities), this is a somewhat daunting

prospect.”

Obama has again committed to repealing the AUMF and pledged to ask Congress for

new war power authorizations to fight ISIL, a conflict that has already cost

more than half a million dollars and brought more than 1,400 troops to Iraq. A

new authorization is what Senator Rand Paul wants, but that will not reverse thevast expansion of war powers undertaken by the Obama administration. Sure, the

allocation of war powers has changed over the past two hundred plus years of

American history. Yet Goldsmith does not see Obama’s actions as part of the

evolutionary process of the powers to wage war. He sees a president whose legacy

will serve as a dangerous precedent. Obama pledged to end large-footprint wars

of his predecessors and replace them with “war from a distance,” which include

the use of drone strikes and cyber war. His actions in Libya carved out a legal

space where airstrikes — the primary tool of “war from a distance” — do not

constitute hostilities, Goldsmith argued.

In Goldsmith’s opinion, Obama has been pushed to expand his war powers because

of his failures as a leader, noting the president has no interest in expending

political capital necessary to debate his position to the point Congress will

offer its support. Other presidents have faced a “recalcitrant” Congress like

Eisenhower and the first Bush, he concluded, but they did not use that as an

excuse. “The Constitution is a permanent challenge to presidential leadership,”

wrote presidential scholar Arthur Schlesinger Jr. in his book, The Imperial

Presidency. “It is a test of a President’s capacity to persuade Congress and the

people that his policies make sense.”

Read more: http://wallstcheatsheetcom/politics/o!amas"le#ac$"eschewin#"con#ress"when"%sin#"militar$"

forcehtml/&a'(iewall)i*++3,po,h,m2

.resident ne'er has 6ero capital

0aul 8engor, 11-28, 14 is !ro+essor o+ !olitical science and e7ecutive director

o+ The 6enter +or Nision P Nalues at Grove 6it. 6olle*e, The Hillsdale DailyNews, The Mid-Term Election; Is President Obama still relevant?, p. 4

This )e*s the trillion-dollar Iuestion" >s 8)ama still relevant2 Given the trul.historic !ro!ortion o+ this Re!u)lican victor., is Barack 8)ama a)out to )ecomethe lamest o+ lame-ducks2 9e"ore 'e!ublicans get too ecited, & would cautionthat a !resident is never irrelevant, sim!ly due to the sheer !ower o" theo""ice# We don.t call it the 9ully 3ul!it "or nothing# There are !lenty o"

muscles "or the commander-in-chie" to "le, even i+ the o!!osin* !art. runs the+itness center$> would !oint conservatives to anota)le e7am!le +rom their!residential icon, Ronald Rea*an$ Si7 .ears into his !residenc., in 1'L, Ronald

39

http://www.lawfareblog.com/2013/05/the-presidents-press-conference-and-presidential-leadership/http://wallstcheatsheet.com/politics/obamas-legacy-eschewing-congress-when-using-military-force.html/?a=viewall#ixzz3KpoKhKm2http://wallstcheatsheet.com/politics/obamas-legacy-eschewing-congress-when-using-military-force.html/?a=viewall#ixzz3KpoKhKm2http://wallstcheatsheet.com/politics/obamas-legacy-eschewing-congress-when-using-military-force.html/?a=viewall#ixzz3KpoKhKm2http://www.lawfareblog.com/2013/05/the-presidents-press-conference-and-presidential-leadership/http://wallstcheatsheet.com/politics/obamas-legacy-eschewing-congress-when-using-military-force.html/?a=viewall#ixzz3KpoKhKm2http://wallstcheatsheet.com/politics/obamas-legacy-eschewing-congress-when-using-military-force.html/?a=viewall#ixzz3KpoKhKm2http://wallstcheatsheet.com/politics/obamas-legacy-eschewing-congress-when-using-military-force.html/?a=viewall#ixzz3KpoKhKm2


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'eagan.s !arty liewise lost the Senate, and again lost the House# +nd yet,'eagan.s "inal two years were rich with success#

$o A+%4 in the lame duck

Bur*ess verett,9anu Rau, 11-%4,0olitico, ;amest lame duck,http://www.politico.com/story/2014/11/lame-duck-session-congress-113125.html

A num)er o+ incomin* G80 committee chairmen !re+er that Democrats !unt in orderto *ive Re!u)licans !art. more !ower to sha!e le*islation in the ne7t 6on*ress$But not ever. Democrat is relentin*$ ven though both !arties e!ect votes netyear over an authori:ation o" military "orce in the war against &S&;, :ew /erse.Democratic Sen$ Bo) 9enendeF, who chairs the Senate orei*n Relations committee,isn


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Terrorism isk !nsurance Answers

!n:ghting blocks terrorism risk insurance

Kevin Cirilli, 12-2-14, The Hill,

http://thehill.com/policy/finance/overnights/225781-overnight-finance-long-term-

terror-insurance-in-trouble

TOMORROW STARTS TONIGHT: HENSARLING BLASTS SENATE DEMS ON TERROR

INSURANCE. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas)

is accusing Senate Democrats of refusing to negotiate on reauthorizing

Congress’s terrorism insurance program (TRIA). Lawmakers must act before the end

of the year or the program will expire You already know: TRIA allows the federal

government to front costs for businesses after a massive terror attack, but

Hensarling says that puts taxpayers at risk for hundreds of millions of dollars.

Hensarling says Senate Dems are hurting chances for a long-term reauthorization.Business groups oppose any short-term measure, arguing that it will only lead to

economic uncertainty. But critics of the program see a short-term

reauthorization as a way to gain leverage to push reforms.

$o terrorism risk insurance

Associated Press, 12-2-14, Republican American, “Congress crams unfinished

agenda into final days,” http://www.rep-

am.com/articles/2014/12/03/news/national/846753.txt

Terrorism risk insurance. The federal government's terrorism risk insurance

program expires at the end of the year and its renewal is important to economicsectors such as construction and hospitality. Chances are iffy at best for a

long-term renewal.

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Stefan

Cybersecurity Answers

$o action on cyber security in the lame duck

/ohn 9$ )onnelly, 12-1, 14, 6Q Roll 6all, 6on*ressional Quarterl. :ews, Decem)er1, %(14

113th Congress Faces December Dash on Defense

;e


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December 4 Politics

Stefan

Ta# *#tenders Answers

Obama 'eto threat kills deal on ta# e#tenders

The rontrunner, :ovem)er %L, %(14Obama Threatens To Veto Emerging Agreement On Extending Tax Breaks

0resident *bama has threatened to veto an agreement )ein* ne*otiated ). House

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