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Presented by Facebook: POLITICO's must-read briefing on what's driving the afternoon in Washington. | | | | |  | | By Rachael Bade and Garrett Ross | | | | 
A group of frontliners, led by Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.), is calling on congressional leaders to address a major Obamacare shortfall set to kick in right as voters head to the polls this fall. | Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — A group of more than two dozen vulnerable Democrats from swing districts is sounding the alarm about a major Obamacare shortfall set to kick in right as voters head to the polls this fall — a sleeper issue for the party that comes atop soaring inflation, supply-chain problems, worries about infant baby formula and spiking crime. In a new letter, shared exclusively with Playbook, the group — led by Rep. LAUREN UNDERWOOD of Illinois — is asking Speaker NANCY PELOSI and Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER to use reconciliation to fast-track legislation extending subsidies used to offset costs of insurance plans sold on the Affordable Care Act’s Marketplace. The credits were passed about a year ago through Democrats’ initial pandemic relief package, the American Rescue Plan, and lowered premium costs significantly, leading to a whopping 2.5 million new enrollees in a single year and setting a record with 14.5 million people signing up. Without an extension, about 13 million lower-income Americans will see their premiums spike — some by hundreds of dollars a month. In fact, according to the letter, Obamacare enrollees have received notices of the looming price hike in at least one state — and other states have shared data demonstrating how much they’ll have to increase costs, including:
- Vermont, whose residents are looking at a more than 24% increase.
- Minnesota, which is staring down a possible 40% hike.
- Nevada, which could see a 60% increase.
- California, where premiums could jump as much as 71%.
ONE NOTE: While these price hikes won’t kick in until the new year, enrollees will receive notice of them right around election time — an unfortunate turn of events for frontline Democrats already battling difficult political headwinds. “We cannot allow the progress we have made to be temporary, ” the group writes in its letter today. “We must make lower out-of-pocket costs and expanded coverage a permanent pillar of our health care system, and reconciliation is our only chance to get this done.” Read the letter here HERE’S THE PROBLEM: While Schumer has been meeting with Sen. JOE MANCHIN (D-W.Va.) to see if they can jump-start reconciliation talks after the death of Build Back Better, many Democrats have already lost hope there’s a deal to be had. Especially if it also includes things like prescription drugs pricing reforms, deficit reduction and corporate tax changes — tricky policy changes that could complicate a quick and easy fix to the ACA issue. And, as we’ve noted more than a time or two in Playbook, time is running out as the midterms kick into high gear. For more: Read Adam Cancryn and Megan Messerly’s weekend story on this issue One thing the group does have going for them, however, is that in the past, Manchin has expressed interest in shoring up the ACA. Sure, he’s never been a huge fan of expanding Medicare — one health policy provision the left pushed for in initial BBB talks — but when it comes to Obamacare, he’s struck a different tune. Good Monday afternoon.
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Learn more about our work ahead. | | | ALL POLITICS PRIMARY PREVIEWS — “Not many people charged with felony crimes go seven years without ever standing trial. One of them is Texas Attorney General KEN PAXTON,” AP’s Paul Weber and Jake Bleiberg write from Austin, Texas . “The twists and turns of how the Republican, who is on the cusp of winning the GOP nomination for a third term Tuesday, has yet to have his day in court after being indicted on securities fraud charges in 2015 has little comparison in American politics. … No single reason explains the delays. But altogether, Paxton has become an example of how powerful allies and acts of God can drag out career-threatening criminal charges, and allow a politician to rise above being written off as a political goner.” — Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser has the latest on the ground in the Texas A.G. race, where Paxton says he’s “way ahead” of challenger GEORGE P. BUSH, who says that his family’s dynastic name “actually helps me” on the campaign trail. — “Texas Attorney General Face-Off Highlights GOP Shift,” by WSJ’s Elizabeth Findell in Houston HEADS UP — WNYC’s @JonCampbellNY: “New: ANTONIO DELGADO will be sworn in as lieutenant governor on Wednesday. That allows Gov. [KATHY] HOCHUL to call the special election to replace him in Congress for Aug. 23, the same day as the primary.” LOOKING AHEAD — LA Times’ Melanie Mason writes about Rep. DAVID VALADAO, one of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach former President DONALD TRUMP — who has yet to say a word publicly against Valadao or his reelection bid, Mason writes. “Valadao’s district is widely considered to be one of the country’s most competitive in the battle for control of the House this November. … Democrats, eyeing their significant registration advantage in the district, see one of the few real chances to oust a GOP incumbent. But first, Valadao must get through his June 7 primary. Anger still simmers in some right-leaning corners of his tightknit Central Valley community — discontent that Valadao’s two GOP challengers hope to tap into. … Valadao’s most crucial supporter may be [House Minority Leader KEVIN] MCCARTHY, who represents a neighboring district. … McCarthy has given Valadao nearly $185,000 through a joint fundraising committee and endorsed the congressman on local news.” DEMS LAUNCH NEW PAC — A group of Asian American Democrats is launching Justice Unites Us, a new super PAC “billed as an unprecedented multi-million-dollar effort to engage the fastest growing ethnic or racial group in America, which turned out in record numbers in 2020,” NBC’s Alex Seitz-Wald reports. It’s aiming to make plays in Arizona, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Nevada. FOLLOW THE MONEY — In the wake of GEORGE FLOYD’s killing in 2020, companies like UBS pledged to step up and do something about racism in America. And many did — including UBS, which donated millions to racial justice groups. But the spending didn’t stop there. “UBS was one of 22 large U.S. companies with racial justice pledges that continued donating money” to Rep. ELISE STEFANIK (R-N.Y.) even after she was criticized for running controversial ads that emphasized the racist “great replacement” theory, WaPo’s Todd Frankel and Dylan Freedman report. “These companies, including Anheuser Busch and Walgreens, made vocal pledges to use their resources to combat racism while at the same time bankrolling a politician with a message widely seen as racist, illustrating a thorny contradiction for corporate America as companies seek to exert influence while following ethical principles.” 2024 WATCH — NYT’s @ShaneGoldmacher: “Inbox: TIM SCOTT to IOWA for Cedar Rapids reception with Sen. JONI ERNST next month.” POLICY CORNER THE LOAN LURCH — Biden has been languishing over what to do about student loan debt, with some of his options limited by Congress and the public’s varying appetite for the range of moves. He may have something of a catch-22 situation on his hands, WSJ’s Andrew Restuccia writes from Chapel Hill, N.C. “Students and recent graduates with heavy debt loads worry that Mr. Biden’s plan will be too weak, after the president and his advisers signaled they are considering relief that could be far less than the $50,000-per-borrower sought by prominent Democrats. At the same time, voters who tightened their belts to pay off their loans or didn’t go to college say it would be unfair to make taxpayers subsidize school debt for Americans whose education can boost their earning power.” The reason for the hand-wringing: “While North Carolina voters name inflation and the economy as their biggest priority, issues such as student-loan forgiveness have the potential to make a difference in competitive states.” Said one recent UNC grad: “They dangled it over our heads to get us to vote for Biden and then did nothing.” NEWS YOU SHOULD USE — Roll Call’s @ArielCohen37 : “The CDC has recalled several varieties of JIF peanut butter due to a salmonella outbreak.”
| | | | HAPPENING WEDNESDAY—A WOMEN RULE TALK ON THE MIDTERMS : Join POLITICO’S Women Rule for a conversation with the women running the midterm campaigns and how they are shaping messaging and strategy for their candidates. The program will look into what a win for either party could mean for access to reproductive health care, economic advancement of women, and how the final stages of the COVID-19 pandemic are managed. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | THE PANDEMIC THE VACCINATION PUZZLE — Pfizer said today that three doses of its Covid-19 vaccines reduced cases of symptomatic infection by 80.3 percent among children younger than 5 years old and that it would submit the data to the FDA for review later this week. More from Katherine Ellen Foley WAR IN UKRAINE — Wowza: “A diplomat at Russia’s mission to the United Nations in Geneva has resigned over the war in Ukraine, writing that he has never been ‘so ashamed’ of his country, in a rare public rebuke of the war from within the Russian government,” WaPo’s Emily Rauhala reports. BORIS BONDAREV writes that Putin’s war is “not only a crime against the Ukrainian people, but also, perhaps, the most serious crime against the people of Russia, with a bold letter Z crossing out all hopes and prospects for a prosperous free society in our country.” Read the post on Bondarev’s LinkedIn — “Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY called for ‘maximum’ sanctions against Russia during a virtual speech Monday to corporate executives, government officials and other elites on the first day of the World Economic Forum gathering in Davos,” AP’s Jamey Keaten reports from Davos, Switzerland. — The first war crimes trial has been decided: “A Ukrainian court sentenced a 21-year-old Russian soldier to life in prison Monday for killing a civilian,” per the AP in Kyiv. — The step back: AP: “After 3 months of war, life in Russia has profoundly changed”
| | | | A message from Facebook:   | | | VALLEY TALK INTO THE METAVERSE — Meta is planning to “give outside researchers more detailed information on how political ads are targeted across its platform,” which includes Facebook and Instagram, “providing insight into the ways that politicians, campaign operatives and political strategists buy and use ads ahead of the midterm elections,” NYT’s Mike Isaac reports. “The information includes which interest categories — such as ‘people who like dogs’ or ‘people who enjoy the outdoors’ — were chosen to aim an ad at someone.” — Speaking of the social media giant … Protocol’s Issie Lapowsky has a big story up today on MARK ZUCKERBERG and PRISCILLA CHAN’s $419 million donation to local and state election officials in 2020 — or, what has become known as the “Zuck Bucks” conspiracy theory that represents “in many ways the real world analog of the accusations of bias Meta has been facing for years,” Lapowsky writes. — Meanwhile, D.C. A.G. KARL RACINE this morning sued Zuckerberg, “seeking to hold the CEO of Facebook parent company Meta liable for data abuses and for misleading Facebook users about their privacy protections,” WaPo’s Cat Zakrzewski reports. “The suit, filed in D.C. Superior Court, alleges that Zuckerberg directly participated in decisions that enabled the Trump-allied political consultancy Cambridge Analytica to siphon the personal data of millions of users.” JUDICIARY SQUARE SCOTUS WATCH — The Supreme Court this morning ruled that “state prisoners may not present new evidence in federal court in support of a claim that their post-conviction counsel in state court was ineffective in violation of the Constitution,” CNN’s Ariane de Vogue and Devan Cole report. “The ruling is a major defeat for two inmates on death row who said they had compelling claims that their state lawyers failed to pursue. … The 6-3 opinion was penned by Justice CLARENCE THOMAS.”
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | PLAYBOOKERS Jeff Merkley tested positive for the coronavirus. And Bloomberg’s @Alexruoff notes: “Roughly a third of the Senate has reported testing positive for Covid now (Bob Casey twice).” TRANSITIONS — Kirin Kennedy is now a senior professional staffer for the Senate Agriculture Committee. She previously was director for people and nature policy at the Sierra Club. … Jennah Rivera is joining the Strategy Group as a senior strategist. She most recently was deputy comms director for Katie Hobbs’ Arizona gubernatorial campaign, and is a Tina Smith alum. … Adam Sandler is now an associate at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman. He previously was an associate at Wilkinson Barker Knauer. … … Lucy Vernasco is now director at the Levinson Group. She previously was at Melinda French Gates’ Pivotal Ventures in Seattle. … Bethany Aronhalt Williams is joining Adfero as an SVP in the energy practice. She previously was director of media relations at the American Petroleum Institute. … Blair Brettschneider is now a senior digital strategist at ACM Strategies. She is the founder of the nonprofit GirlForward, and previously worked at Ravenna Strategies.
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