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Video of the Day

Fake News Story Leads Gunman To Open Fire In Pizzeria, Police Say
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Today’s Hill Action

Senate Floor Schedule
HR 34: 21st Century Cures Act

Committee Hearings
9:30 a.m:U.S. Defense Challenges/Worldwide Threats

House Floor Schedule
HR 756: Streamlining Energy Efficiency for Schools Act
HR 6375: Power And Security Systems (PASS) Act
HR 3381: Childhood Cancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access,and Research (STAR) Act
HR 6394: Improving Broadband Access for Veterans Act
S 2873: Expanding Capacity for Health Outcomes (ECHO) Act
HR 4680: National Park Service Centennial Act
HR 1219: Arbuckle Project Maintenance Complex and District Office Conveyance Act
HR 6401: Northern Mariana Islands Economic Expansion Act
S 3028: Daniel J. Evans Olympic National Park Wilderness Act
HR 5399: Ethical Patient Care for Veterans Act
HR 4352: Faster Care for Veterans Act
HR 5428: Military Residency Choice Act

Committee Hearings
10:00 a.m.:Geological Survey Data Manipulation
10:00 a.m.:U.S. Human Rights Organizations in India
11:00 a.m.:Volkswagen’s Emissions Cheating Settlement
2:00 p.m.:Federal IT Acquisition Reform Implementation
2:00 p.m.:Obama Administration’s Pivot to Asia
2:30 p.m.:Protecting Oversight Staff from Retaliatory Criminal Referrals
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Medicare looms over Trump-Ryan alliance

President-elect Donald Trump and Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) could be on a collision course over Medicare.

Ryan is defending his long-standing proposal to make the program more reliant on private plans, arguing such a change is necessary to keep Medicare fiscally sustainable.
But Trump said repeatedly during the campaign that he wanted to protect Medicare,
not overhaul it. Vice President-elect Mike Pence reiterated
that position on Sunday.

Given the possible resistance from Trump, and even from Senate Republicans, it is
unclear how hard Ryan will push for Medicare changes next year, despite his clear
desire to overhaul the program.

“My guess is that Ryan’s going to put a lot of effort into trying to persuade Trump
through Mike Pence and Reince Priebus and others,” said Peter Wehner, a senior fellow
at the Ethics and Public Policy Center who has long been close to Ryan. Priebus
is Trump’s incoming chief of staff.

Read More
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Mistrial for South Carolina Officer Who Shot Walter Scott

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The trial of Michael T. Slager, the police officer whose videotaped
killing of an unarmed black man staggered a nation already embroiled in a debate
about police misconduct and racial bias in law enforcement, ended in a mistrial
on Monday.

Judge Clifton B. Newman’s decision to halt the proceedings came three days after
jurors signaled that they were within one vote of returning
a guilty verdict against Mr. Slager, who could have been convicted of murder or
voluntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Walter L. Scott. But on Monday,
in a final note to Judge Newman, jurors said that “despite the best efforts of all
members, we are unable to come to a unanimous decision.”

Read more
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McConnell: Spending bill will include miners’ pension fix

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday
said help for coal miners will be included in a short-term government funding bill.
“I’ve spoken to the Speaker on a number of occasions about an issue facing coal
miner retirees like those I represent in Kentucky and have insisted the CR include
a provision to address that issue so these retirees don’t lose their health care
benefits at the end of the year,” McConnell said.

He didn’t offer details on how lawmakers would address miners’ pension in the continuing
resolution (CR). The funding bill is expected to be released later Tuesday and has
to be passed by Friday to prevent a government shutdown.

Read more
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Until tomorrow,
Lobbyit.com
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