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Thursday, January 15, 2015
663 Days Until Election Day 2016It's Thursday, January 15, 2015, I'm Gabe Fleisher for Wake Up To Politics, and reporting from WUTP world HQ in my bedroom - Good morning: THIS IS YOUR WAKE UP CALL!!!
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White House Watch

• The President’s Schedule At 12:25 PM, President Obama will leave the White House for Baltimore, where he arrives at 12:45.
• At 2:30 PM, the President will meet with the entire Senate Democratic Caucus, gathered for their annual caucus retreat (formally known as the Senate Democratic Issues Conference).
• Obama leaves Baltimore at 4:20 PM, arriving back at the White House at 4:40 PM.
• At 7 PM, the President will hold a working dinner with British Prime Minister David Cameron (who is staying the night and will meet again with President Obama in the morning).
• Also today, President Obama will sign a memorandum to “ensure that federal employees have access to at least six weeks of paid sick leave for the birth of a child. He’ll also ask Congress to pass legislation giving federal employees six more weeks of parental leave,” according to Politico.
• The President will urge Congress to pass the Healthy Family Act, as well, to allow working Americans up to a full week of paid sick time a year.
• Biden’s Day While President Obama is meeting with Senate Democrats and the British Prime Minister, Vice President Joe Biden is continuing the White House cybersecurity theme from the week.
• Biden will be in Norfolk, Virginia today to talk about cybersecurity jobs, and funding for training on joining the cybersecurity workforce.Election Central
• Republicans to Hold July Convention As member of the Republican National Committee convened for their Winter Meeting Wednesday, chairman Reince Priebus announced the dates for his party’s national nominating convention.
• In 2016, the Republican National Convention will be held from July 18 to July 21; neither party has held a convention in July since 2004. Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, had previously announced that the convention would be held in Cleveland, Ohio – the second-most populous city of a key presidential swing state.
• In recent years, both parties have trended towards later conventions (in August, or even September for Democrats in 2012), but Priebus has long pledged to push back the calendar. This ends the primary process earlier, allowing the nomine to focus on fundraising and preparing for the general election. Many believe Mitt Romney was hurt in 2012 because of the drawn-out primary process he had to go through before being able to gear up for a contest with Barack Obama.
• As a result of the earlier Republican convention, Democrats could also hold a July convention; since 2008, the two parties have held back-to-back conventions. Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a U.S. Representative from Florida, announced in November that the weeks of July 18, July 25, and August 22 (although the first date is out now that Republicans have it). The second date gives Democrats an opportunity for back-to-back rebuttal, the third lands the Democratic convention before Labor Day and after the 2016 Summer Olympics. Wasserman Schultz has also not yet announced where the Democratic National Convention will be held in 2016; the three potential site cities are Columbus, New York, and Philadelphia. Announcements on the date and site will be made in the weeks and months ahead.

Capitol Hill News

• House: Status Update The U.S. House does not meet Thursday or Friday, as House Republicans meet for their joint retreat with Senate Republicans in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
• The joint retreat is to bring Republicans from both houses of Congress together, and synch their messages as they take over the congressional majority. And to be entertained by the likes of Jay Leno, the former “Tonight Show” host who will be speaking at the joint retreat.
• Two of the highest-profile republicans in the Senate, both considering presidential campaigns in 2016, will be noticeably absent from the retreat: Sens. Rand Paul (KY) and Marco Rubio (FL) are skipping.
• Senate: Status Update Meanwhile, the Senate is in recess today as the chamber’s Democrats also hold their retreat, in Baltimore, Maryland.
• Another absence will be very  striking at the Senate Democratic retreat: Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid. The Nevadan Democrat, however, is skipping for very different reasons than Paul and Rubio…it’s on doctor’s orders. Reid was injured in an excierce accident at the beginning of this month, and has not yet returned to Congress (Reid has missed the entire first two weeks of the 114^th Congress). Even while he is absent, though, he will be present, as an electronic line allowed him to participate in meetings from his home.

Question of the Day

• Today’s Question Today is Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday, but NOT Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (which is Monday). Name the law that began the precedent of holding “floating holidays” always on Monday.

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President Obama meets with Speaker Boehner, announces new manufacturing institutes; John Dingell retiring, panel of African-American senators today; and trivia: It's Tuesday, February 25, 2014, I'm Gabe Fleisher for Wake Up To Politics, and reporting from Brittany Woods Middle School in University City, MO - THIS IS YOUR WAKE UP CALL.
Have a great day,

Gabe Fleisher
Editor-in-Chief
Wake Up To Politics