Nov 19, 2015 5 min read

Wake Up To Politics - November 19, 2015

To read today's edition of Wake Up To Politics in a PDF format, click here. Continue reading to find the text of the Wake Up in the body of the email!

Wednesday, November 18, 2015
355 Days until Election Day 2016
75 Days until the Iowa Caucuses 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!!!
To send me questions, comments, tips, new subscribers, and more: email me at wakeuptopolitics@gmail.com. To learn more about WUTP and subscribe, visit the site: wakeuptopolitics.com, or like me on Twitter and Facebook. More ways to engage with WUTP at the bottom. Coming Later Today: WUTP Special Debate Edition

To read my firsthand account of the Democratic debate in Des Moines, Iowa, check your inbox this afternoon (around 5:30-6:00)!

Capitol Hill News

House Schedule The U.S. House will vote today on the American Security Against Foreign Enemies (SAFE) Act, a bill requiring tighter FBI background checks on “covered aliens” – any aliens applying for refugee status in the United States who is a resident of Iraq or Syria, or has recently resided or present in Iraq or Syria.
If the SAFE Act is enacted, Iraqi or Syrian refugees can only be accepted into the United States once the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), and the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Director of National Intelligence certifies to the twelve “appropriate Congressional Committees that the covered alien is not a threat to the security of the United States.”
The measure, authored by Reps. Richard Hudson (R-NC) and Michael McCaul (R-TX), the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, is expected to pass with bipartisan support. Democratic leadership in Congress (and President Obama) oppose the bill, although many Democrats wanting to look tough in national security in light of the Paris attacks will join congressional Republicans in support of the measure.
The centrist Blue Dog Coalition, made up of 15 House Democrats, announced Wednesday that it will support the bill. About 35 Democrats are expected to join the Blue Dogs in voting “yea”.
Before the vote Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson and White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough will head to Capitol Hill to brief House Democrats on the SAFE Act. The White House opposes the measure, and issued a formal veto threat Thursday.

2016 Central

Clinton, Sanders to Deliver Dueling Speeches Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are both set to deliver key policy address today.
In her 10:30am national security address, Clinton will “lay out her vision for the role American leadership must play in supporting our allies, protecting our homeland, and forging a safer world,” according to her campaign. The speech will take place at the Council on Foreign Relations headquarters in New York City.
Meanwhile, Sanders will give a long-awaited address on his political philosophy, Democratic Socialism. The self-ascribed label has been the cause for criticism of Sanders, but in his 2pm speech today, he will attempt to explain his views.
According to his campaign, Sanders “will outline a vision for America which calls upon the country to finally implement President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s ‘Second Bill of Rights,’ a program for economic and social justice advanced in 1944 but not yet achieved.” He will discuss income inequality, health care, education, and other domestic issues, as well as foreign affairs and “how the world community can defeat the Islamic State,” a similar theme as Clinton’s address. Sanders’ speech will be at The Institute of Politics and Public Service at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy in Washington, D.C.

White House Watch

The President’s Schedule President Barack Obama remains in the Philippines today, participating in APEC sessions and meeting with world leaders on the summit’s sidelines. *This is all of the President’s scheduled events for today, although they have all already occurred* *All times Eastern Standard Time*
At 12:10am Eastern Time, President Obama met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was sworn in two weeks ago.
At 1am, the President participated in an Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) retreat on “sustainable and resilient communities,” according to the White House.
At 3:30am, he participated in the APEC closing session.
Finally, at 4:45am, Obama met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Question of the Day

Today’s Question Today would be President James Garfield’s 184^th birthday…what is the connection between Garfield The President and Garfield The Cat? Send me your answer to wakeuptopolitics@gmail.com to get your name in tomorrow’s edition of Wake Up To Politics.
Tuesday’s Answer I’m a day behind on answering this one, but the question was what is the difference between a Delegate and a Resident Commissioner?
Both Delegates and Resident Commissioners are non-voting members of the U.S. House, representing U.S. territories. Currently, there is a Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico and Delegates from American Samoa, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
The answer I was looking for – which no one gave – was that Resident Commissioners represent unincorporated territories and have four-year terms, and Delegates represent incorporated territories and have two-year terms.
The answers I did get:
Joe Bookman: “Resident commissioners represented areas acquired during Spanish American War that could secede from US, like Philippines.” True, but the hole in that is Guam, which was acquired in the Spanish-American War but has a Delegate
Rick Isserman: “Resident Commissioners are appointed and delegates are elected.” Although this was true in the Philippines, it is no longer, as Puerto Rico elects its Resident Commissioner
Andrew Arkills: “Resident Commissioners are limited from a parliamentary perspective to legislation pertaining to their own territories. Delegates are not.” From my research, it looks like Delegates and Resident Commissioners have the same legislative powers, however limited.
Nice tries everyone!