Pro Report: HHS hits pause on ACA enrollment reports — Fischer confirmed to Federal Reserve Board — FBI’s Comey walks back pot statements

ADMINISTRATION STOPS MONTHLY ACA ENROLLMENT REPORTS: Kyle Cheney with today’s top read [ http://politico.pro/1qVCBjd] — “The Obama administration has quietly decided to halt its monthly updates on Obamacare enrollment, which were a major pipeline of information about the impact of the health law heading into the 2014 campaign season. ‘HHS issued monthly enrollment reports during the first marketplace open enrollment period in order to provide the best understanding of enrollment activities as it was taking place,’ an HHS spokeswoman emailed. ‘Now that this time period has ended, we will look at future opportunities to share information about the marketplace that is reliable and accurate over time as further analysis can be done but we do not anticipate monthly reports.’ The agency offered no information about the timing or level of detail in any future updates.”

— Meanwhile, a new survey from Enroll America shows that many of the uninsured still want health care coverage. Natalie Villacorta: http://politico.pro/1kpET50


WHILE YOU WERE WORKING: The TSA is looking to make air travel even more expensive and lawmakers are none too happy about it; there’s an international fight churning over cheese — glorious cheese — and we break down the legal arguments surrounding a pipeline you may have heard about.

THIS IS PRO REPORT. I’m your host, Talia Buford. Send your scoops, tips and tidbits to me at [email protected]. And follow us on Twitter: @taliabuford and @POLITICOPro.

TSA FEE HIKE DRAWS IRE OF HILL: Kevin Robillard with more [ http://politico.pro/1gQas9b] — “The TSA appears ready to implement a fee hike included in December’s year-end budget deal in a way that could end up costing air passengers $20 or more per trip, drawing fire from the deal’s architects. ... The agreement hiked the security fee that passengers pay per trip from $2.50 to $5.60, but the TSA is also proposing to eliminate a long-standing $10 cap on round-trip fees. TSA is also planning to define trips that include ‘stopovers’ — breaks in travel of more than four hours — as separate flights.”

FISCHER CONFIRMED TO FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD: The Senate on Wednesday voted to confirm former Bank of Israel chief Stanley Fischer to be a member of the Federal Reserve board, filling a critical slot as the central bank prepares for another vacancy at the end of the month. The vote was 68-27. More from Kate Davidson: http://politico.pro/1nfnjEr

BEFORE YOU BID, CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD: Tal Kopan relays the warning [ http://politico.pro/TuWIq0] that eBay is urging users to change their passwords after a breach of a company database containing customer password information. No financial data was accessed during the cyberattack, but other information, including email and physical addresses, phone numbers and birthdates may have been exposed.

— Meanwhile, Target is still digging out after its data breach last year. Jessica Meyers: http://politico.pro/1sVqhLE

TODAY’S POLICY NEWS:

COMEY WALKS BACK POT STATEMENTS: FBI Director James Comey said he was only joking that some of the best people to fight cybercrime for the FBI “want to smoke weed on the way to the interview." But members of the Senate Judiciary weren’t laughing during today’s hearing. More from Josh Gerstein: http://politico.pro/1tl5Slb

YOU HAD ME AT CHEESE: Doug Palmer with more on the big cheeses squaring off in trade talks [ http://politico.pro/1oSOB2R] — “It would be an exaggeration to say that a proposed trade deal between the United States and the European Union is not for the lactose intolerant, but one way to look at the talks is as a battle between two cheese superpowers. As negotiators hold their fifth round of talks on the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement this week in Arlington, Va., the EU’s push to protect regional food names like Parmigiano-Reggiano — better known as Parmesan on this side of the ocean — is running into strong U.S. resistance.”

ACTION ON TROOP LOANS MAY JUST BE THE START: Allie Grasgreen is on it [ http://politico.pro/1lRdG9t] — “Last week’s $60 million settlement between the Department of Justice and Sallie Mae has left other loan servicers wondering if they’ll be paying up next, and the Education Department says it is working on guidance that will clarify how other servicers should proceed. At issue is how much initiative servicers took, and are expected to take, to accommodate troops who qualified for a 6 percent interest rate cap under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act but who didn’t submit the required paperwork.”

ABOUT THAT LEGAL CHALLENGE TO THE KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE: Your host takes a look at the legal challenge currently before the Nebraska Supreme Court over the controversial pipeline — [http://politico.pro/1h8Yulz]: “The fate of one of President Barack Obama’s most politically charged decisions may come down to an arcane legal question: Is the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline like a telephone wire?”

ON TAP FOR THURSDAY:

— President Barack Obama delivers remarks on tourism and the economy at the National Baseball Hall of Fame. 3:55 p.m., Cooperstown, N.Y.

— Secretary of State John Kerry delivers remarks at the 90th Anniversary of the Foreign Service Dinner. 6:30 p.m., State Department.

— Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz delivers remarks at the Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program on energy-efficient LED streetlights being installed throughout Detroit. 2:45 p.m, Detroit.

— Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson administers the Oath of Allegiance and delivers remarks at a special naturalization ceremony for about 75 citizenship candidates from 31 countries in honor of Military Appreciation Month.

Stories from POLITICO Pro

HHS hits pause on ACA enrollment reports

Survey finds that many uninsured still want coverage

TSA fee hikes irk architects of budget deal

Fischer confirmed for Fed board

EBay urges customers to change passwords after cyberattack

Target still digging out after breach

FBI's Comey: Pot comments partly joke

Big cheeses square off in trade talks

Action on troop loans may just be the start