(swong@politico.com or @scottwongDC)
LAWMAKERS, STAFFERS MAY GET OBAMACARE EXEMPTION; A DOUBLE STANDARD? – John Bresnahan and Jake Sherman report for the hometown paper: “Congressional leaders in both parties are engaged in high-level, confidential talks about exempting lawmakers and Capitol Hill aides from the insurance exchanges they are mandated to join as part of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, sources in both parties said. The talks — which involve Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), the Obama administration and other top lawmakers — are extraordinarily sensitive, with both sides acutely aware of the potential for political fallout from giving carve-outs from the hugely controversial law to 535 lawmakers and thousands of their aides. Discussions have stretched out for months, sources said. A source close to the talks says: ‘Everyone has to hold hands on this and jump, or nothing is going to get done.’
– “Yet if Capitol Hill leaders move forward with the plan, they risk being dubbed hypocrites by their political rivals and the American public. By removing themselves from a key Obamacare component, lawmakers and aides would be held to a different standard than the people who put them in office. Democrats, in particular, would take a public hammering as the traditional boosters of Obamacare. Republicans would undoubtedly attempt to shred them over any attempt to escape coverage by it, unless Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) give Democrats cover by backing it. There is concern in some quarters that the provision requiring lawmakers and staffers to join the exchanges, if it isn’t revised, could lead to a ‘brain drain’ on Capitol Hill, as several sources close to the talks put it.
–“The problem stems from whether members and aides set to enter the exchanges would have their health insurance premiums subsidized by their employer — in this case, the federal government. If not, aides and lawmakers in both parties fear that staffers — especially low-paid junior aides — could be hit with thousands of dollars in new health care costs, prompting them to seek jobs elsewhere. Older, more senior staffers could also retire or jump to the private sector rather than face a big financial penalty.” http://politi.co/ZJDfkg
GOP LEADERS YANK OBAMACARE BILL – Jake Sherman writes for POLITICO: “House Republican leadership abruptly pulled a health care bill from the floor after concerns from conservatives that it extended President Barack Obama’s health care law. The legislation, which was championed by Majority Leader Eric Cantor, had opposition from all corners of the conservative universe. It’s a blow to the Virginia Republican, who touted the ‘Helping Sick Americans Now Act’ and visited the Republican Study Committee meeting Wednesday to try to move votes. The legislation attempts to transfer money from what Republicans call a ‘slush fund’ — it’s actually a preventative disease account — to create high-risk pools for sick Americans. The Obama administration said Tuesday the president would likely veto the bill. …
– “The Club for Growth, the Heritage Foundation and tea party groups have urged Republican lawmakers to oppose the bill, which was authored by GOP Reps. Joe Pitts of Pennsylvania, Michael Burgess of Texas and Ann Wagner of Missouri. Club for Growth said it would include this vote in its annual rating of members of Congress. Brent Bozell, a tea party leader, dubbed the bill ‘CantorCare’ in a news release Tuesday. Republican lawmakers privately fretted that the bill would bolster Obamacare, which the GOP has long tried to dismantle.” http://politi.co/13uwB1s
– The New York Times’ Jonathan Weisman’s take on Cantor: His efforts to remake the GOP into a kinder, gentler party aren’t going so well: http://nyti.ms/ZQsfxF
BOEHNER-LED COST-CUTTING SAVES $ 400M IN HOUSE – Susan Davis writes for USA Today: “The House of Representatives will spend 15% less on its own operations this year than it did three years ago under a cost-cutting effort launched by Speaker John Boehner that is on pace to have saved taxpayers more than $ 400 million by the end of this year. When Republicans took control of the House in January 2011, Boehner, the new speaker, said cutting House spending would be a priority. Since then, House lawmakers have seen a nearly 20% decrease in their office budgets. Three years ago, the average lawmaker had an annual $ 1.5 million budget, which is down to $ 1.2 million. Those budgets — which vary by office — cover everything from staff salaries to district office rent and bottled water. The cuts trimmed $ 58 million from House costs in fiscal year 2011, $ 143 million in fiscal year 2012, and are on track to save $ 205 million through fiscal year 2013 when the across-the-board government spending cuts known as sequestration are factored in to the savings, according to Boehner’s office. The operating budget for the House in 2010 was $ 1.37 billion; that number has been shaved to $ 1.16 billion for 2013.” http://usat.ly/ZOMX1Q
GOODLATTE EXPECTED TO DROP HIS AG-WORKER BILL TODAY – A few highlights from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte’s bill, which he shared with stakeholders last night:
– The maximum stay for H-2C workers in temporary or seasonal jobs is 18 months, after which an H-2C worker must remain outside the U.S. for a period equal to at least 1/6 of the duration of their stay on an H-2C visa. For H-2C workers in jobs that are themselves permanent, the requirement to remain outside the U.S. after the first 18 month period is waived.
– An employer must place a local job order with the state workforce agency serving the local area where the H-2C worker will be employed. The state workforce agency shall post the job order on its official agency website for a minimum of 30 days and the Secretary of Labor shall include links to the official websites of all state workforce agencies on a single webpage on its website.
– Aliens in the U.S. as of the date of introduction of the Act who are unlawfully present may participate in the H-2C program. Until the implementation of the H-2C program, such aliens may lawfully work in agriculture in the U.S.
– The total number of aliens who may newly receive H-2C status is limited to 500,000 a year. The Secretary of Agriculture has the authority to raise or lower this cap based on a number of considerations. Bill summary: http://bit.ly/15PzvSr Bill text: http://bit.ly/YUixuY
– The Sierra Club has endorsed comprehensive immigration reform, POLITICO’s Anna Palmer and Darren Samuelsohn report: http://politi.co/ZJCGXO
CAPITOL HILL SCARMBLES FOR FIX TO FLIGHT DELAYS – Adam Snider, Burgess Everett and Kathryn A. Wolfe report for the hometown paper: “Momentum on the Hill is building toward a possible solution to the hours-long delays plaguing the nation’s airports. Many questions remain unanswered, but the cascading woes in the skies combined with the rising partisan rhetoric about budget cuts have pushed top senators from both parties to look for a compromise. And the White House appears to be softening on its previous insistence that it wants a broad solution to the entire sequester — not just the portion that affects the FAA. The Senate’s top aviation leaders met for 40 minutes Wednesday with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and FAA head Michael Huerta to discuss a solution. LaHood and Senate Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) declined to offer details, though Rockefeller said the talks focused on the air traffic controller furloughs that started on Sunday. …
– “It’s still not clear what that solution might be, though a bill dealing with the FAA’s air traffic controllers might be on the fast track. Both chambers of Congress are set to take a one-week vacation next week, further complicating — or providing an incentive for — a possible fix.” http://politi.co/17XJOTP
WSJ, A1, 1-col above the fold, “Senators Seek Way To Ease FAA Cuts,” By Kristina Peterson, Jack Nicas and Susan Carey: http://on.wsj.com/XYTeub
LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS: ELVIS IMPERSONATOR MAY HAVE BEEN FRAMED – Kimberly Kindy and Julie Tate report for the Washington Post: “Federal authorities descended Wednesday on a shuttered martial arts studio in Mississippi as the FBI sought to reinvigorate its investigation into ricin-laced letters sent this month to the White House, a U.S. senator and a county judge. James Everett Dutschke, 41, the owner of the studio, saw attention shift to him after an earlier suspect in the case told authorities and news media that Dutschke may have framed him. Law enforcement officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed that they believe the earlier suspect, Paul Kevin Curtis, 45, may have been framed. Charges against Curtis were dropped Tuesday and he was released from jail. Law enforcement officials would not say whether they believe Dutschke is responsible for the ricin letters. Dutschke’s attorney said Curtis and Dutschke are acquaintances and that the two men were last in contact three years ago. Dutschke has denied any involvement with the ricin letters and said through his attorney that he has no malice toward Curtis. …
– “FBI spokesman Paul Bresson declined to comment about the arrest and the subsequent release of Curtis, and did not respond to questions about Dutschke. ‘The investigation remains ongoing,’ Bresson said. Charlie Watson, who owns a business near Dutschke’s former martial arts studio, said that several unmarked dark-blue trucks with mounted sirens pulled into the strip mall where the studio is located around 8 a.m. Wednesday. He said they were still there, in addition to several other police cars and a hazardous materials truck, at 6:30 p.m.” http://wapo.st/15Pn2Ov
– Only one of the three letters made it into the hands of its intended targets, 80-year-old Mississippi judge Sadie Holland, The AP reports. Holland is the common link between the two men probed in the case. http://wapo.st/17Wl7nZ
CIA WANTED BOSTON BOMBER ON WATCH LIST – Greg Miller reports on A1 of the Washington Post: “The CIA pushed to have one of the suspected Boston Marathon bombers placed on a U.S. counterterrorism watch list more than a year before the attacks, U.S. officials said Wednesday. Russian authorities contacted the CIA in the fall of 2011 and raised concerns that Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was killed last week in a confrontation with police, was seen as an increasingly radical Islamist who could be planning to travel overseas. The CIA request led the National Counterterrorism Center to add Tsarnaev’s name to a database known as the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment, or TIDE, that is used to feed information to other lists, including the FBI’s main terrorist screening database. The CIA’s request came months after the FBI had closed a preliminary inquiry into Tsarnaev after getting a similar warning from Russian state security, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.
–“The disclosure of the CIA’s involvement suggests that the U.S. government may have had more reason than it has previously acknowledged to scrutinize Tsarnaev in the months leading up to the bombings in Boston. It also raises questions why U.S. authorities didn’t flag his return to the United States and investigate him further after a seven-month trip he took to Russia last year.” http://wapo.st/XYQ1uM
** IUPAT members and leaders will be on Capitol Hill today talking about the continued need for workers and contractors to be certified and trained in lead paint safety in order to prevent the spread of lead poisoning and contamination on or off the jobsite(s). Find out more here: http://www.goiupat.com
GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, APRIL 25, 2013, and welcome to The Huddle, your play-by-play preview of the day’s congressional news. Send tips, suggestions, comments, complaints and corrections to swong@politico.com. If you don’t already, please follow me on Twitter @scottwongDC.
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TODAY IN CONGRESS – The Senate meets at 9:30 a.m. and will recess at 10:30 a.m. for one hour for a senators-only briefing. At 11:30 a.m., the Senate will resume consideration of the Marketplace Fairness Act. Unless an agreement is reached, the Senate will have a cloture vote on the bill Friday morning.
The House meets at 10 a.m. with first and last votes expected between 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. on the Responsible Helium Administration and Stewardship Act.
AROUND THE HILL – Rep. Jan Schakowsky and others speak on POLITICO’s Emerging Tax Leaders panel at 8 a.m. at the Newseum. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte and Rep. Trey Gowdy speak on immigration reform at 9 a.m. in HVC Studio A. Former Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman and Sens. Mark Begich, Debbie Stabenow, Chris Coons, Heidi Heitkamp, Tim Johnson, Mark Pryor and Jon Tester participate in Senate Democrats’ 2nd Rural Summit at 9:30 a.m. in Dirksen G-50.
Reps. Trent Franks, Jim Costa, Ed Royce and others speak on the Victims’ Rights Amendment at 10 a.m. at the House Triangle. Also at 10, Rep. Mike Honda and national education experts speak on education reform at the National Press Club, 529 14t St. NW. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi holds an on-camera briefing with reporters at 10:45 a.m. in HVC Studio A.
Rep. Luis Gutierrez participates in a vigil to recognize families separated by deportations, at 11:30 a.m. outside of the Hart Building. Reps. Karen Bass and Joe Courtney speak on student loan debt at 2 p.m. at the House Triangle. Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce meets with King Abdullah of Jordan at 4 p.m. in Rayburn 2172.
IN HAWAII DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY, IT’S ONCE AGAIN OBAMA VS. CLINTON – Roll Call’s Kyle Trygstad explains: “The lingering fallout from the 2008 presidential primaries could rear its head in another congressional contest — this time in Hawaii. The two Democrats who will face off in next year’s Senate primary took leading roles on opposite sides of the primary that pitted Barack Obama versus Hillary Rodham Clinton. In the Aloha State — where politics is especially personal — every possible division between appointed Sen. Brian Schatz and Rep. Colleen Hanabusa will likely spill out in the 2014 special election. Schatz’s team plans to use this to its advantage — including parlaying his role in helping nominate the president in his home state. … Like many other states in 2008, the local party in Hawaii was split into two camps. Schatz, then a former state representative, was the political director and top spokesman for the Obama campaign. Meanwhile, Hanabusa, who was then the state Senate president, served as Clinton’s state spokeswoman.” http://bit.ly/Y6lzks
HEITKAMP DEFENDS GUN VOTE – Manu Raju writes for POLITICO: “Heidi Heitkamp’s office was flooded with calls from North Dakotans in the run-up to last week’s high-profile vote to expand background checks on gun purchasers. The overwhelming consensus: Vote no. In an interview in her office this week, the freshman Democrat defended the biggest vote of her young Senate career, when she joined with three other Democrats and most Senate Republicans to oppose expanding background checks during commercial gun sales. ‘I think I always had a reputation as somebody who will listen, somebody who is pretty independent-minded but also believes that at the end of the day, you got to listen to your constituents,’ Heitkamp said. ‘In this office, the calls literally were before the last day at least 7 to 1 against that bill. This was after a series of very extensive ad campaigns done in my state saying call me and tell me to support it.’
– “Heitkamp’s opposition came after intense lobbying by President Barack Obama’s chief of staff, former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly — and families of the victims from the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School last year. The vote turned Heitkamp from an unexpected victor of a 2012 Senate race to a liberal punching bag, fielding a sharp jab from Obama’s former chief of staff, Bill Daley, who demanded a refund of his campaign donation. It all amounted to an unusual amount of attention for a woman who hailed from a town of 90 people, hadn’t held an elected office for a dozen years and is so new to the Senate that she is still cramped in a small ground-level temporary office. But Heitkamp’s vote last week serves as a stark reminder that Obama’s domestic agenda rests largely on wooing both Republicans and red-state Democrats who are unafraid to buck their party.” http://politi.co/YSelvL
SCOTT BROWN FLIRTS WITH NEW HAMPSHIRE – James Hohmann writes for POLITICO: “Scott Brown has the look of a man not quite sure what to do with himself. Since losing his Senate seat in November, the Republican flirted with but then decided against running again in Massachusetts, signed up as a commentator for Fox News and landed a gig at a law firm with a lobbying practice. Now he’s again looking at a possible run … in New Hampshire. Brown is serious enough that he’s making at least five trips to the state in a one-month window, including last Saturday for a speech to a county GOP luncheon in Hanover and an appearance at the New Hampshire Young Republicans convention. The Republican senatorial campaign arm, looking to expand the 2014 map, has promoted the buzz, and Karl Rove has talked him up on cable. Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen is favored to win a second term in the swing state, but a Brown entry — the odds are still probably less than 50-50 — would throw the race into flux.” http://politi.co/13vlKEh
SENATORS ASK OBAMA IF ASSAD HAS USED CHEMICAL WEAPONS – Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.), Carl Levin (D-Mich.), Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) fired off a letter to President Obama Wednesday asking him whether the Assad regime – or Syrian elements associated with, or supported by, the Assad regime – has used chemical weapons in Syria since the current conflict began in March 2011: “[T]he senior military intelligence analyst of the Israel Defense Forces, Brigadier General Itai Brun, stated recently that the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad ‘has increasingly used chemical weapons’ against civilians in Syria. This statement follows the letter sent last week by the French and British governments to the Secretary General of the United Nations, in which they reportedly claim to have credible evidence that chemical weapons have been used in Syria. … Like you, we also view the potential use of chemical weapons in Syria as a matter of vital importance for U.S. and international security, with significant implications for U.S. policy toward the conflict in Syria.”
HARKIN DELAYS VOTE ON LABOR NOMINEE PEREZ – Sam Hananel writes for the AP: “Senate Democrats have delayed a confirmation vote on Labor Secretary-nominee Thomas Perez after Republicans threatened to use a separate hearing to criticize his handling of a whistleblower case. A vote in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee that had been set for Thursday has been pushed back to May 8. Committee Chairman Tom Harkin of Iowa said he was concerned that Republicans would use the separate hearing as a forum to attack Perez in his absence. Harkin canceled the hearing on federal whistleblower laws, which also was set for Thursday.” http://yhoo.it/11mLCRd
AYOTTE SEES DIP IN POLLS AFTER GUN VOTE – Kevin Cirilli reports for POLITICO: “Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) is facing a backlash after voting against the background check proposal last week. Ayotte has a 44 percent approval rating and a 46 percent disapproval, according to a Public Policy Polling poll released Thursday. That’s a net 15 percentage point drop since October, the last time PPP polled on her when she had a 48 percent approval and a 35 percent disapproval. … Fifty percent of New Hampshire voters say Ayotte’s voting ‘No’ on the legislation to expand background checks will make them less likely to support her in a future election — only 23 percent saw it as a positive. She’s up for reelection in 2016.” http://politi.co/11GhNvt
WEDNESDAY’S TRIVIA WINNER – Jonathan Orr and Jim Brewer both correctly answered seconds apart that former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Wilmer “Vinegar Bend” Mizell represented North Carolina in the House.
TODAY’S TRIVIA – Ross Kapilian has today’s question: Who was the first British monarch to visit the U.S., and which president hosted him/her? First to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day’s Huddle. Email me at swong@politico.com.
GET HUDDLE emailed to your Blackberry, iPhone or other mobile device each morning. Just enter your email address where it says “Sign Up.” http://www.politico.com/huddle/
** The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in coordination with state departments of health have found a higher percentage of construction workers’ children, especially those less than six years of age; have elevated BLLs when compared to age-specific averages for the United States and neighbors’ children. Lead paint regulations and laws, especially the “Lead: Renovation, Repair, and Painting (LRRP) rule”, are one of many safety valves to prevent the harmful effects of this toxic chemical from our society. By ensuring that workers and contractors are certified and trained in lead safe work practices we can prevent the spread of lead poisoning and contamination on or off the jobsite(s). Trained workers and contractors can in a cost efficient manner remove the hazardous chemical from homes, and public buildings to protect or communities. Find out more here: http://www.goiupat.com
POLITICO – Top 10 – The Huddle
Lawmakers, staff may get Obamacare exemption, Goodlatte to drop Ag-worker bill today, Hill scrambles to fix flight delays, Poll: Ayotte takes hit after gun vote, trivia
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