(swong@politico.com or @scottwongDC)
With an assist from Manu Raju.
DURBIN RAISES $ 736K IN Q1, SIGNALS RUN FOR REELECTION – Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin has filed campaign finance reports showing he’s raised significant cash in the first quarter, a strong sign the 68-year-old Illinois Democrat is running for a fourth term in 2014. From a Democratic source familiar with the figures: “Even before officially announcing his candidacy for reelection, Senator Dick Durbin, raised nearly three quarters of a million dollars in the first quarter of 2013 and has $ 3.23 million cash on hand. Holding only about a dozen events over the first quarter, Durbin’s haul is impressive and shows he has continued to be a strong fundraiser even without a formal campaign announcement. In total, Durbin raised $ 736,166.29 in the first quarter from 1,888 donors – 1091 of whom were first-time contributors to the Senator. Nearly 70% of his contributions were under $ 100 and more that 70% of his contributors were from Illinois. Durbin continues to grow his strong grassroots support across Illinois. Even without a formal campaign announcement, Durbin is in a strong financial position at the start of the 2014 cycle.” http://bit.ly/Yp8wWg
A SCHISM IN GUN LOBBY OVER MANCHIN-TOOMEY BACKGROUND CHECKS BILL – Tom Hamburger and Ed O’Keefe write on A1 of the Washington Post: “In anticipation of Senate votes this week on a proposed expansion of criminal background checks for firearms sales, one gun rights organization broke with the powerful National Rifle Association on Sunday to urge support for a compromise drafted by Sens. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) and Patrick J. Toomey (R-Pa.). The endorsement by the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms — which calls itself the second-largest gun rights organization in the country, behind the NRA, claiming 650,000 members and supporters — is one of several moves over the past few days that have provided a boost to the hopes of proponents of background checks. While leading gun-control advocates — including President Obama and New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (I) — back the bipartisan proposal, the announcement of support Sunday from the Citizens Committee reveals that substantial parts of the bill are viewed as ‘wins’ for the gun lobby, including provisions that would prohibit a government registry of gun ownership and make it easier to transport and market weapons across state lines.
– “Though news of a split in the usually unified gun lobby cheered gun-control advocates, the gun lobby can count other probable wins in the current debate, such as the likely defeat of legislation to limit military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines. Now, an expansion of background-check requirements for gun sales is considered the most likely major achievement. … The compromise measure, drafted by Toomey and Manchin, would require background checks for currently exempt online and gun-show sales but not for most other private transactions.
– “There were other signs of momentum on gun-control legislation over the weekend, including a tentative expression of support for the Toomey-Manchin compromise on Sunday from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), an endorsement by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), and indications of backing from several House Republicans, including some who have had previous endorsements from the NRA. Officially, only three Republican senators — Toomey, Collins and Mark Kirk (Ill.) — have said they plan to vote for the Manchin-Toomey agreement. Democratic aides say the bill will need the backing of at least six Republican senators to pass. The measure still has a long and tortuous path, with dozens of amendments expected. The Senate is scheduled to begin formal debate Tuesday by first considering the plan to expand the gun background-check program.” http://wapo.st/17B6ARk
MANCHIN AND TOOMEY GET THE ‘SNL’ TREATMENT. Watch here as they open the show: http://bit.ly/ZvN3Kv
New York Times, A1, “Rifts in Both Parties Complicate Odds for Gun Measure,” By Jennifer Steinhauer and Jonathan Weisman: http://nyti.ms/ZkHPoZ
FEWER AMERICANS VIEW INCOME TAXES AS FAIR – Gallup: “This Tax Day, 55% of Americans regard the income taxes they have to pay as fair, the lowest percentage Gallup has measured since 2001. The results are based on Gallup’s Economy and Personal Finance poll, conducted April 4-7, and annually since 2001. The recent high in Americans’ perceptions that their taxes were fair, 64%, came in 2003, after President Bush signed tax cuts into law and weeks after the Iraq war began.” http://bit.ly/17cYWJL
IS WASHINGTON SPENDING YOUR TAX DOLLARS WISELY? – Bankrupting America, a project of Public Notice, is out with a new tax day video, “Your Tax Dollars At Work,” asking everyday Americans whether they feel Washington is spending their tax dollars wisely. The video highlights concerns for the way money is being spent in Washington, including reactions to recent headlines exposing real government waste. Watch it here: http://bit.ly/116zt1s Fact sheet: http://bit.ly/103xVLN
RUBIO IS EVERYWHERE: SENATOR DOES SEVEN SUNDAY SHOW INTERVIEWS – Ginger Gibson reports for POLITICO: “Sen. Marco Rubio on Sunday began his public campaign to win over conservative support for overhauling the nation’s immigration laws, appearing on a record-setting seven network news programs. Rubio offered a finely calibrated pitch designed to alleviate conservative concerns about reform. He pushed back against claims that a pathway to citizenship is tantamount to amnesty. He rebutted arguments that an agreement would impose dramatic new costs on taxpayers. And he defended the changes as necessary to keep the border secure. ‘What we have in place today, the status quo, is horrible for America,’ the Florida Republican said on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press.’ …
– “Rubio’s appearances launch a pivotal week in the efforts of the Gang of Eight, the bipartisan group of senators working on immigration legislation. The group is expected to unveil its compromise plan on Tuesday, bringing an end to months of speculation about what the final bill will look like. In addition to appearing on the usual five network Sunday morning programs — on CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN and Fox — Rubio also appeared on Univision and Telemundo. The high-profile push from Rubio is sure to stoke talks that he’s positioning for a run for president in 2016. He’s considered a favorite in the field of potential Republican candidates.” http://politi.co/Zqj3k7
RUBIO’S IMMIGRATION GAMBLE: A1, Washington Post, “Rubio takes big risk on immigration legislation: Senator’s endorsement of bipartisan plan could prove costly in 2016,” By David Nakamura: “[I]n many ways, the senators’ negotiations, behind the scenes and in public, have hinged on a party of one. Rubio, the tea party favorite whose parents emigrated from Cuba, has been considered the most crucial player all along. Although he has seemed to waver at times, his full-throated endorsement of the bill Sunday, in a marathon round of seven television interviews, put at ease a group of colleagues who have been working hard to ensure he stays the course. [Dick] Durbin wasn’t the only one who reached out to Rubio. The senator from Florida was added to the group after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) made clear to Graham and McCain that Rubio’s participation would be critical to winning conservative support. President Obama phoned Rubio, who was traveling in Israel, after the senator dismissed details of an administration immigration plan leaked to the media in February. And Schumer called Rubio two weeks ago to confirm his support after the Republican publicly expressed skepticism about the pace of negotiations.
– “By joining the cause, the potential 2016 presidential candidate has set himself down a politically risky path — one that could pay big dividends but is likely to become even more treacherous after details of the bill become public. Shortly after Rubio’s talk-show appearances, NumbersUSA, a conservative anti-immigration group, issued a statement denouncing the ‘Obama-Rubio-Schumer’ deal. And Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) charged that his colleagues had ‘abandoned’ a pledge to make border security the highest priority.” http://wapo.st/17cQI4n
BUSINESSES GEAR UP FOR IMMIGRATION FIGHT – Anna Palmer reports for POLITICO: “The business community has long supported the idea of immigration reform — particularly the high-tech sector and the construction industry, which badly need the workers. What they don’t support are some of the specifics leaking out on a new immigration reform proposal expected Tuesday from the Gang of Eight. Now, companies and trade groups — that have been pressuring the key Senate negotiators — are preparing to unleash their lobbying forces broadly on Capitol Hill in hopes of securing changes to the package. And that could spell trouble for the bill since any significant change to even a single element could scuttle the delicately reached bargain, leaving final passage of a comprehensive immigration reform bill in serious jeopardy.” http://politi.co/17afh1X
DEM GROUP HITS GOP SENATORS ON IMMIGRATION – The Bridge Project, the Democratic-aligned American Bridge 21st Century’s 501(c)(4), is releasing a report today highlighting what it calls past extreme comments on immigration and the anti-immigrant funders of some of the key conservatives in the Senate, including members of the Gang of Eight: Marco Rubio, John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Jeff Flake, Ted Cruz, Mitch McConnell, John Cornyn, David Vitter and Chuck Grassley. The report, titled “Barriers to Reform: The anti-immigrant and extremist money blocking progress in the Senate,” states: “As immigration reform moves forward in the Senate the success of any legislation will depend on the cooperation of conservative lawmakers with troubling histories on the issue. However, it is not only their past policy positions and quotes that are disturbing. These key conservative Senators also share a history of campaign contributors who also fund extremist anti-immigrant organizations, including those labeled as hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center.” Read the report here: http://ab21.org/BarriersToReform
DESPITE GANGS, McCONNELL IN NO MOOD FOR BIPARTISANSHIP – John Bresnahan and Jake Sherman report for the hometown paper: “Mitch McConnell still hasn’t gotten over December’s traumatic fiscal cliff showdown. The Senate minority leader has signaled privately that he has no interest in sitting in the same room as Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to discuss a possible ‘grand bargain’ on budget and tax issues, Senate insiders tell POLITICO. McConnell is fine with talking to Obama — just talking at this point — but he doesn’t want Reid there when it happens. Such is life in Congress, where hope of bipartisanship is giving way to the same old toxic relations. From the outside, the Senate appeared to have the bipartisan thing down this spring: so called ‘gangs’ of senators have hashed out agreements on guns and immigration. President Barack Obama has had two dinners with Senate Republicans and traveled up to the Hill to meet with lawmakers from both chambers. But the good feelings have really been only in the Senate, and only among a minority of Republicans to boot. Bad blood remains between party leaders and the national partisan realities haven’t changed.
– “[R]elationships among the other 98 senators will be tested when voting begins on the controversial gun and immigration measures — starting with this week’s expected vote on expanding background checks for firearms purchases. McConnell plans to pull out all the stops to block the bill, and GOP senators are blasting any immigration plan that they say smells of ‘amnesty.’” http://politi.co/17aczJO
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GOOD MONDAY MORNING, APRIL 15, 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 House is in at noon with votes expected around 6:30 p.m. Legislation considered under suspension of the rules include the GAO Improvement Act, Federal Employee Tax Accountability Act, The Contracting and Tax Accountability Act and District of Columbia CFO Vacancy Act.
The Senate is in at 2 p.m. and will consider the nominations of Beverly O’Connell to be U.S. District Judge for the Central District of California and Derrick Watson to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Hawaii. At 5:30 p.m., there will be a roll call vote on the O’Connell nomination.
AROUND THE HILL – House Democratic Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra, Reps. Hank Johnson and Pete Gallego and Voto Latino speak on immigration reform at 10 a.m. at the House Triangle. From noon to 3 p.m., Sen. Mike Lee and Reps. Justin Amash, Mick Mulvaney, Mike Pompeo and Tom Price address over 1,000 FreedomWorks activists at Upper Senate Park to launch “The New Fair Deal,” which promotes ending corporate handouts, crafting a flatter tax code, passing spending reform, and empowering individuals with the choice to opt out of government-run entitlement programs.
To kick off the Executive Branch Review Project, Sen. Mike Lee and Federalist Society founder and Vice ChairmanDavid McIntosh host a conference call at 4 p.m. to prompt a national debate about whether there has been an uptick in regulatory activity and the consequences surrounding it. http://bit.ly/14pk0kK For the dial-in number, please amorris@crcpublicrelations.com or call 703.683.5004 x123.
SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY
– Gabby Giffords will lobby for gun control on Capitol Hill this week. “We’re going to be on Capitol Hill,” her husband, Mark Kelly, said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “We’re going to be continuing to push for this extended background check bill and hopefully we’ll get it out of the Senate and over to the House.” Ginger Gibson for POLITICO: http://politi.co/Zs8HQZ
– Sen. Marco Rubio to Jay-Z: Get informed: “Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who is of Cuban descent, says Jay-Z, who just visited Cuba, should get up to speed on the issues. ‘Jay-Z needs to get informed,’ Rubio said Sunday on ABC’s ‘This Week.’ ‘One of his heroes is Che Guevara. Che Guevara was a racist. Che Guevara was a racist that wrote extensively about the superiority of white Europeans over people of African descent, so he should inform himself on the guy that he’s propping up.’” http://politi.co/17d3foq
Former Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) said “nothing’s off the table” when asked about a possible New Hampshire Senate bid, The Hill’s Cameron Joseph reports: http://bit.ly/ZVMyt9
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) had no comment on a possible New York mayoral bid by former Rep. Anthony Weiner, writes The Hill’s Kevin Bogardus: http://bit.ly/137a1vs
EYEING MAYOR’S RACE, WEINER RELEASES ISSUES BOOKLET — Michael M. Grynbaum reports for the NYT: “As he seeks to extend the discussion about a possible candidacy for mayor — and shift attention away from the online sex-messaging scandal that cost him his Congressional seat — Anthony D. Weiner released a 21-page policy booklet on Sunday that he described as a blueprint for keeping New York City ‘the capital of the middle class.’ The document, named ‘Keys to the City,’ was largely drawn from a booklet of the same title, theme, and format that he distributed five years ago, in anticipation of a mayoral bid in 2009 that he later abandoned. Mr. Weiner, who said the report was intended merely to ‘generate some discussion,’ did expand on his old ideas and added a few new ones, including a city-run single-payer health care program; a requirement that sex offenders wear GPS tags for easy tracking; and a British House of Commons-style ‘question time’ for New York City’s mayor.” http://nyti.ms/12d6ehe
CYBERSECURITY: CONGRESS’ NEW OLD FIGHT – Tony Romm writes for the hometown paper: “Battling rogue hackers and digital spies — it’s precisely the sort of cutting-edge challenge that typically confounds Congress. But the cybersecurity debate about to begin in the House this week is merely a more modern take on an old political fight: a classic lobbying battle set against the backdrop of a post-Sept. 11 struggle between privacy and security. Virtually all of Washington believes the government and industry should exchange data about new cyberthreats — not unlike regulators in the not-too-distant past who shared a desire to find new methods of preventing terrorism. In both debates, however, it’s always been about the details. And on cybersecurity, Congress, the White House, private companies and interest groups just don’t see eye to eye. Each side is lobbying hard to shape the final product as regulators realize it’s difficult to safeguard civil liberties while thwarting the sort of attacks that might darken a city or disrupt Wall Street trading.” http://politi.co/10WcCa1
CONGRESS SCALES BACK STOCK ACT, BLOCKS ONLINE POSTINGS FOR AIDES, STAFFERS – Seung Min Kim reports for POLITICO: “Congress has quickly and quietly moved to considerably scale back financial disclosure requirements that were mandated by the STOCK Act last year after a report released last month raised security concerns about posting the information online. The House on Friday cleared a bill by voice vote that would exempt congressional aides and executive branch staffers from a requirement that they post financial disclosures online. The requirement would still apply to the president, vice president, lawmakers and congressional candidates and positions that require Senate confirmation. The Senate cleared the legislation, also by unanimous consent, Thursday night.
–“Open government groups are slamming the bill, charging Congress with overreacting to worries that could be addressed with more modest changes to the law. They were especially irked by the decision to remove congressional aides from the requirement to post financial details online — viewing it as a “knee-jerk” reaction to a legitimate security issue involving executive branch officials.” http://politi.co/10VbvZK
LABOR NOMINEE PEREZ FACES TOUGHER GOP SCRUTINY – Evan Perez reports for the Wall Street Journal: “Republican lawmakers are stepping up their challenge to the credibility of President Barack Obama’s labor-secretary nominee, saying testimony he gave congressional investigators was contradicted by other government officials. Democrats counter that Thomas Perez, currently the top civil-rights lawyer at the Justice Department, was doing his job of protecting civil rights. The dueling messages come in reports from the two parties to be released Monday—ahead of confirmation hearings this week—about a deal Mr. Perez helped engineer with St. Paul, Minn. The city agreed to drop a Supreme Court case that civil-rights advocates feared could weaken enforcement of housing-discrimination law. In exchange, the Justice Department declined to join two unrelated private lawsuits involving the city’s housing program. Part of the controversy is fueled by emails and documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal that appear to show Mr. Perez trying to keep his role in the St. Paul deal and its full terms from becoming public. Those documents have been cited by GOP lawmakers who allege that Mr. Perez, a political appointee, was overruling career lawyers who had made opposite recommendations. Mr. Perez told congressional investigators in March that he was attempting to expedite handling of the matter, not trying to keep certain aspects secret.” http://on.wsj.com/119NblA
JOE MILLER EXPLORING SECOND SENATE RUN – Kyle Trygstad reports for Roll Call: “Joe Miller, the tea-party-backed Alaska Republican who lost a 2010 Senate race, announced on Sunday that he is launching an exploratory committee as he considers another Senate campaign. The announcement comes just two days after first-term Democratic Sen. Mark Begich announced raising almost $ 1 million in the first fundraising quarter of the cycle. It also comes after a tumultuous week at the state Republican Party, which ousted yet another chairman. ‘For several months now, my wife and I have engaged in serious reflection about our family, Alaska, and the state of our nation,’ Miller said in an email to supporters. ‘After consultation with our political advisers, trusted friends, and many of our 2010 volunteers, we have decided to test the waters for a 2014 US Senate run.’ In a full statement posted to his website, Miller asks for donations and states that he is attempting to determine whether ‘grassroots Republicans’ will ‘step up and join us in the fight for freedom.’” http://bit.ly/16XPMmj
FORMER OHIO REP. CHARLIE WILSON DEAD AT 70 – Ellen Jan Kleinerman writes for The Plain Dealer: “Former U.S. Rep. Charlie Wilson died Sunday in a Florida hospital following complications associated with a stroke that he suffered in February. Wilson, 70, died with his family by his side, according to a spokesman from his office. The Democrat represented Ohio’s 6th Congressional district. ‘Throughout his extraordinary life, Congressman Wilson was motivated by a desire to serve his country and a passion for the causes most important to the constituents of Southeast and East Ohio,’ family members said in a statement. Wilson was elected to the Ohio House in 1996 where he served until 2004 when he was elected to the Ohio Senate. He won a write-in campaign in 2006 filling the congressional seat vacated by Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland. He lost the seat in 2010 to Republican Bill Johnson.” http://bit.ly/116CBKN
FRIDAY’S TRIVIA WINNER – Ross Kapilian was first to correctly answer that Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the first president to appear on television. It occurred at the opening of the New York World’s Fair on April 30, 1939.
TODAY’S TRIVIA – Ross Kapilian has today’s question: Which professional sports league has had the most representation in Congress, and who were the players in that league? First to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day’s Huddle. Email me at swong@politico.com.
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** This Thursday join Zillow, the Progressive Policy Institute and the American Action Forum for a FORUM ON THE FUTURE OF HOUSING: What’s next for housing demand, mortgage finance and recovery. The forum will bring together an esteemed group of national real estate experts, influencers and policy makers to discuss the dynamics that will drive the market in 2013 and beyond.
Keynotes from the Hon. Jeff Merkley and the Hon. Johnny Isakson; panels on mortgage finance and the future of housing demand moderated by WSJ’s Nick Timiraos and CNBC’s Diana Olick.
When and where: Thursday, April 18 from 8:00 am-12:30 pm. Knight Conference Center at the Newseum.
FREE registration: http://zlw.re/ZillowForum.
POLITICO – Top 10 – The Huddle
TAX DAY, Durbin fundraising signals run for reelection, Schism in gun lobby over Manchin-Toomey bill, Rubio"s TV blitz, Giffords on Hill, Joe Miller explores second Senate bid
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