GOP LAWMAKERS WANT BOSTON SUSPECT DECLARED ‘ENEMY COMBATANT’ – Charlie Savage writes in the New York Times: “Some Republican lawmakers want President Obama to declare the surviving Boston bombing suspect an enemy combatant in order to question him without a lawyer and other protections of the criminal justice system, intensifying a recurring debate over how to handle terrorism cases arising inside the United States. But while the suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a naturalized American citizen, is a Muslim, there is no known evidence suggesting that he is part of Al Qaeda. The United States is engaged in an armed conflict with Al Qaeda, not all Muslim extremists. As a result, the dispute is pushing beyond familiar arguments and into new territory.
– “Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, is among the earliest and most vocal proponents of declaring Mr. Tsarnaev an enemy combatant. Others include Senators Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Saxby Chambliss of Georgia and John McCain of Arizona, as well as Representative Peter T. King of New York, all also Republicans. The Obama administration has said it thinks terrorism suspects arrested inside the United States should be handled exclusively in the criminal justice system. It has indicated no intention to do otherwise in Mr. Tsarnaev’s case, but the issue is taking on political currency, underscoring a major divide on national security legal policy.
– “Senator Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat who is the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement that the laws of war did not apply to Mr. Tsarnaev and that there was so far no evidence that he was “part of any organized group, let alone Al Qaeda, the Taliban or one of their affiliates — the only organizations whose members are subject” to detention as a part of war.” http://nyti.ms/ZgsNly
BLAME GAME: GRAHAM SUGGESTS THE FBI DROPPED THE BALL after interviewing one of the Boston bombing suspects, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, two years ago following a tip from Russian authorities, reports CNN’s Ashley Killough. “The ball was dropped in one of two ways,” Graham said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” The senator from South Carolina said the FBI either “missed a lot of things” in its investigation, or federal laws did not allow the FBI to “follow up in a sound, solid way.” http://bit.ly/17HZRCh
REP. PETER KING (R-N.Y.) was much more direct: “This is at least the fifth case I’m aware of where the FBI has failed to stop someone,” the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence said on “Fox News Sunday.” http://politi.co/108UhnN
TOP DEMS: ‘DEATH PENALTY’ APPROPRIATE – “Federal prosecutors should seek the death penalty in the case of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, top Senate Democrats said Sunday, Alan Zibel reports for the Wall Street Journal. “Speaking on CNN’s ‘State of the Union,’ Sen. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) said the Tsarnaev case is ‘just the kind of case’ that should merit the death penalty under federal law. Mr. Schumer compared the case of Mr. Tsarnaev, a naturalized U.S. citizen, to that of Timothy McVeigh, who was executed under federal law in June 2011 after being found guilty in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombings, which killed 168 people. … Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) also indicated she favored the death penalty for Mr. Tsarnaev.” http://on.wsj.com/17dmK2b
– The Boston bombing suspects were not licensed to own guns where they lived, Reuters reports: http://nyti.ms/10ttF8j
eBAY CEO RALLIES TROOPS AGAINST ONLINE SALES TAX BILL – Alistair Barr reports for Reuters ahead of tonight’s cloture vote in the Senate: “EBay Inc Chief Executive John Donahoe began emailing millions of users of the company’s online marketplace on Sunday in an unprecedented lobbying effort to change looming Federal sales tax legislation. The e-commerce giant plans to send emails from Donahoe to at least 40 million eBay users, including most sellers on the marketplace. The first messages were sent out Sunday morning. In the emails, Donahoe said the legislation, known as the Marketplace Fairness Act, unfairly burdens small online merchants and asked eBay users to send an email message to members of Congress asking for changes. The legislation, due to be voted on by the Senate in coming days, gives states the power to compel retailers outside their borders to collect online sales tax. … The legislation includes an exemption for merchants that generate less than $ 1 million in annual out-of-state revenue. Donahoe argued in the emails that merchants with less than $ 10 million in annual out-of-state sales, or fewer than 50 employees, should be exempt. Reuters viewed copies of the emails.
– “In emails to eBay sellers, Donahoe singled out Amazon.com Inc, eBay’s main rival, which supports the current legislation. ‘This legislation treats you and big multi-billion dollar online retailers – such as Amazon – exactly the same,’ Donahoe wrote. ‘Those fighting for this change refuse to acknowledge that the burden on businesses like yours is far greater than for a big national retailer.’” http://fxn.ws/XZAugt
BILL BACKERS PUSH BACK – A coalition that includes Best Buy, Amazon, Retail Industry Leaders Association, National Retail Federation and International Council of Shopping Centers swiftly responded to the eBay chief in a letter sent to Huddle: “This legislation would level the playing field for the industry with the largest private workforce in America. eBay’s opposition to the Marketplace Fairness Act is a transparent attempt to maintain an unlevel playing field and benefit a very small number of their largest sellers. … Mr. Donahoe wants you to believe that the Marketplace Fairness Act would somehow penalize small online businesses. This is disingenuous because it overlooks the fact that this legislation exempts small sellers with less than one-million dollars in annual remote sales to address concerns about small business compliance. To put this in perspective: the Marketplace Fairness Act exempts 99% of all sellers and over 40% of all online commerce.
– “Mr. Donahoe suggests that leveling the playing field and treating all sellers equitably is bad policy. We could not disagree more. The current system can no longer be justified and it is time to modernize how sales taxes are collected, level the playing field for all sellers, and protect the states’ right to make their own policy choices. That is why a broad coalition of sellers, states, and municipalities from across the country and in your district are waiting for Congress to pass the Marketplace Fairness Act and end the uncertainly of the current sales tax collection system. The Marketplace Fairness Act will fuel competition and create real value for consumers based on service, price, and convenience: not unfair sales tax collection rules. All businesses, large and small, must be given the chance to succeed and grow. We exist in a 21st century marketplace and the law must reflect this reality.” View the letter here: http://bit.ly/ZHE8qB
10 A.M. TODAY: 23 WITNESSES ARE SET TO TESTIFY AT IMMIGRATION HEARING – Expect the Boston bombing suspects, immigrants from Chechnya, to once again come up in today’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, just as it did during a similar hearing on Friday. Witnesses include: Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform; Janet Murguía, president and CEO of the National Council of La Raza; former Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.); and Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies. Location: Hart 216.
CRUZ VS. RUBIO – Manu Raju writes about the budding rivalry for the hometown paper: Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio “have much in common as first-term senators elected with the help of the tea party from states with large Latino populations. Both have Cuban roots and are considered rising GOP stars and prospective presidential rivals. But the pair is divided on immigration legislation — a key difference that could have significant ramifications for their party and political ambitions. The Texas freshman is sharply critical of the pathway to citizenship for the nation’s 11 million undocumented immigrants, a central part of the bipartisan bill that Rubio helped write. Cruz is weighing whether to aggressively oppose the immigration overhaul, a decision that could neutralize Rubio’s outreach to conservative activists in order to minimize their opposition. …
–“[I]f Cruz were to lead the fight against the comprehensive plan, it could also spark a revolt from the large — and growing — population of Texas Hispanics who opposed his candidacy in large numbers in 2012. Cruz’s thinking will be on fresh display Monday, when witnesses testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee could be subjected to his prosecutorial style of questioning.
– “The Cruz-Rubio divide underscores the soul-searching within the GOP over immigration reform as Republicans continue to ask themselves: Should they soften their opposition to a comprehensive plan after witnessing a mass erosion of support from Latino voters in recent election cycles? Or should they stand firm and defeat any bill that could provide ‘amnesty’ to millions of illegal immigrants and instead mainly demand tougher border security laws?” http://politi.co/15yDVwZ
IMMIGRATION BILL SPRINKLED WITH PET PROJECTS – Sara Murray reports for the WSJ: “Buried within the 844 pages of the bipartisan immigration bill—amid historic shifts in policies such as a path to citizenship for 11 million unauthorized immigrants—are pet provisions of the senators who crafted it. South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham wants more visas for the meat industry, a major employer in his state. Sen. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) pushed for special treatment for Irish workers; his state is home to a large population with Irish ancestry. Republican Sen. Marco Rubio sought help for the cruise-ship industry, a big business in his home state of Florida. And Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado wove in a boost for ski areas.” http://on.wsj.com/11wUy6Q
** This week, members and leaders of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades will be in Washington, D.C., to talk to members of Congress about the $ 1 Billion investment it and IUPAT employers have made in training the best skilled construction workforce in the country. Find out more here: http://www.goiupat.com
GOOD MONDAY MORNING, APRIL 22, 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.
My new followers include @emmaroller and @AllisonPrang.
TODAY IN CONGRESS – The House is out today. The Senate is in at 2 p.m. and holds a procedural vote at 5:30 p.m. on the online sales tax bill known as the Marketplace Fairness Act.
BOSTON GLOBE: MARKEY BEST CHOICE FOR SENATE – The Globe makes its endorsement: “One afternoon in 2007, Ed Markey stood outside the doors of the US House chamber, balancing plaster models in his hands. He was waiting to enter the nearly empty chamber, to make a speech for C-SPAN junkies illustrating the lack of screening of cargo on US airliners — a loophole that Markey feared a terrorist might exploit. It was a point he had hammered home after 9/11, while airlines and cargo companies insisted that existing precautions were sufficient. But he wasn’t about to give up, and, with a big smile on his face, bounded onto the House floor. Though Markey’s district included people who died on 9/11, there was no special reason why he, of all House members, should be leading this particular cause. He simply saw it as his job to do what he could to improve the country. Now, after 37 years of legislative action — sometimes fruitful, sometimes fruitless, always engaged — Markey is seeking to move to the Senate. …
– “On that afternoon in 2007, Markey could have been anywhere else in Washington — or Massachusetts, for that matter — than the floor of the House, intoning about cargo screening. But the opposition finally relented: Markey’s bill became law. On cargo screening and dozens of other issues, Markey’s legislative exertions have paid off for America and Massachusetts. He is the best choice for Bay State Democrats.” http://b.globe.com/15B6Wbt
AIRPORT DELAYS? REAL TEST COMES TODAY AFTER FAA FURLOUGHS – The Associated Press: “Commercial airline flights moved smoothly throughout most of the country on Sunday, the first day air traffic controllers were subject to furloughs resulting from government spending cuts, though some delays appeared in the late evening in and around New York. And even though the nightmarish flight delays and cancellations that the airline industry predicted would result from the furloughs did not materialize yet, the real test will come Monday, when traffic ramps up. Information from the FAA and others showed that flying Sunday was largely uneventful, with most flights on time. There were delays in parts of Florida, but those were caused by thunderstorms. … The FAA website said that flights from Philadelphia and Orlando, Fla., into John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia and Westchester County airports were delayed due to staffing issues.” http://abcn.ws/122PhoZ
–WaPo, A14, “Major furloughs spur uncertainty at U.S. agencies”: The first round of sequester-related furloughs begins this week, affecting thousands of federal workers, reports Steve Vogel: http://wapo.st/XQPMlx
RICIN SUSPECT’S EX-WIFE: HE WAS FRAMED – Sarah Robinson writes for the Northeast Mississippi News: “Laura Curtis of Booneville, his former wife, contacted the Daily Journal on Saturday to say she fully supports her ex-husband and among friends and family members ‘none of us believe he did this.’ Curtis appeared in court on Friday but after three hours of proceedings Magistrate Judge S. Allan Alexander recessed the hearing until Monday. Defense attorney Christi R. McCoy called the only witness on Friday, FBI Special Agent Brandon Grant. Grant testified investigators are currently unable to link Curtis to ricin and found no evidence of his fingerprints on any of the letters. The agency is awaiting DNA and other lab results from evidence they collected from Curtis’ home. Grant testified in court Friday that Laura Curtis told investigators that Kevin Curtis suffers from bipolar disorder and had been extremely violent toward her and that he had threatened to kill her and had raped her. Laura Curtis did not dispute the accuracy of Grant’s testimony but claimed ‘only one percent of the truth came out.’ She said she and her children remain very close to her ex-husband. …
– “She has spoken to Kevin Curtis since his arrest. She said, ‘I asked him, did he do this, and he said ‘I did not.’’ Laura Curtis said she gave the FBI the names of other people she believes might have sent the letters in an attempt to frame her ex-husband. ‘Anybody could get his tagline,’ she said. The letters in question were signed ‘I am KC and I approve this message,’ a phrase often used by Curtis in his writings about the alleged conspiracy. The three letters also said: ‘To see a wrong and not expose it, is to become a silent partner to its continuance,’ a quote Kevin Curtis posted on his public Facebook profile.” http://bit.ly/17dryV6
THE ROGERS REPORT: NEW FIGHT OVER FOOD STAMPS – “‘Where are the jobs?’ Speaker John Boehner likes to ask. But do his fellow House Republicans really want to kick the unemployed off food stamps if they can’t find the jobs either?” David Rogers writes for POLITICO. “That’s the question behind a simmering farm bill battle over reimposing work requirements on millions of able-bodied adults enrolled in the nutrition program. Most have no reported earnings, and without added job training or workfare slots, the change could spell real hardship in today’s economy. For this reason, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) is resisting the move. But back home, the Oklahoma state Legislature recently took steps to reinstate work requirements. And the office of Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) has repeatedly raised the issue with Lucas as a way to win conservative votes for his farm bill, now slated for markup May 15.” http://politi.co/15xBZ7U
HOUSE GOP LAUNCHES PROGRAM TO KEEP MAJORITY – Alex Isenstadt reports for POLITICO: “Congressional Republicans, seeking to counter efforts by President Barack Obama and Democrats to win the House next year, are launching a program Monday aimed at preserving their 17-seat majority. The National Republican Congressional Committee will unveil what it dubs the ‘Patriot Program,’ which will provide support to the party’s most endangered incumbents. Republicans say the objective is to shore up members facing the toughest races before the 2014 election season heats up in earnest. They say they want to spend much of next year focusing their firepower on vulnerable Democrats with an eye toward building on their majority. …
– “The 11 Republicans who are being named to the Patriot Program are: Reps. Mike Coffman of Colorado, Rodney Davis of Illinois, Jeff Denham and David Valadao of California, Mike Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Bob Gibbs and David Joyce of Ohio, Chris Gibson of New York, Joe Heck of Nevada, Steve Southerland of Florida and Jackie Walorski of Indiana.” http://politi.co/17RwjVG
DSCC OUTRAISES NRSC BY $ 2M – James Hohmann reports for POLITICO: “The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee raised $ 5.2 million in March, beating their Republican counterpart by $ 2 million. Senate Democrats have grown their money advantage so far in 2013, as incumbents from red states last week and now the committee reported sizable first-quarter hauls. The National Republican Senatorial Committee raised $ 3.2 million for the month, ending with $ 5.3 million cash and $ 9.5 million in debt. The DSCC raised $ 13.7 million over the last three months, their best first quarter ever and $ 6.9 million more than the NRSC. They say that $ 5.6 million of that came from grassroots donors by mail, phone and online.” http://politi.co/17RwaBL
FRIDAY’S TRIVIA WINNER – Ross Kapilian was first to correctly answer that Alice Roosevelt Longworth had a child with a senator to whom she was not married. He was Sen. William Borah.
TODAY’S TRIVIA – Geoff Simon has today’s question: Who was the first president or ex-president to fly in an airplane? 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/
** In 1937, Congress and President Roosevelt signed the National Apprenticeship Act. It established an important federal role in private apprenticeship training by bringing labor and management together to ensure that the training provided was fair, safe and in the best interest of the contractors and the end user. Today, the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, the Finishing Trades Institute and other Building and Construction Trades Unions annually spend more than $ 1 billion in private funding on apprenticeship instructors, curriculum and training the next generation of construction workers. Any planned expansion of registered apprenticeship or federal role in apprenticeship should proceed outward from resilient and high quality construction programs that currently exist in nearly every community in the United States. Find out more here: http://www.goiupat.com
POLITICO – Top 10 – The Huddle
GOP lawmakers: Declare suspect "enemy combatant," eBay CEO rallies troops against online sales tax bill, Cruz vs. Rubio, Globe endorses Markey, Ricin suspect"s ex: He was framed
