Subject: POLITICO Huddle: SILENCER BILL SHELVED, FOR NOW – Collins weighs Maine gov bid – TRUMP TOURS PUERTO RICO TODAY – GOP undecided on fate of Iran deal
From: "POLITICO Huddle" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 03 Oct 2017 05:54:55 -0600
List-Id: <1376319_7079333.xt.local>

10/03/2017 07:53 AM EDT

By Heather Caygle ([email-masked] or @heatherscope)
 
SILENCER BILL SHELVED AFTER LAS VEGAS - A controversial bill to loosen restrictions on purchasing gun silencers won't be coming to the House floor anytime soon after the horrific mass shooting in Las Vegas. GOP leaders were planning to bring the bill to the floor for a vote in the coming weeks but that plan is delayed, at least for now. A separate bill to allow concealed-carry permit holders to take their guns with them to another state could also be affected after the tragedy, which left 59 dead and more than 500 others wounded. 
 
Still, Republicans brushed aside Democrats' effort to talk about gun control: "Politicizing this terrible tragedy is, I think, beyond disgusting," Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) said. Bres, me and Burgess: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b98deeb8fe5905afc43b15782c148e7feff2f8690e1f583980c173d7c2d36ef78e13b07b8097733454f51445f53bee835d9c3b5952e267b8 
 
Undeterred, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) - who said Monday Congress needs to "get off its ass and do something" - is planning to introduce a new background checks bill. Murphy "openly acknowledged that stricter background checks might not have flagged the Las Vegas shooter... But 'we can't get caught in the trap of only advocating legislation that addressed yesterday's shooting.'" The last major bipartisan gun push in 2013 - after the Sandy Hook massacre in Murphy's home state - was filibustered by most Senate Republicans. Seung Min with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b98deeb8fe5905af1b549b86c62c64fe9e59c5a13f2c699fbdddbd520b124204b668978ed08bbce0f91b8676da5d45df5d57bcc43a026bae 
 
-- "Giffords, Scalise highlight party differences on guns," via the Hill's Mike Lillis: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b98deeb8fe5905af8f74be1839df3261163de904aa6a9e9563d1ffccd299096730cd2d36fa896a296b4f74e627d1f6bebfaac11f6c99c682 
 
SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO - GOP Sen. Susan Collins is agonizing over whether to run for reelection or aim for the Maine governor's mansion next year, Burgess reports this morning. Collins "initially planned to make up her mind by the end of September, but pushed back her deadline to mid-October as she wrestled with the GOP's recent Obamacare repeal effort," he reports. "Given the contentious environment in Washington right now, my voice and vote matter a great deal," Collins, one of the Senate's last true moderates, said in an interview.
 
Several colleagues, particularly other moderates like Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), are hoping Collins stays in Washington. Heitkamp even sent Collins a text saying "don't do it" after seeing news reports about her potential gubernatorial bid. "I desperately hope she doesn't run," Heitkamp told Burgess. 
 
What's at stake: "In a chamber controlled by just 52 Republicans, Collins and a handful of other centrist senators can decide the fate of President Donald Trump's agenda. And a run by Collins for governor could eventually cost the GOP one of its last congressional footholds in New England." Burgess with more: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b98deeb8fe5905af92eee3df3a0d568cbc5ee6a637241feb9ab1b47840031a4ab224bedbea9832e8326620a563c63ca8031744fc9c370100 
 
WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE IRAN DEAL? Trump faces an Oct. 15 deadline to certify that Iran is in compliance with the nuclear deal struck two years ago. If he declines to do that, effectively leaving the decision up to Congress whether to reimpose sanctions on the country that were lifted under the deal, there's no clear path forward. "Naysayers in Congress are vowing to take advantage of a fast-track mechanism that would allow lawmakers to reinstate sanctions with a simple majority vote," Seung Min and Elana report. 
 
But while GOP lawmakers were unanimously opposed to the deal in 2015, several influential Republicans are now wavering or saying Trump should enforce the accord, making it unclear if there are enough votes to quickly reinstate sanctions against Tehran. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b98deeb8fe5905afc17fd973efae96270340de6215306bca004b9baeefd0cb2355fecabf66e51d063c9c2eb34e4ebc7212d5eb9f5f5a123f 
 
WELCOME TO TUESDAY, OCT. 3. Thanks for tuning in to POLITICO's Huddle, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill. Your Huddle host spent the morning listening to her favorite Tom Petty songs in honor of the late rocker, who died last night after suffering cardiac arrest. The New York Times obit: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b98deeb8fe5905afad313afcd0f0ebbaabe31cfbfe90e9cebbdcf25ac0fc9d81950ed5bc8a116db46d99df3b528e3e01975b8000203f1c1c
 
TRUMP TOURS PUERTO RICO - President Trump and first lady Melania travel to Puerto Rico today to see the hurricane-ravaged island firsthand. Two weeks after Hurricane Maria devastated the country, 95 percent of the power grid is still knocked out and more than half of the 3.4 million residents lack access to clean drinking water, Jacqueline Kilmas and Colin Wilhelm report. 
 
PR Aid: Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee "are proposing to send $1 billion in extra Medicaid funding to Puerto Rico ... as part of a five-year plan to fund the federal health insurance program for children (CHIP)," Paige Winfield Cunningham reports for the Washington Post. The committee will mark up the bill tomorrow. Congress missed a Sept. 30 deadline to extend CHIP, leaving several states scrambling to preserve funding for the program until lawmakers reach an agreement. 
 
FIRST IN HUDDLE: BIPARTISAN OBAMACARE BILL - Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) will introduce a bill later today that would streamline employer reporting requirements under Obamacare. The bill is the first bipartisan Obamacare effort since Republicans tried (again) to repeal the law last month. "This legislation couples important data collection with the flexibility and efficiency employers need to continue implementing the law," Warner said in a statement. Bill summary: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b98deeb8fe5905af34d0911c07c75105cd21d39e53ca8cac74c40eefd89706eba39c996d031e9daf075a503e7f705f18bdd92ca051e897e1 and text: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b98deeb8fe5905afa3823a3782c26dc0e6db40f56df2660c8266b65b71c9432f3af56147841b757f5d3995f2a68be204a2b4d46ec2478f4d 
 
WHAT DEMOCRATS ARE READING: "Hundreds of White House emails sent to third Kushner family account," Josh Dawsey and Andrea Peterson report. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b98deeb8fe5905afdfdf88834bf80e591b05e08412b34189e51fae9f650841b4966bdab63064f5b5d480e2aa0f53006ac4e482d126501640 
 
CONSERVATIVES RALLY AROUND BLACKBURN - Influential conservative groups are coalescing around Tennessee Rep. Marsha Blackburn as the top GOP choice to replace retiring Sen. Bob Corker. "The Club for Growth spoke favorably of a possible Blackburn Senate candidacy on Friday. David Bossie, the close confidant of President Trump who runs Citizens United, indicated the same day that he would like to see Blackburn become the consensus conservative candidate in the August 2018 Republican primary," David Drucker reports for the Washington Examiner. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b98deeb8fe5905af1b6903b501649dc23eb7a08c99abc951209bf15e674e3bf096fb1a731a5b6afaa5699e41ad506727aaa527eae85a9ce7 
 
WHAT'S ON THE MENU? Trump had dinner last night with several influential Republican lawmakers who play a major role on immigration policy, SMK and Bres report. On the invite list: Cornyn, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), and Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and David Perdue (R-Ga.). The White House has yet to send Congress its legislative priorities for a deal Trump struck with Democratic leaders to protect Dreamers in exchange for beefed up border security.

TODAY IN WEIRD - Former lawmaker-turned-lobbyist Connie Mack "appears to have duped freshman [Rep. Ron Estes' office] into organizing a sham 'hearing' that aired on Ukrainian television on behalf of a shadowy lobbying client implicated in the Panama Papers leak," Betsy Woodruff and Andrew Desiderio report for the Daily Beast. More: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b98deeb8fe5905af145ca3398f05e166ee7a234f68c599bf65acf3f8a61a65ace69e6a676e3c2e75245b439477c6f96b376600cff1644b5b 
 
ACCESS DENIED - "The CIA has denied a request by the bipartisan leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee to let them view some of the same information about Russian meddling that the intelligence committee has already seen," Elana reports. Meanwhile, House Intel ranking member Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) will make public a "representative sampling" of the Russian-purchased Facebook ads aimed at influencing last year's election, Kyle and Elana report. Facebook turned over 3,000 related ads to congressional investigators Monday but doesn't plant to release them publicly. The social media site said Monday that around 10 million people saw the ads last year, Nancy Scola writes. 
 
TODAY IN CONGRESS - The Senate meets at 10 a.m. and will recess for weekly caucus lunches from 12:30 p.m. until 2 p.m. The House gavels in at 10 a.m. with first votes around 1:30 p.m. and last votes around 5 p.m. Today's agenda: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b98deeb8fe5905afa4bac6d96d21d3660d802ad5558f5eddbc6d404d65ed056b31f2ba1282e8d6bff8ca5c2623ac43e2c379630ce7118902 
 
AROUND THE HILL - Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), GOP Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and House Budget Committee Chair Diane Black (R-Tenn.) take questions from reporters at 10 a.m. in HC-8. 
 
Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) participates in a discussion on Ukraine at 10 a.m. with the Atlantic Council in the CVC's congressional meeting room. House Democratic Vice Chair Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), chairman of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, and CHC Chairwoman Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.) hold a press conference at 10:15 a.m. in HVC Studio A. 
 
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) holds his weekly pen and pad at 11 a.m. in H-144. Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) holds a press conference at 11 a.m. in the House triangle on his plans to file a FOIA request in a lawsuit involving a 2000 osprey crash that killed 19 Marines. 
 
West Virginia Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito, Reps. David McKinley (R-W.Va.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and United Mine Workers of America President Cecil Roberts hold a press conference on a bill that would shore up the UMWA pension plan for retired miners at 11:30 a.m. in S-120. 
 
Rep. David Price (D-N.C.) participates in a press call on the Sinclair-Tribune media merger at 11:45 p.m. To RSVP: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b98deeb8fe5905af6ecee2cc120848d7e7194613a2f75124a6e31ec9bff18fd20c1a75d05392e45e45c5b7773ceaf8e28207cc437fbf3856 Reps. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.) introduce a bill that would reform the immigration detention system at 12 p.m. in the House triangle. 
 
House Budget ranking member John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) holds a press conference on the GOP budget at 12:15 p.m. in the HVC-210 alcove. House Natural Resources ranking member Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) holds a press conference on the Grizzly Bear Protection Act at 1:30 p.m. in the House triangle. 
 
Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) participate in a rally with immigration and LGBTQ advocacy groups about the impact of rescinding DACA starting at 2 p.m. outside the Capitol. Senate Republican and Democratic leaders hold separate press conferences after their weekly caucus lunches around 2 p.m. in the Ohio Clock Corridor. 
 
McMorris Rodgers and Reps. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) and Gregg Harper (R-Miss.) introduce a new bipartisan working group to boost employment for people with disabilities at 2:30 p.m. in the House triangle. Sens. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) hold a press conference on Michael Dourson, nominee to lead EPA's pesticide oversight department, at 2:30 p.m. in the Senate swamp. 
 
Reps. Mark Walker (R-N.C.), Jim Banks (R-Ind.), Andy Barr (R-Ky.) and Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) participate in a 2:30 p.m. event on tax reform at the Heritage Foundation. Reps. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) and Luis Guti&eacute;rrez (D-Ill.) hold a pen and pad on their visits to Puerto Rico over the weekend starting at 3 p.m. in 2408 Rayburn. 
 
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) participates in a discussion and screening of the film "Syria's Disappeared: The Case Against Assad" at 5:30 p.m. in 1539 Longworth. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) participates in a discussion on the Iran nuclear deal at 6 p.m. at the Council on Foreign Relations. 
 
MONDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Chris Armstrong was first to guess that FDR nominated a Supreme Court justice who was successfully confirmed to replace an earlier pick of the Democratic president. Wiley Rutledge replaced Jimmy Byrnes, who resigned from the Supreme Court after only 15 months to lead the Office of Economic Stabilization. 
 
TODAY'S TRIVIA - Chris with today's question: At least five people have served as chairman of both the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee. Who was the last one to do both and when? Send your best guess my way: [email-masked]. The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next edition of Huddle. 
 
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