The Senate failed to pass a bill keeping student loan rates low, a fact you may not know as it wasn't part of George Zimmerman's defense. Peter Welch wants the farm bill and food stamps to be like his metaphors: mixed. And the D.C. Council will consider a pot decriminalization bill, also known as the "Let's Make The Lines Even Longer At Ben's Chili Bowl Act." This is HUFFPOST HILL for Wednesday, July 10th, 2013:
REPUBLICANS TALK IMMIGRATION IN THE CAPITOL BASEMENT - Elise Foley and Sabrina Siddiqui: "Much of the opposition tea party members voiced in the meeting goes behind a policy difference about a pathway to citizenship, and comes down to an issue of trust: Many Republicans continue to reject the basic legitimacy of the Obama presidency, and don't trust the president to faithfully carry out laws designed to secure the border, with some pointing to his decision to delay implementation of an element of Obamacare until 2015. 'I made a comment in there, kind of offhand, that trusting Barack Obama with border security is like trusting my daughter with Bill Clinton,' Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kan.) said. 'We just don't trust him.'"
Boehner, meanwhile, stressed the long-term impact opposition to the bill might have: "Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) urged their House Republican colleagues to pass immigration reform legislation in a closed-door meeting Wednesday, with the Speaker arguing that the party would be 'in a much weaker position' if it failed to act." [The Hill]
@DanaBashCNN: more on immigration meeting: several repubs said @EricCantor's idea for "KIDS" act -allowing illegal kids to stay legally has best chance
FARM BILL METAPHOR PARTY TIME - Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) lays down some jams about Republican leadership trying to whip an unpopular split farm bill today: "They're trying to put Humpty Dumpty back together again and John Boehner is the Wizard of Oz behind the curtain in the Emerald City," says Welch, who adds he's hearing mixed messaging as well. "They're telling some they have to pass the bill this way so they won't go to conference to appease conservatives who don't want the bill, and they're telling other members from farm states they only way they can go to conference is if they pass the bill." An additional metaphor about fact that food stamps would probably keep going even without a bill: "Under the plan they're now promoting it would be like taking a snap from the senate and running back 20 yards and then taking a knee in the end zone for a safety. They get nothing."
The idea was to pass a farm bill with just the farm stuff and leave out the food stamps. The farm-only bill is apparently far short of 218 Republican votes.
JAY-Z AND BEYONCE WENT SOMEWHERE AND THE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE IS ON IT - Guess Congress has to overcompensate for any and all travel restriction impotence caused by the Edward Snowden situation. Politico: "Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee are looking to limit Jay-Z and Beyonce's travel options. A spending bill approved on Wednesday by one of the panel's subcommittees contains a provision that seeks to tighten travel restrictions to Cuba, following the celebrity couples headline making trip the communist country earlier this year. 'This is the Jay-Z, Beyonce Bill,' Rep. Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.), a member of the House Appropriations Committee who opposes the provision, told POLITICO. 'Absolutely [it's a response to the trip], and it's playing to the audience in Miami' -- a reference to opponents of relaxing economic and diplomatic relations with the island country. The provision is part of a larger $17 billion financial services spending bill that funds the operations of several agencies, including the Treasury Department, which approved the cultural trip that included Jay-Z and Beyonce. The department has said it approves the trips based on their itinerary and not the specific travelers." [Politico]
Alleged Boston bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev pleaded not guilty to 30 charges in court today. Good luck with that.
DAILY DELANEY DOWNER - And the shits just keep on comin'. "Workers in low-wage industries have lost a greater share of their inflation-adjusted income during the economic recovery than better-paid workers have, according to a new analysis from the National Employment Law Project. The years since the Great Recession ended haven't been kind to any class of worker, but they've been particularly hard on folks who are already at the bottom of the economic ladder, the analysis found. While real wages have dropped by 2.8 percent across all occupations on average, they fell at even steeper rates for low- and mid-wage workers." [HuffPost's Dave Jamieson]
Does somebody keep forwarding you this newsletter? Get your own copy. It's free! Sign up here. Send tips/stories/photos/events/fundraisers/job movement/juicy miscellanea to huffposthill@huffingtonpost.com. Follow us on Twitter - @HuffPostHill
SENATE FAILS TO PASS STUDENT LOAN MEASURE, FUTURE EVEN MORE BLEAK - The "Go Ahead And Take That Teaching Job You've Always Dreamed About Instead Of That Higher Paying, But Less Socially Helpful, Gig At Accenture Act" failed to break a filibuster, garnering only 51 votes. Joy Resmovits, Shahien Nasiripour and Sabrina Siddiqui: "A vote to restore lower interest rates on some new federal student loans for one year failed Tuesday...The vote comes after a month-long campaign to raise public awareness of the doubling of these rates. On July 1, the rates on some new loans, for about 7 million students, doubled from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent upon the expiration of a 2007 law that had gradually lowered the rates. Republicans, Democrats and the White House trotted out their own social media hashtags to encourage students to convince lawmakers not to 'double my rates,' but the advocacy yielded no substantive action." [HuffPost]
ENDA VOTED OUT OF COMMITTEE - Though the bill will likely be received by the House the same way a gay job applicant is received by a Biloxi-area Chick-fil-A. Jen Bendery: "LGBT rights advocates chalked up a win on Wednesday as a Senate committee passed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, a bill that would ban workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions passed the bill, 15 to 7. All Democrats supported it, along with three Republicans: Sens. Mark Kirk (Ill.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Orrin Hatch (Utah)... ENDA has been introduced in several other congressional sessions and has gotten some hearings, but hasn't had a vote on the House or Senate floor since November 2007, when it passed the House by 235-184...The White House later issued a statement applauding the committee's action and pressed the House to get moving on the issue." [HuffPost]
Jeff Merkley does not trust you: "One of the Senate's most outspoken proponents of changing the chamber's rules said Wednesday that another handshake compromise is not an option. 'A third 'gentlemen's agreement' is not an acceptable outcome,' Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., said during a joint appearance with AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka Wednesday morning. Merkley was referring to the results of the two prior efforts to change the Senate's rules to curtail the ability of a minority of senators to filibuster using what's often known as the "nuclear option." In those cases, senators reached bipartisan deals on more narrow changes that have had dubious results." [Roll Call]
MARK BEGICH TAKING A PALIN SENATE CANDIDACY SERIOUSLY - Begich is trying to cast the former governor and vice presidential candidate as a non-resident to soften her up for any potential senate candidacy. "I don't know if she's a resident. She's been away from Alaska a lot and has probably lost touch with what's going on. She should go to my webpage," Alaska's junior senator told Politico. "Most Alaskans I see on a pretty regular basis, but I haven't seen her for a long time." So Mark Begich visits 350,000 people on a regular basis? In the country's biggest state? Talk about retail politics! [Politico]
Chris Murphy's butt has things to say on Vine.
POLL: REPUBLICAN VOTERS SUPPORT IMMIGRATION REFORM - Which is surprising, as the CW had most Republicans wanting to detain and deport every undocumented immigrant in some kind of camino de las lágrimas. Elise Foley: "Most Republican voters are concerned that an immigration bill might not solve border security problems, but they're more confident when asked about legislation that would increase funding for staff and equipment there, according to a poll released on Wednesday by conservative pro-immigration reform group Americans for a Conservative Direction. The nationwide poll, conducted July 8 by Basswood Research, was based on telephone interviews with 1,000 people who have voted in Republican primaries. It's one of many surveys that show that voters want to see Congress address immigration reform -- 79 percent called it 'very important,' while 17 percent said it was 'somewhat important' -- and are open to a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, if it includes conditions. The poll largely asked about hypothetical legislation, similar to the bipartisan 'gang of eight' bill that passed the Senate by a vote of 68 to 32 last month." [HuffPost]
BOB MCDONNELL FACING NEW CORRUPTION ALLEGATIONS - WaPo: "A prominent political donor gave $70,000 to a corporation owned by Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell and his sister last year, and the governor did not disclose the money as a gift or loan, according to people with knowledge of the payments. The donor, wealthy businessman Jonnie R. Williams Sr., also gave a previously unknown $50,000 check to the governor's wife, Maureen, in 2011, the people said. The money to the corporation and Maureen McDonnell brings to $145,000 the amount Williams gave to assist the McDonnell family in 2011 and 2012 -- funds that are now at the center of federal and state investigations. Williams, the chief executive of dietary supplement manufacturer Star Scientific Inc., also provided a $10,000 check in December as a present to McDonnell's eldest daughter, Jeanine, intended to help defray costs at her May 2013 wedding, the people said. Virginia's first family already is under intense scrutiny for accepting $15,000 from the same chief executive to pay for the catering at the June 2011 wedding of Cailin McDonnell at the Executive Mansion. All the payments came as McDonnell and his wife took steps to promote the donor's company and its products." [WaPo]
NORTH CAROLINA REPUBLICANS DON'T WANT YOU TO HAVE AN ABORTION WHILE RIDING A MOTORCYCLE - At what point do Republicans start adding anti-abortion amendments to Independence Day resolutions? Amanda Terkel: "North Carolina House Republicans are pushing legislation that would restrict abortion access, attaching the measure to an unrelated motorcycle safety bill on Wednesday and giving neither the public nor Democratic legislators any advance notice. On Wednesday morning, state Rep. Joe Sam Queen (D) wrote on Twitter, 'New abortion bill being heard in the committee I am on. The public didn't know. I didn't even know.' 'I wish I had more time to look at this new bill before I had to ask questions about it or debate it,' he added. The bill then passed the state House Judiciary Committee in a 10-5 party-line vote. The stealth maneuver came after North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) threatened to veto a similar Senate bill on Wednesday morning. The Senate legislation would require abortion providers to meet strict licensing standards and would mandate that a doctor is present for the entire procedure." [HuffPost]
BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR - Here's a dog trying to catch a frisbee thrown on television.
D.C. COUNCIL: BILL DECRIMINALIZING POT UNVEILED - If enacted, this law will 1. Singlehandedly reinflate the cupcake bubble and 2. Make the Meridian Hill drum circle even more insufferable. WaPo: "D.C. Council member Tommy Wells unveiled Wednesday his plan to decriminalize marijuana in the District, making possession of up to an ounce of the drug punishable by a civil fine of $100. Wells (D-Ward 6), a candidate for mayor, has teamed with Council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) to introduce the legislation at Wednesday's council meeting. At a news conference, Wells said his legislation is designed to lessen the impact that the nation's drug laws have on young adults who become ensnared in the criminal justice system." [WaPo]
COMFORT FOOD
- A chart documenting arrests of NFL players since 2000. [http://bit.ly/10N7XtK]
- Book covers redesigned if a word was missing from the title ("Here's Waldo?" isn't nearly as fun). [http://bit.ly/1dg0Z2L]
- "Pitbull Party" is a web game that let's you party like, um, Pitbull. [http://bit.ly/19tmP3J]
- The most dangerous ways to open a bottle of wine. [http://usat.ly/14J2bdm]
- Bloomberg Businessweek whipped up a chart comparing how much rappers claim they're worth and how much they're actually worth. [http://buswk.co/13zhR6f]
- In Japan, you can buy a $10 McDonald's burger that comes in a gift bag. We're pretty sure it's not served by a robot. [http://bit.ly/18NpVB9]
- A series of Vines recreating the original Super Mario Bros with snacks. [http://bit.ly/12fAVA5]
TWITTERAMA
@pourmecoffee: I was really missing Mad Men, but GOP legislatures have filled the void with privileged white men in suits bossing around women.
@SimonMaloy: Someone took a wet wool blanket out of the dryer half way through the cycle and wrapped it around DC.
@ZekeJMiller: .@PressSec just now: "Hard things are hard"
ON TAP
TONIGHT
Martin O'Malley and his number-two, Anthony Brown, a joined by Maryland Senate President Mike Miller host a fundraiser for human AdderallTerry McAuliffe. [Home of Ambassador & Mrs. Thomas Siebert, Annapolis, MD]
6:00 pm: You know what pairs well with a good Shiraz? Unapologetic influence peddling, natch. John Barrasso invites you to his "Italian Wine Tasting Happy Hour." [The Rowland Tasting Room, 232 8th Street SE]
TOMORROW
1:00 pm: Jim Inhofe, who definitely strikes us as a Bing kind of guy, attends a fundraiser at Google's Washington HQ. [Google, 1101 New York Ave]
7:00 pm: Cory Booker leaves the monied Newark elite behind for a Manhattan fundraiser. [New York, NY]
Got something to add? Send tips/quotes/stories/photos/events/fundraisers/job movement/juicy miscellanea to Eliot Nelson (eliot@huffingtonpost.com), Ryan Grim (ryan@huffingtonpost.com) or Arthur Delaney (arthur@huffingtonpost.com). Follow us on Twitter @HuffPostHill (twitter.com/HuffPostHill). Sign up here: http://huff.to/an2k2e