A lot of you are going to be furloughed tomorrow, but don't worry, the eyes of the nation are upon yo---OH MY GOD DID YOU SEE BREAKING BAD LAST NIGHT?... AND HOMELAND? Members of Congress are still holding fundraisers, because money doesn't grow on trees, you know? And Obamacare's health exchanges open up tomorrow, giving Americans the freedom to choose how they want to be murdered by their death panels. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Monday, September 30th, 2013:
THE GOVERNMENT IS GOING TO SHUT DOWN, Y'ALL - WaPo: "[T]he Senate rejected House amendments to a short-term spending bill, killing a provision that would delay implementation of the health-care law and moving the U.S. government closer to a shutdown...The 54 to 46 party-line vote made good on a vow by Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) to reject a funding bill approved by the House early Sunday because it would delay Obama's signature 2010 health-care law for one year and repeal a tax on medical devices. Immediately after the Senate convened Monday afternoon, Reid moved to table the House amendments. That exercise required a simple majority and was accomplished solely with Democratic votes. The Senate later passed a bill that ensures that members of the armed forces will continue to get paid in the event of a shutdown...The leadership team of House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) presented rank-and-file Republicans with an option that would include a one-year delay of the cornerstone of the Affordable Care Act -- the so-called individual mandate -- while adding a provision that would strip federal subsidies for lawmakers and their staffs, GOP aides said...House Democrats countered with an offer to reduce their bottom line for the short-term spending bill from $1.028 trillion to the Republicans' number of $986 billion in a "clean" continuing resolution, an offer that the Democrats described as a significant concession...But Boehner said Monday that House Republicans would not accept a 'clean' continuing resolution, meaning a bill that does not defund or delay the health-care law, news services reported." [WaPo]
Byron York: "How 30 House Republicans are forcing the Obamacare fight" [Examiner]
Obama: #stopbullying: "President Barack Obama spoke from the White House Monday on the looming government shutdown. 'If the Congress does not fulfill its responsibility to pass a budget today, most of the government will shut down tomorrow,' Obama said...'A shutdown will have a very real economic impact on a lot of people right away,' Obama said...'The idea of putting people's hard-earned progress at risk is the height of irresponsibility, and it does not have to happen,'" [HuffPost]
Sixth & I has a shutdown plan: "Throughout the day, there will be Political Ping Pong (red versus blue, with photos of certain government officials on the paddles), bipartisan board games, reading materials, constant streaming of The West Wing, and an informal meeting space with all of the essentials for non-essentials--free coffee, food, and Wifi." [DCist]
Peter King: 25 House Republicans will vote for a clean CR. Jen Bendery: "Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) said Monday that he will buck his party leadership and vote against bringing up a government-funding bill that includes a one-year delay of Obamacare. And, he said, there may be as many as 25 other Republicans ready to do the same. Nearly all Republican lawmakers flooding out of a closed-door meeting scoffed at the idea of passing a 'clean' bill that simply funds the government ahead of Monday night's deadline. Most said the idea didn't even come up in the meeting as GOP leaders put forward their latest plan: to pass a bill that funds the government through mid-December but also delays by a year the individual mandate portion of the health care law. Their bill would also end federal health care subsidies for Hill staffers and lawmakers." [HuffPost]
@postroz: Rep. Nunes (R) says GOP will be like Long Duk Dong at end of 16 Candles. "That's going to be us tom., waking up on the grass, crashed auto."
TED CRUZ INCORRECT: POLLS - Mark Blumenthal: "In his marathon speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate last week, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) repeatedly invoked the will of 'the American people' in an effort to derail the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare. If only his colleagues would 'listen to the American people,' Cruz said, 'the vote would be 100 to 0 to defund Obamacare.' Five recent surveys of the American public flatly contradict that assertion." [HuffPost]
DAILY DELANEY DOWNER - An increasingly likely government shutdown won't affect most of the federal government's safety net, like retirement and health insurance programs, but nutrition support for millions of women and babies could be in trouble. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Saturday that if Congress can't cut a deal to fund government operations past Monday, "No additional federal funds would be available to support the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC)'s clinical services, food benefits and administrative costs." [HuffPost]
DOUBLE DOWNER - This one really hits home. Christopher Rugaber: "The Labor Department has no plans to release the closely watched U.S. monthly jobs report on Friday in case of a partial government shutdown that lasts through the week. A Labor official with direct knowledge said Monday that there wouldn't be enough staffers on site to compile the jobs report. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to discuss the matter publicly. A document the department filed Friday said its Bureau of Labor Statistics, which prepares the jobs data, would have only three employees working in case of a partial government shutdown." [Associated Press]
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OBAMACARE EXCHANGES COMIN' ATCHA - Jeff Young: "Nothing will stop the Tuesday rollout out of the centerpiece of President Barack Obama's health care reform law, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Monday. Obamacare's health insurance exchanges, online marketplaces for people who are uninsured or buy coverage directly, will launch on Tuesday, despite the looming possibility of a government shutdown, Republican calls for delay and the likelihood of glitches in the system, Sebelius said during a meeting with reporters at the department's headquarters...More than three years after Obama signed his landmark health care overhaul into law, consumers can begin using the health insurance exchanges on Tuesday, the start of a six-month sign-up period for coverage that begins as soon as Jan. 1. The health insurance exchanges will enable people who don't get health benefits at work or who aren't enrolled in a government program like Medicare to compare health plans on price and benefits, and to learn whether they qualify for financial assistance." [HuffPost]
BLAME FALLS ON GOP FOR SHUTDOWN: POLL - Luke Johnson: "Most Americans would blame congressional Republicans rather than President Barack Obama for a shutdown, and many Americans view the GOP as acting like "spoiled children," according to a CNN/ORC International poll released Monday. Forty-six percent of respondents would blame congressional Republicans, 36 percent would blame Obama and 13 percent would blame both. Sixty-nine percent said that the GOP is acting like 'spoiled children' in the budget fight, while 58 percent think that of congressional Democrats and 49 percent think that of President Barack Obama. Six in 10 respondents reject the GOP's approach and think it is more important to avoid a shutdown than to make major changes to the Affordable Care Act. The poll is an indication that the Republicans' hard-line approach does not resonate with many Americans, and could have consequences in future elections. Nevertheless, the GOP has touted the tactic of using the continuing resolution to fund the government to demand changes to Obamacare, crafting the populist slogan 'Make DC Listen.'" [HuffPost]
Voters also oppose delaying Obamacare implementation, probably because they can't wait to find out their death panel dates and just how many Muslims are exempt from the law. Think Progress: "The Morning Consult group finds that just seven percent of voters support delaying or defunding Obamacare. On the other hand, 39 percent of voters want Congress to either let the law take effect or expand the law even furth. Another 29 percent think that Congress should work on making improvements to Obamacare, but ultimately leave the law in place. By a two to one margin, the poll's respondents said 'the results from the 2012 presidential election represented a referendum on moving forward with the Affordable Care Act.'" [Think Progress]
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LAWMAKERS' CAMPAIGNS NOT BEING SHUT DOWN - Maybe some of the food service workers in Dirksen can be invited to the fundraisers. They won't be able to afford food but we hear the Nachos at Tortilla Coast are ripe with protein. Paul Blumenthal and Luke Johnson: "A government shutdown will force agencies to close their doors and send many employees home without pay, but the money won't stop flowing for congressional lawmakers trying to win reelection. With the government slated to shut down on Tuesday, House Speaker John Boehner is still scheduled to attend a fundraiser for fellow Ohio Republican Rep. Steve Chabot that evening. At least five other legislators are holding fundraisers this week, according to the Sunlight Foundation's Political Party Time website. They are Reps. Gene Green (D-Texas), Lois Capps (D-Calif.), Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), and Phil Roe (R-Tenn.) as well as Sen. John Boozman (R-Ark.). Chabot offers donors a "Taste of Cincinnati" with the Ohio delegation. Green's campaign fundraiser comes with a minimum price tag of $1,000 for lunch at Washington's Tortilla Coast restaurant, known for its middling Tex-Mex fare. Boozman's ARKPAC is holding its second annual Trout Fishing Weekend at Gaston's White River Resort in Arkansas for a $2,500 minimum donation." [HuffPost]
Remember when Angus King was supposed to change the tone in Washington? Well he has. "That's a scandal -- those people are guilty of murder in my opinion," the Maine senator said during an interview with Salon Friday. "Some of those people they persuade are going to end up dying because they don't have health insurance. For people who do that to other people in the name of some obscure political ideology is one of the grossest violations of our humanity I can think of. This absolutely drives me crazy." [Salon]
97 percent of NASA employees will be furloughed, according to this handy graphic from the New York Times. It's all fun and games and furloughing until the Decepticons show up.
WALL STREET DEREGULATION ON THE HORIZON - Good news for people hoping to open up Manhattan hotels with bars that serve $90 bottles of Cava. Zach Carter: "When the drama surrounding a government shutdown abates, the House of Representatives expects to take up legislation to expand taxpayer support for derivatives, the complex financial products at the heart of the 2008 meltdown. And while traditionally straightforward tasks like funding the federal government have become raucously contentious in recent weeks, a bill subsidizing Wall Street banks is likely to garner significant bipartisan support. Also on the post-shutdown agenda is legislation that would prevent the Department of Labor and the SEC from implementing new consumer protection standards for 401(k) accounts and other retirement funds. Both bills are efforts to roll back reforms that passed under the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform bill. A small cadre of liberal Democrats are marshaling opposition to the bills, but still expect dozens of Democrats to join a united Republican Party in passing the legislation." [HuffPost]
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT CHALLENGING NC VOTER LAW - Ryan Reilly and Saki Knafo: "North Carolina Republicans passed a restrictive voting law earlier this year "with the purpose of denying or abridging the right of African Americans to vote on account of their race or color," the Justice Department charged in a lawsuit filed Monday. The lawsuit, filed by attorneys within DOJ's Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of North Carolina, was announced by Attorney General Eric Holder at Justice Department headquarters on Monday. Federal officials argued that, based on North Carolina's own data, four changes to the law -- eliminating several days of early voting, eliminating same-day voter registration, prohibiting the counting of certain provisional ballots and requiring specific forms of photo identification -- would have a discriminatory impact on minority voters...DOJ will seek to force North Carolina to clear future changes to its voting laws with federal officials or a panel of federal judges, as the Voting Rights Act had previously required for certain parts of the state before relevant sections were overturned by the Supreme Court earlier this year. Holder said the suit should send a message to other states considering similar restrictions." [HuffPost]
DNC GOING BROKE - Steven Spielberg, George Soros and every executive at Google are about to be hit up HARD. Fortune: "It is a highly unusual state of affairs for a national party -- especially one that can deploy the President as its fundraiser-in-chief -- and it speaks to the quiet but serious organizational problems the party has yet to address since the last election, obscured in part by the much messier spectacle of GOP infighting. The Democrats' numbers speak for themselves: Through August, 10 months after helping President Obama secure a second term, the DNC owed its various creditors a total of $18.1 million, compared to the $12.5 million cash cushion the Republican National Committee is holding. Several executives at firms that contract to provide services to the party -- speaking anonymously to avoid antagonizing what remains an important if troubled client -- describe an organization playing for time as they raise alarms about past-due bills falling further behind. And senior strategists close to the DNC say they worry the organization appears to have no road map back to solvency. 'They really thought they could get this money raised by the summer,' one said, 'but the fact is, from talking to people over there, they have no real plan for how to solve this.'" [Fortune]
ELIZABETH WARREN NOT RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT - Somewhere, the entire PCCC staff is cupping their ears and screaming "LA LA LA LA LA LA LA." Times: "After Senator Elizabeth Warren spoke at a luncheon in Beverly Hills, Calif., last month, women from the audience swarmed around her, many of them asking the same question: will you run for president?...In Democratic circles, disappointment in the promise of the Obama presidency and unease over a possible restoration of the Clintons have made the senator, who was sworn in just 10 months ago, the object of huge interest and the avatar of a newly assertive, fervently populist left eager for a more confrontational approach to politics...In the interview, Ms. Warren, 64, said twice that she had no interest in running for president, a point her aides amplify privately. But she said she would continue to focus on economic fairness, saying it is the signal issue of the day." [NYT]
BECAUSE YOU'VE READ THIS FAR - Here is a child giggling at a laser pointer.
NO JUSTICE, NO PIECE - Dave Jamieson: "If dishing out pizza to an endless stream of drunken D.C. bar-goers strikes you as a trying job, Jose Luis Ormeno might tell you it's even more thankless than it looks. The former kitchen worker at D.C. pizza chain Manny & Olga's has filed a lawsuit accusing his employer of wage theft, claiming he was cheated out of more than $12,000 in pay." [HuffPost]
Sexy sobriquet steals show: "The official New York City Democratic mayoral primary vote count is in. And two people wrote in Anthony Weiner's alter-ego. According to the New York City Board of Elections, two write-in votes for mayor went to 'Carlos Danger,' the online name that Anthony Weiner used for explicitly sexual conversations with a woman after he had resigned from Congress." [National Journal]
COMFORT FOOD
- A side-by-side test of every iPhone ever made. Performance-wise, the 2G holds up remarkably well. [http://read.bi/18gCDGd]
- Tesla coils perform "Sweet Home Alabama." [http://bit.ly/wDwUxl]
- A chart showing the rise and decline of Research in Motion's BlackBerry. We hope the BlackBerry Storm is rotting in a particularly warm corner of Hell. [http://nyti.ms/1bUXYZQ]
- Every Mentos commercial from the 1990s. [http://bit.ly/196Md1c]
- A roundup of Breaking Bad finale reviews. Rest assured, there are no spoilers (except for the big one: Jesse killed Laura Palmer). [http://bit.ly/14Xo5ee]
- A KFC ketchup packet featuring a possessed Colonel Sanders. [http://huff.to/160PfBF]
- Pilot lands plane on freeway after his engine stalls. [http://bit.ly/169MvSF]
TWITTERAMA
@mikemadden:Would you rather have 52-duck sized crises, or one crisis-sized duck?
@pourmecoffee: United States Government may need to crash at your place tonight, just until it works something out.
@kagrox: Hey! Who wrote "uckfay ouyay" into this draft amendment stripping Congressional staff of health coverage?!
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