By Scott Wong (swong@politico.com or @scottwongDC)
DEMS DREDGE UP VITTER PROSTITUTION SCANDAL – Manu Raju and John Bresnahan have the scoop for POLITICO: “Senate Democrats have had all they can take from David Vitter and his fixation on Obamacare — and they’re dredging up his past prostitution scandal to hit back. Vitter, a Louisiana Republican, has infuriated Democrats this week by commandeering the Senate floor, demanding a vote on his amendment repealing federal contributions to help pay for lawmakers’ health care coverage. But Democratic senators are preparing a legislative response targeting a sordid Vitter episode. If Vitter continues to insist on a vote on his proposal, Democrats could counter with one of their own: Lawmakers will be denied those government contributions if there is ‘probable cause’ they solicited prostitutes.
– “According to draft legislation obtained by POLITICO, Democrats are weighing whether to force a Senate vote on a plan that would effectively resurrect Vitter’s past if the conservative Republican continues to press forward with his Obamacare-bashing proposal. Such a hardball move could bring back uncomfortable memories of the 2007 ‘D.C. Madam’ scandal in which Vitter’s phone number turned up in a Washington-based prostitution ring. Vitter apologized for committing a ‘very serious sin’ but did not elaborate. … It’s unclear which Democratic senator will offer the plan or whether a vote will ever come to pass. It was drafted by staff in response to requests by several Democratic senators. And sources say it was discussed at a Senate Democratic lunch on Thursday.
–“‘Harry Reid is acting like an old-time Vegas mafia thug, and a desperate one at that,’ Vitter said in a statement to POLITICO, referring to the Senate majority leader. ‘This just shows how far Washington insiders will go to protect their special Obamacare exemption.’” http://politi.co/14LKNIn
– THE DEBATE on the underlying Shaheen-Portman energy bill has “devolved into an accidental collision between Obamacare and the Keystone XL pipeline,” write POLITICO’s Darren Goode and Andrew Restuccia. “On one side is Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), who has halted action on a bipartisan energy-efficiency bill while demanding a vote on an unrelated Obamacare measure. On the other is Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), who wants to use the energy bill as a vehicle for a pro-Keystone amendment that he’s crafted to make as much bipartisan noise as possible. They can’t both get what they want — unless Democratic leaders cave in to Vitter’s demands, which they showed no signs of doing. So the energy bill is in limbo.” http://politi.co/1812j8u
MILITANTS ATTACKED the U.S. consulate in Afghanistan, killing two Afghan policemen and injuring dozens of others. All consulate personnel are safe and accounted for. The L.A. Times: http://lat.ms/1bcjLvR
REBUILT AFTER SANDY, N.J. BOARDWALK GOES UP IN FLAMES – Kate Zernike “Nearly a year after Hurricane Sandy devastated the Jersey Shore, a boardwalk that was just rebuilt was ravaged by fire on Thursday, as a blaze that began at an iconic ice cream shop quickly engulfed businesses along a stretch of beach in two towns. Flames and black plumes of smoke shot high above the Boardwalk in Seaside Park, where the fire began after 2 p.m. Within hours, strong gusts of wind swept the fire north along the adjoining Boardwalk of Seaside Heights, where a roller coaster had sat mangled in the ocean for months and became a symbol of the storm’s damage. Funtown Pier, nearly destroyed by the hurricane, collapsed in flames. And nearby, the fire appeared to have ruined a historic carousel that had been painstakingly restored after the storm and reopened just months ago. In all, about 20 businesses over a six-block stretch were almost completely destroyed, Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey said at a news conference. Local officials suggested that number was too low. … “When he heard the news, the governor said, ‘I said to my staff, ‘I feel like I want to throw up.’” http://nyti.ms/1bd1xKE
** A message from the Reagan Presidential Foundation: Registration has opened for “The Reagan National Defense Forum: Building Peace Through Strength Through 2025.” Speakers include Secretary Chuck Hagel, General Martin Dempsey, Secretary John McHugh, Admiral Jonathan Greenert, SASC Chairman Carl Levin and HASC Chairman “Buck” McKeon.
FEC: BOEHNER DONORS MAY HAVE EXCEEDED LIMITS – Jessica Wehrman writes in the Columbus Dispatch: “The Federal Election Commission is questioning House Speaker John Boehner about $ 64,000 in excess campaign contributions, according to a letter the bipartisan panel sent to Boehner this week. Under federal campaign-finance law, lawmakers can receive donations from individuals of up to $ 2,500 for a primary and $ 2,500 for a general election. Political-action committees can donate twice that amount. The letter references donations mostly made at the end of 2011 and questions contributions from three individuals and six political-action committees. The individual donations came from a Rockport, Maine, retiree; an Arlington, Va., telecom lobbyist; and a former chairman of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. … The letter also questions whether Boehner failed to refund or redesignate other potentially excessive contributions within the required 60-day limit, listing 10 individual donors whose refunds or redesignations might not have been issued by that deadline. … Cory Fritz, a Boehner spokesman, said the campaign would respond to the letter. ‘We take compliance with FEC rules and regulations seriously, and will take all corrective action necessary,’ Fritz said.” http://bit.ly/1814rwP
NYT, A1, “Boehner Seeking Democrats’ Help on Fiscal Talks,” By Jonathan Weisman: “With Congress momentarily freed from the Syrian crisis, lawmakers plunged back into their bitter fiscal standoff on Thursday as Speaker John A. Boehner appealed to the Obama administration and Democratic leaders to help him resolve divisions in the Republican ranks that could lead to a government shutdown by month’s end. In meetings with Democratic and Republican Congressional leaders on Thursday after a session with Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew on Wednesday, Mr. Boehner sought a resumption of negotiations that could keep the government running and yield a deficit-reduction deal that would persuade recalcitrant conservatives to raise the government’s borrowing limit.
– “Much of the federal government will shut down as of Oct. 1 unless Congress approves new spending bills to replace expiring ones, and by mid-October, the Treasury Department will lose the borrowing authority to finance the government and pay its debts. … Mr. Lew and Congressional Democrats held firm that they would no longer negotiate on raising the debt ceiling, which they see as the duty of the party in power in the House. And they made it clear to the speaker that they would never accept Republican demands to repeal, defund or delay Mr. Obama’s signature health care law. White House officials dismissed it as ‘a nonstarter.’” http://nyti.ms/13VDqvj
JEFF ZIENTS will succeed Gene Sperling as the chief White House economic adviser, the NYT’s Jackie Calmes reports. Zients did two stints as the president’s acting budget director. http://nyti.ms/14LRbPI
– Minority Whip John Cornyn of Texas, the No. 2 Senate Republican, says he would oppose Larry Summers if he’s tapped to lead the Fed, the WSJ reports: http://on.wsj.com/1e7IDWs
TRANSITIONS – Ian Sams, press secretary for Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), is making the jump to the DNC as regional press secretary. A colleague emails: “He’s a proud Tennessean, graduate of the University Alabama, and diehard Alabama football fan (Roll Tide indeed).” He celebrated last night with friends and colleagues at Vendetta on H Street.
IT’S A GLOOMY FRIDAY THE 13TH THIS MORNING IN D.C. but cooler weather has arrived. 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 @smahaskey and @PhilGordonPHX
TODAY IN CONGRESS – Both the House and Senate are out today.
AROUND THE HILL – Former Rep. Barney Frank, former House Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas and Douglas Holtz-Eakin, former commissioner of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission and former CBO director, speak on a panel entitled “After the Fall: Five Years After Lehman’s Collapse, Where Are We Now?,” hosted by the American Action Network, at noon in Rayburn B318.
POLL: GOP SEES UPTICK ON KEY ISSUES – Neil King Jr. reports for the Wall Street Journal: “The Republican Party is gaining a public-opinion edge on several key issues ahead of the 2014 elections, as Americans question President Barack Obama’s leadership on Syria and worry about the country’s overall direction, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows. Republicans are now rated higher than Democrats on handling the economy and foreign policy, and the GOP’s lead has strengthened on several other issues, including dealing with the federal deficit and ensuring a strong national defense. On topics such as health care, Democrats have seen their long-standing advantage whittled to lows not seen in years.” http://on.wsj.com/180qQul
Las Vegas Sun, “Obama gave Reid political whiplash on Syria,” By Karoun Demirjian: “As senate majority leader, part of Harry Reid’s unofficial job description is to work the Democratic president’s policies through the Congress. But in the past few days, President Barack Obama’s official stance on striking Syria has changed with enough frequency to give Reid political whiplash on a very public stage. ‘The president and his team really dumped a bad one on him this time,’ said Jim Manley, Reid’s former communications director. ‘When the president asks him to do something he’s going to try to get it done … but he got caught in the whipsaw, the back-and-forth that went on last week.’ Reid was the first of the congressional leaders to make an official speech [on Syria] Monday … But within a few hours, Russian officials announced that they had struck a deal with Syria, under which Syrian President Bashar Assad would turn over all of his chemical weapons. Obama had known the Russians were working the deal — but apparently, had kept it quiet. And Reid was forced to backpedal fast. He took the planned Syria vote off the Senate’s calendar Monday night, and by Tuesday, Reid had edited his firm conviction to allow for giving peace a chance. …
– “But aides admit it’s been a whirlwind. And unlike other cases in which White House policy has evolved – as it did during recent debates about the fiscal cliff and gun control — Reid’s traditional vote-rustling strategies didn’t present a workable solution in this fight.” http://bit.ly/1eKPiVz
RUBIO RESPONDS TO PUTIN – Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) writes in National Review: “In this morning’s New York Times, Russian president Vladimir Putin argued that America is not exceptional, and that American leadership does not make the world safer. I could not disagree more strongly. While Russia and the U.S. did work together to defeat the Nazis in World War II as Putin points out, our histories since then tell two very different stories. While strong U.S. leadership rebuilt a free and prosperous Western Europe after the war, the Soviet Union did the opposite, spreading a Communist ideology that imprisoned people behind walls and on islands. The U.S. won the Cold War because of our willingness to lead the free world, and today we remain the world’s sole super power. The question facing our nation now is whether we will continue to lead in the future. I believe we must.” http://bit.ly/15nNHl1
– Speaker John Boehner told reporters he was “insulted” after reading the much-talked-about op-ed: http://politi.co/18WcbR8
PETE KING GOES HIS OWN WAY IN ’16 RUN – POLITICO’s Katie Glueck in Wolfeboro, N.H.: “ Presidential hopefuls don’t typically open their sales pitch by promoting policies that voters overwhelmingly oppose or by knocking their own party almost as much as the other one. Peter King is not your typical presidential hopeful. The brash Republican congressman from Long Island has been making the rounds in New Hampshire, pressing for military action in Syria — which about one in three Americans support — and warning against growing isolationist sentiment at home, symbolized by the rise of libertarian-leaning Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). At stops around the state last weekend, King charged that President Barack Obama’s approach ‘is weakening the office of the president of the United States’ …And his keen focus on national security when poll after poll indicates the country has turned inward after a dozen years of war isn’t the kind of message likely to fire up the Republican faithful.
– “But for King, that message is the point. His main motivation is unmistakable: pushing back against what he sees as a ‘dangerous’ strain of isolationism that’s gaining strength in the GOP. Trips to early states like New Hampshire make him not just a ‘Republican congressman’ in the media but also a “potential 2016 candidate” — giving him a bigger megaphone to drive his message.” http://politi.co/189Pwyf
OBAMA’S GOP COUSIN MAY PRIMARY ROBERTS – Our own James Hohmann and Manu Raju report: “Barack Obama’s second cousin once removed, is laying the groundwork for a potential Republican primary challenge against Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts next year. Milton Wolf has been gauging support, sources told POLITICO, sending an email to GOP activists the last week of August asking them to get in touch if they want more senators like Ted Cruz, Mike Lee and Rand Paul. Wolf, a 42-year-old practicing radiologist, accused Roberts of raising the debt ceiling, bailing out Wall Street and supporting earmarks. He noted that Roberts said recently that he does not see a way out of using military force in Syria and endorsed former Kansas Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to be secretary of Health and Human Services. … The president’s great-great-grandfather, Thomas Creekmore McCurry, is Wolf’s great-grandfather. His mother was five years older than Obama’s mother, and he writes on his Website that the two were childhood friends in Wichita.” http://politi.co/1aH0vas
CONGRESS APPROVAL RATING ACTUALLY IMPROVES – Sean Sullivan writes in the Washington Post: “How poor a job is Congress doing in the eyes of the American public? So poor that fewer than one in five Americans approve — and that’s actually GOOD news for Capitol Hill lawmakers. Congress’ approval rating jumped up five points from 14 percent to 19 percent during the last month, according to a Gallup poll released Wednesday. It’s the highest number since October of 2012. (Of course, “highest” is a relative term given how low the numbers have been.) So why the jump? Gallup suggests it could be related to President Obama asking Congress to approve military action against Syria. (That ask is currently on hold.) Americans strongly oppose a strike, and Congress has been very skeptical, too.” http://wapo.st/15VjFHL
THURSDAY’S TRIVIA WINNER – We had another tie: Colleen Shogan and Michael Quigley both correctly answered seconds apart that two former first ladies are buried in Arlington Cemetery: Jacqueline Kennedy Onasis and Helen Herron Taft.
TODAY’S TRIVIA – Colleen Shogan has today’s question: In honor of Yom Kippur, who was the first Jewish member of Congress? And what district did he represent? The first person 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/
** A message from the Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library: The Reagan National Defense Forum on November 16, 2013 is bringing together leaders and key stakeholders in the defense community – including members of Congress, civilian officials and military leaders from the Defense Department and industry – to address the health of our national defense and to stimulate a discussion that promotes policies that strengthen the United States military into the future. Registrations is $ 499 per person. For more information and tickets, please visit www.ReaganFoundation.org/Defense.
The program includes a keynote address by General Dempsey, remarks by Secretary Hagel, and multiple panels including “Counterterrorism in 2025,” “Congress, Industry and the Pentagon” and “The Industrial Base After a Decade of War.”
“My husband would be so pleased to know that his ‘Peace Through Strength’ policies are being discussed again with a focus on today’s new technology and tomorrow’s needs.” – Former First Lady Nancy Reagan
Vitter’s amendment would have gotten rid of government contributions that help cover federal workers’ health care coverage. According to the National Journal, Reid and Boxer 
