The Edge: Don't Expect Bombshells on Immigration
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Don't Expect Bombshells on Immigration
Judging by how much has been written on it, today's immigration meeting among House Republicans is big. But let's keep perspective. While the inaugural meeting is important, don't expect any bombshells.
The factions inside the conference are pretty well defined. As lawmakers sound off, GOP leaders will spend much of their time listening.
And one of the most important questions Boehner & Co. will have to answer is whether there is enough support to pass any reforms through the House. Many Republicans worry that passing even the most conservative legislation will only create a vehicle that reform supporters can use to force the Senate immigration bill into law.
But this afternoon is just the shareholders meeting. The decisions will come later.
Chris Frates
cfrates@nationaljournal.com
TOP NEWS
EGYPT ORDERS ARREST OF ISLAMIST LEADERS. Egypt's top prosecutor is seeking the arrest of 10 high-ranking Islamist officials, including the Muslim Brotherhood's spiritual leader, The Washington Post reports. The order charges the leaders with instigating violence that led to the killing of more than 50 demonstrators protesting the military's ouster last week of President Mohamed Morsi. Meanwhile, documents obtained by the University of California (Berkeley) show the U.S. provided financial support through a State Department program to senior opposition members seeking to oust Morsi. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have also pledged $8 billion in cash and loans to Egypt in an effort to undermine Islamist rivals.
Egypt is not yet engaged in a civil war, and characterizing the situation that way could exacerbate the problem, Laura Dean writes for The New Republic. Read more
SPLIT FARM BILL FAILS TO LEAVE THE GATE. The plan to split the massive farm bill into two parts faces an uncertain future as the farm-only bill failed to receive 218 votes in a GOP whip count on Tuesday, The Hill reports. The bill was expected to come before the Rules Committee this week, but that now appears unlikely. Opposition from the Club for Growth and Heritage Action has prevented GOP leaders from convincing Republicans who voted against the unified farm bill to support the split legislation. The Club said earlier this week that it would oppose a two-part bill unless deep cuts to farm subsidies were included. House Democrats also oppose the split bill because it imperils the rural-urban connection found in past farm bills. Read more
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT EXTENDING BENEFITS TO SAME-SEX COUPLES. Following the Supreme Court's decision striking down the federal Defense of Marriage Act, the federal government is proceeding with the expansion of benefits to same-sex married couples, The New York Times reports. Administrators in the House and Senate have issued advisories to their employees, as has the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. Read more
SNOWDEN DENIES GIVING INFORMATION TO RUSSIA, CHINA. Former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden has broken his silence to refute claims that he handed over classified government information to China or Russia, The Guardian reports. "I never gave any information to either government, and they never took anything from my laptops," Snowden said. A new Quinnipiac poll out today shows that 55 percent of Americans consider Snowden a "whistle-blower," while 34 percent believe him to be a "traitor." The Guardian's Glenn Greenwald, Snowden's contact at the paper, said Tuesday the fugitive will most likely head to Venezuela, which has offered Snowden asylum. Read more
In the aftermath of Snowden's NSA surveillance leaks, American attitudes toward U.S. counterterrorism efforts have dramatically shifted, National Journal's Matt Vasilogambros reports. Read more
ACCUSED BOSTON BOMBER PLEADS NOT GUILTY. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was arraigned today in a federal court in Boston on 30 counts relating to his role in the Boston Marathon bombing that killed three people and injured more than 200, Reuters reports. Tsarnaev pleaded not guilty on all counts, including malicious destruction of property resulting in death, use of a firearm during and in relation to a violent crime, and carjacking. Seventeen of the 30 charges carry a possible death sentence, which has been banned for state cases in Massachusetts since 1984 but could be issued against Tsarnaev because he was charged under federal law. Read more
JUDGE: APPLE DROVE UP E-BOOK PRICES. A federal judge in Manhattan issued a 160-page ruling today finding that Apple colluded with five major U.S. publishers to increase retail prices of e-books ahead of the company's entrance into the market in 2010, The Wall Street Journal reports."Understanding that no one Publisher could risk acting alone in an attempt to take pricing power away from Amazon, Apple created a mechanism and environment that enabled them to act together in a matter of weeks to eliminate all retail price competition for their e-books," U.S. District Judge Denise Cote wrote. A separate trial for damages will follow, and Apple has said it will appeal the ruling. Read more
Apple tried to turn the e-book industry against Amazon—and lost, which is a good thing for consumers of electronic literature, National Journal's Brian Fung writes. Read more
THE CHANGING FACE OF HIGHER EDUCATION. More and more students are attending two-year colleges instead of four-year schools. Within five years, minorities will make up more than half of the country's under-18 population. And, by 2020, two-thirds of all jobs will require education beyond high school—up from roughly a quarter 40 years ago. There are major changes in store for the nation's higher-education system, and it needs to adjust accordingly. Who students are, where they learn, and what they're taught are all on pace for—or in need of—major changes over the next decade, a panel of experts said today at the National Journal New Knowledge Economy policy summit. Read more
TOMORROW
THE FIRST PRESIDENT'S PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY. The Mount Vernon Estate, Museum and Gardens will host a media preview of George Washington's new $105 million presidential library, set to open Sept. 27. The event will take place at 2 p.m. at 529 14th Street NW.
THE PATH FORWARD IN AFGHANISTAN. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing on "Assessing the Transition in Afghanistan" at 10 a.m. in 419 Dirksen.
FOXX CEREMONIALLY SWORN IN AT TRANSPORTATION. The Department of Transportation will host a ceremonial swearing-in for Secretary Anthony Foxx at 4:45 p.m. at 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE. Vice President Biden will preside.
QUOTABLE
"We have within us all drives, urges which should be tempered, controlled, modulated, held in check that I did not. And I don't know if I can or should be a whole lot more specific than that." -- Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, a Democrat, describing his previous sex scandal (New York Observer'sPoliticker)
BEDTIME READING
CARNE ROSS: PART NEW-AGE DIPLOMAT, PART FICTION FODDER. When Carne Ross testified about the Iraq invasion, it could have marked the end of his career in diplomacy, BuzzFeed's Rosie Gray reports. Instead, Ross shifted gears, resigned from the British Foreign Service, and launched Independent Diplomat, referred to as "the world's first diplomatic advisory firm." It has since worked with states including South Sudan and Western Sahara. Though Ross says he will "only help people committed to democracy and protection of human rights," the line can be unclear, with some (including his work with Georgian Dream) bringing criticism. Ross's moves also caught the attention of author John le Carré, who has allowed Ross to comment on drafts of his novels. Le Carré referred to him as "an inspiration" for his novel A Delicate Truth. Read more
TODAY'S GALLERY
BACK IN MY DAY... BuzzFeed has compiled a list (complete with video) of "26 Sounds That Are Almost Extinct," including those of a rotary telephone, a dial-up modem, and AOL's iconic "You've Got Mail" greeting. See it here
REALITY CHECK
THE PRICE OF VICTORY IS RISING. The cost of winning a congressional election has skyrocketed over the past three decades, according to the latest edition of Vital Statistics on Congress, released this week. On average, a winning House candidate spent $1.6 million in 2012, a 212-percent increase over the cost in 1986, adjusting for inflation. On the Senate side, a victory cost $10.3 million in 2012, a 161-percent increase. Outside spending also has ballooned, from $10 million each on House and Senate races in 2004 to $198 million on House races and $259 million on Senate races in 2012.
