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By Seung Min Kim (
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skim@politico.com or @seungminkim)

LAWMAKERS SLAM SECRET SERVICE CHIEF - POLITICO's Lauren French with the details of Secret Service director Julia Pierson's four-hour grilling before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee: "The head of the U.S. Secret Service did little to assuage concerns from lawmakers during a tense and testy congressional hearing Tuesday that the agency is not up to the task of protecting the White House ... Even after a classified briefing that offered more in-depth information, members said they had little confidence in the agency's leadership but stopped just short of asking for Pierson's resignation. 'I'm not saying that yet, but I can say that the agency overall has a leadership
problem,' said Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah). 'We're getting to the point that the president is going to have to make some dramatic changes.'"

--More from Lauren: "Neither [Reps. Elijah] Cummings nor [Darrell] Issa asked for Pierson to resign her post but said they planned to call for an independent investigation into the break-in. Cummings said the 'jury is still out' on whether Pierson should remain as head of the embattled agency. 'The director did not get a clean bill of health at the end of this hearing,' Issa said. 'It is up to the president and the secretary to determine if she is the person to respond. Right now, I was not satisfied with this hearing.'"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=37266adaca86deb438788197a6fe663adfc25913ce0b9b528df9a1be0cd61945
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=37266adaca86deb438788197a6fe663adfc25913ce0b9b528df9a1be0cd61945

@Phil_Mattingly:
mailto:.@RepCummings
.@RepCummings on @msnbc, says his confidence in Secret Service director Pierson 'has eroded' and he's 'not comfortable' w/ her

--Your Huddle author's jaw literally dropped when she read this: An armed man with a criminal history rode an elevator with President Barack Obama as he visited the Centers for Disease Control and Protection last month. From the Washington Post: "A security contractor with a gun and three convictions for assault and battery was allowed on an elevator with President Obama during a Sept. 16 trip to Atlanta, violating Secret Service protocols, according to three people familiar with the incident. Obama was not told about the lapse in his security, these people said."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=358383784614a721e0cb10fd513613b110aa0098e8c4e83d6716f348f5070cb9
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=358383784614a721e0cb10fd513613b110aa0098e8c4e83d6716f348f5070cb9

--The Hill takes attendance at Tuesday's rare recess hearing: 19 lawmakers participated in the session from Oversight, which has 40 members. Two lawmakers not on the committee were allowed to join:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=62b4eee66d507549908b6b5bfc7ffd39cd4d7ce4017e3d1da659cbdfce5341dc
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=62b4eee66d507549908b6b5bfc7ffd39cd4d7ce4017e3d1da659cbdfce5341dc

--The Wall Street Journal's Reid J. Epstein rounds up seven suggestions from Congress to the Secret Service on how to boost White House security. They are: "Put automatic locks on the front doors" (check), "be ready to shoot," "build a curved fence," "add a home security alarm system like ADT," "get angry," "use your magnifying glasses," and "hit the gym."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d7d827fc10643b04d12cdd463d4b90aebf0deb72c7243748f0354182e14d5d32
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d7d827fc10643b04d12cdd463d4b90aebf0deb72c7243748f0354182e14d5d32

--Omar Gonzalez, the man who dashed over the White House fence and made his way deep into the mansion, was indicted on three federal counts Tuesday. Read the indictment here, via The Hill:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c9fb461d528796d8c64ad6b2a728bc1e35b09452bd5240ceec58e6d7c0b0988e
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c9fb461d528796d8c64ad6b2a728bc1e35b09452bd5240ceec58e6d7c0b0988e

DID SEQUESTRATION DAMAGE SECRET SERVICE? The Washington Post looks into suggestions from Tuesday's hearing that the across-the-board spending cuts may have affected the agency's ability to respond to security breaches: "Despite the belt tightening, Congress last year gave the Secret Service more money than it asked for, due to concerns that the amount originally requested by the administration wouldn't be enough for the agency to do its job effectively ... Even though sequestration has forced agencies to make painful cuts, it's hard to take Pierson's staffing concerns seriously when lawmakers gave her agency more money than the administration requested."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3c0401d6a12672fcb54f17f4f3469c1f8011430cd07a6d8ac8a7baa81992e4c7
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3c0401d6a12672fcb54f17f4f3469c1f8011430cd07a6d8ac8a7baa81992e4c7

BOEHNER: 'VERY FEW' WILL VOTE AGAINST ME -- Gannett Washington Bureau's Deirdre Shesgreen gets a 30-minute sit-down with the speaker: "During a 30-minute session in his Capitol Hill office, Boehner also shot down fresh rumors that he will face a revolt from conservatives when he seeks a third term as speaker in January, and he dismissed suggestions that his leadership team would strip committee assignments from any GOP lawmaker who voted against him. 'I just don't think it's necessary,' Boehner said of the possible punishment. He predicted that 'very few' Republicans would vote against him when the 114th Congress convenes in January to elect its speaker."

--Boehner also continued to tout his support for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush as the party's presidential nominee in 2016, telling Shesgreen: "He has a record of serious, big reforms."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=10931d243ee9027a0ddb6e3f183ffb6feb368bf09c0edcb9b229580f069cc91c
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=10931d243ee9027a0ddb6e3f183ffb6feb368bf09c0edcb9b229580f069cc91c

QUOTE OF THE DAY -- Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), currently campaigning for Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), on President Barack Obama: "I wouldn't want the president to come down and campaign for me [in Louisiana]. And I sure don't want him to come to West Virginia."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=991a04ac8782ff3f116cf1d9f02cd12c165c3cbaa159ff0e1cd10487133750f6
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=991a04ac8782ff3f116cf1d9f02cd12c165c3cbaa159ff0e1cd10487133750f6

THE ROGERS REPORT - POLITICO's David Rogers has the latest developments on the push to give unaccompanied migrant children access to legal representation in immigration court: "With the 2014 fiscal year literally hours away from ending, [Health and Human Services] said Tuesday it has committed $4.2 million in leftover funds to support the efforts to secure counsel for the children. Republicans in the House have blocked prior efforts by the Justice Department to use its own funds for this purpose. But HHS said it has sufficient authority to make the awards to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants."

--"HHS estimated that the funds are sufficient to provide legal representation for about 1,222 children, with an initial focus on eight cities including Los Angeles, Houston, and Phoenix. That's a fraction of the total number of minors in the immigration court system after the record border crossings earlier this year. But the step is significant and comes as migrant rights attorneys are trying to elevate the same issue in federal court in Seattle."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a03e717c9eef4d9c6a0b20a86e27f6a8242c8c10b05dbf7a38396e8d11d3959d
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=a03e717c9eef4d9c6a0b20a86e27f6a8242c8c10b05dbf7a38396e8d11d3959d

SHOT: RETURN OF THE HOUSE GOP MODERATES? National Journal's Billy House writes: "A number of Republicans this year are running competitively in blue- or purple-state seats now held by Democrats. So while recent election cycles have swept a host of conservative and tea-party-backed GOP candidates into Congress, the next freshman class could well include more moderates and lawmakers who owe their allegiance to current party leadership. That influx could dampen the impact of the still-powerful tea-party wing of the GOP Conference, while handing Speaker John Boehner an easier path-though still not a sure one-to holding onto his job."

"For instance, no Republican House members represent districts in any of the six New England states. Yet, there are signals that Republicans this November could pick at least one district in New Hampshire, where former GOP Rep. Frank Guinta is fighting to regain the seat he lost in 2012. And the GOP may have a shot at a seat in Maine, as well. Other possible pickups for Republicans in districts now held by Democrats include those in New York, California, and Illinois, where former Republican Rep. Robert Dold is hoping to return to the House after a 2012 loss."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=71b238ab8fddddc0037bff0b2742a3ebc19977dd50fc9c311b81f4c592f42e4f
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=71b238ab8fddddc0037bff0b2742a3ebc19977dd50fc9c311b81f4c592f42e4f

CHASER: The New York Times, on Monday: "House Hopefuls in G.O.P. Seek Rightward Shift"
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d83bbb934ad9862f9b41863dc655db7b3ee3923599439e1ebc9b7fc60ff8a05c
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EMAILS: HONDA STAFF CAMPAIGNED ON CLOCK - From San Jose Inside: "Rep. Mike Honda's office denies it engaged in a pay-to-play scheme to grant campaign contributors and prospects access to government events, despite internal emails released last week by Metro and San Jose Inside that suggest otherwise. The revelations engulfed Honda's reelection campaign in a widening controversy as local officials in the congressman's district called for an investigation and large newspapers around the state picked up on the story."

--An additional, previously unseen email could make Honda's claims of strict separation more difficult. A Feb. 9, 2013 message from Honda chief of staff Jennifer Van der Heide discussing an official State Department Roundtable asked then-campaign manager Lamar Heystek about progress in securing campaign money and endorsements. The email bore the subject, 'Suggested South Asian Invitees for State Dept. Roundtable.' House rules forbid using government resources and official positions to raise money for elective office."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3010f6392ff55402aa249a27c2af8c32184b32144ea70d60b2ef8531b5a11372
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3010f6392ff55402aa249a27c2af8c32184b32144ea70d60b2ef8531b5a11372

OCE REPORT HITS PETRI - Gannett's Donovan Slack: "There is 'substantial reason' to believe Wisconsin Rep. Tom Petri violated conflict-of-interest rules prohibiting personal profit from official actions as a member of Congress, an investigation by the Office of Congressional Ethics found. Petri advocated at the Pentagon for a $3 billion contract for a military contractor in which he owned hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of stock. He also owned more than $100,000 worth of stock in The Manitowoc Co. at the same time he pushed for a regulatory exemption for the company worth $500 million ... Petri's office issued a scathing response, calling the OCE report 'flawed' and accusing
OCE investigators of ignoring 'some important perspectives.'"

--"The independent probe followed a Gannett Washington Bureau investigation of the Fond du Lac Republican's finances and advocacy in Washington on behalf of companies in which he owns stock. The Gannett investigation published in February found the value of Petri's shares in military contractor Oshkosh Corp. increased by 30 percent as he sought to help the company retain a multibillion-dollar contract to build military trucks and escape Pentagon cuts."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5e9b68aebec243bc7a8079a70d7417b7f3c58b3813228e10ce55fa8b811d0064
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5e9b68aebec243bc7a8079a70d7417b7f3c58b3813228e10ce55fa8b811d0064

--POLITICO's John Bresnahan notes that the House Ethics Committee won't launch a full-scale investigation into Petri's stock holdings - what the Office of Congressional Ethics had called for - although they will continue to investigate the case:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=066863ffc22a1f34395c235b10fd26aa17515f103ab47a1e09e3cb7392898fd5
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=066863ffc22a1f34395c235b10fd26aa17515f103ab47a1e09e3cb7392898fd5

EBOLA CASE HITS U.S. - The Dallas Morning News: "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed Tuesday that a Dallas patient was the first person in the U.S. to be diagnosed with the Ebola virus. Federal, state and local officials immediately tried to dampen fears that the patient could trigger an outbreak of the deadly disease. Dr. Tom Frieden, the CDC director, vowed to "stop Ebola in its tracks" by identifying everyone who came into contact with the patient since he became contagious. Each of those people will be watched for signs of illness, including sudden fever, and if they develop them will be placed in isolation to prevent further spread of the disease."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6cbd4be078f8260eda28ec5aef399601c843167c536e88f3ec15b32194a16914
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=6cbd4be078f8260eda28ec5aef399601c843167c536e88f3ec15b32194a16914

GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING, OCT. 1, 2014 and welcome to The Huddle, your play-by-play preview of all the action on Capitol Hill. Please keep those tips, suggestions, comments, complaints, and corrections coming to
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skim@politico.com . If you don't already, please follow me on Twitter @seungminkim.

My new followers include @cparsons and @nprpolitics.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - Same as yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that ...

AROUND THE HILL - House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) holds a news conference at 11 a.m. in HVC Studio A. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Public Policy Conference continues at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, with panels featuring Reps. Ruben Hinojosa (D-Texas), Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), Donna Edwards (D-Md.), Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.), Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.), Filemon Vela (D-Texas), Ed Pastor (D-Ariz.), Tony Cardenas (D-Calif.), Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.), Luis Gutierrez (D-Calif.) and Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.).

IMMIGRATION ACTIVISTS PROTEST BENNET - From the Associated Press in Denver: "Police arrested five people who blocked Broadway in front of the state Capitol on Tuesday to protest immigrant deportations and call on Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet to take action ... Sonia Marquez, one of the protest leaders and an organizer with the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, said protesters want Bennet to take a more forceful and public stance demanding an end to deportations. 'He has failed to do that,' Marquez said."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b19399ff9c8efee382c1ca78c1baf8bf67a67d3f13f79dc50aa71bed0eed3e99
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=b19399ff9c8efee382c1ca78c1baf8bf67a67d3f13f79dc50aa71bed0eed3e99

BLACK STAFFERS DWINDLING ON HILL - The Daily Beast's Tim Mak: "The Obama era hasn't been a period of progress for black Capitol Hill staffers, and aides say a "diversity drain" of many senior African Americans to the private sector and the White House in recent years is partly to blame. 'I started on the Hill 10 years ago, and I don't see a significant difference in the number' of black congressional staffers, John Jones, the chief of staff to Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, told The Daily Beast. '[Progress] definitely has stalled... From my own eyes, and what I interact with and what I see, I haven't seen much of a change.'"

--"Jones' view was echoed by other long-serving African-American staffers. They add that the election of the nation's first black president has come with unintended consequences for Capitol Hill diversity, including a perceived complacency in hiring minorities." Mak also asked the top four congressional leaders about diversity figures among their staffers; only House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) gave numbers, which show that 33 percent of her staff are minorities - including her chief of staff, member services director and national security adviser.
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=764355d7d558b317831b6b24b87b445b8e8ded03e40ad8fb9259c0ce9ab6356e
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=764355d7d558b317831b6b24b87b445b8e8ded03e40ad8fb9259c0ce9ab6356e

GOP HITS DEMS ON DEBT-CEILING VOTE - POLITICO's Jake Sherman: "House Democrats who helped Republican leaders raise the debt ceiling in recent years are receiving a strange thank you: attack ads. The National Republican Congressional Committee and a few GOP groups are running advertisements criticizing Democrats for taking votes that helped Speaker John Boehner pass bills to avoid a calamitous default on the U.S. debt in 2013 and 2014."

--"It's certainly no surprise that Republicans are criticizing Democrats in the middle of an election year - both parties do it - but a handful of senior Republican and Democratic insiders both on and off Capitol Hill scoffed at the ads, saying they were hypocritical and represented poor strategy." The ads are airing in competitive House districts in Illinois, California, Arizona and Minnesota:
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d354085264a5e13b8149f6b9864cf927eda5b398cc624de85d8a39357845c82d
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=d354085264a5e13b8149f6b9864cf927eda5b398cc624de85d8a39357845c82d

SCOTT BROWN MISSES BORDER HEARINGS - From the Washington Post: "Former Massachusetts senator Scott Brown (R) has run several attack ads criticizing Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) for failing to secure the U.S.-Mexico border. But as a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, he missed all six hearings on border security that he was eligible to attend, records suggest. Brown was absent from five hearings in 2011 and one in 2010, according to a review of public records and congressional transcripts and video."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=51264dc8bab09f11f6056714472ab79395a73940ab5d5e175197d5b040e7441c
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=51264dc8bab09f11f6056714472ab79395a73940ab5d5e175197d5b040e7441c

LARRY CRAIG FINED FOR FUND MISUSE - The Associated Press from Boise: "Former U.S. Sen. Larry Craig has been ordered to pay nearly $242,000 to the U.S. Treasury for improperly using campaign funds to cover legal expenses after his arrest in a 2007 airport bathroom sex sting. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled Tuesday that Craig violated the Federal Election Campaign Act by converting campaign funds for personal legal expenses while trying to withdraw his guilty plea to one count of disorderly conduct. The order says Craig must pay back $197,535 of campaign funds plus a penalty of $45,000."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3b466fcb485b706ca8f0baa882c4570ae4f1689f56af7d448ff21d7094897bf9
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=3b466fcb485b706ca8f0baa882c4570ae4f1689f56af7d448ff21d7094897bf9

HOUSE CAUCUS RULES CHANGE COMING? Roll Call's Hannah Hess: "Nearly two decades after former Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., terminated bank accounts for congressional caucuses and ordered them to vacate their Capitol Hill offices, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise is aiming to amend House rules governing the member organizations. Scalise told a House Rules panel convened recently to talk about proposals for the 114th Congress that he wants to build on the changes implemented under Gingrich, with the goal of making caucuses 'more professional and transparent.'"

--"The Louisiana Republican formerly served as chairman of the Republican Study Committee, one of the 28 caucuses Gingrich sought to eliminate in 1995. The RSC has survived, and thrived, with more than 170 members among its ranks, and Scalise appears to be aiming to strengthen its operations. Scalise shared examples of administrative struggles and asked for a re-examination of the rules governing caucuses. He did not offer specifics, just the outcome of more desired transparency."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bd5351f938d16f5c3e164bab746147b2dd82451333cc98422ede708e806eb696
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=bd5351f938d16f5c3e164bab746147b2dd82451333cc98422ede708e806eb696

TUESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Ned Massee of MeadWestvaco was the first person to correctly answer that Abraham Lincoln is the only U.S. president who holds a patent - a device to lift boats over shoals.

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Sharon Reshef, a Huddle trivia winner from earlier this week, has today's question: Which three U.S. presidents appeared on postage stamps issued by the Confederacy? Bonus points for identifying which president appeared on a Confederate stamp before appearing on a stamp issued by the U.S. Post Office? The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day's Huddle. Email
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