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05/25/2016 08:57 AM EDT


By Rachael Bade (Rbade@politico.com or @RachaelMBade)

ZIKA CONFERENCE HITS ROADBLOCKS - "Political Battles Color Congressional Feud Over Zika Funding." David M. Herszenhorn for the N.Y. Times: "The feud on Capitol Hill over responding to the rapidly spreading Zika virus would seem to be largely a fight over how much money is needed to fight the mosquito-borne scourge. But lurking just beneath the surface are issues that have long stirred partisan mistrust, including Republicans' fears about the use of taxpayer money for abortion and possible increased use of contraception, and Democratic worries about protecting the environment from potentially dangerous pesticides."

"Public health officials warn that the virus will not stop to check party affiliation - the mosquitoes that carry it bite Republicans and Democrats alike... The ancillary political issues have added an extra layer of complication that could further delay a final agreement on legislation to provide emergency funds to fight the virus, which can cause severe birth defects in infants born to infected mothers.... While the House and Senate proposals remain to be reconciled, a new front in the fight emerged Tuesday as the House approved a Republican bill that would strip away environmental regulations on an array of pesticides." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5140f81adfa8ba30dfa1c924999dbf61fbcd7448cf6b7aafa2a8682827baa3f1

PUERTO RICO TEST VOTE TODAY. The AP's Mary Clare Jalonick breaks it down: "House Republicans are attempting to hold together a rare bipartisan deal to help Puerto Rico manage its crippling finances as a committee begins considering the legislation Wednesday. The bill to create a financial control board and restructure some of the U.S. territory's $70 billion debt has support from House Republican and Democratic leaders, as well as the Obama administration. But some bondholders, unions and island officials have opposed it..."

"The legislation won new support from Pedro Pierluisi, Puerto Rico's representative in Congress, who said people on the island fear for their finances and their future. The island's governor, Alejandro Garcia Padilla, has been less enthusiastic, arguing that the seven-member board would be too powerful." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5140f81adfa8ba3091cb9ace315b7b752eedce224d7b1a23a8468c6cab6409f4

What to watch for: POLITICO Pro's Colin Wilhelm, who's been following this drama closely, says all eyes are on one contentious Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) amendment that could upset the bipartisan agreement. McClintock told him Tuesday he plans to offer language in committee today to exempt the primary debt that Puerto Rico owes, backed by the full faith and credit of the island's government, from any effects the bill might have. Conservatives may have a hard time resisting that, but if it's added, kiss goodbye the hard work of negotiating.

More problems in paradise? Across the way, apparently Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch, the Senate Republican most active in the debate over Puerto Rico, expressed reservations about the House deal to resolve the island's debt crisis: "I'm concerned we'll be right back where we are now." So, too, did Sen. Bob Menendez, who called the oversight board "neocolonial" just after Bernie Sanders came out against the deal, too: "The nature of the board can stop restructuring and create conditions for restructuring that are problematic," because the board will have a Republican majority, he said.

"THE ONLY PUERTO RICANS IN IDAHO." Freedom Caucus conservative Raul Labrador (R-Idaho), who's Puerto Rican, has coming out in support of the debt restructuring deal, a huge boon to House GOP leadership. Caucus members are expected to look to him to gauge whether to vote yea or nay. In a sit-down with Josh Siegel of The Daily Signal, he opened up about how he never really thought much of his heritage and the place he grew up until the crisis - even joking that he and his kids were basically "the only Puerto Ricans in Idaho," so it's not a big issue there. But his mother's recent death has moved him to back the pitch that he considers "the right thing" over the "politically expedient thing."

More from the candid interview: "Labrador acknowledges it is typically against his conservative principles to help a financially struggling entity that he believes is responsible for its own problems. He even refers to Puerto Rico as a 'failed socialist experiment in the United States,' and he derides the island as fiscally reckless enough to think it was a smart idea to 'build an ice skating rink in the middle of a tropical island.' Labrador admits he feels resentful towards Puerto Rico, like a tough love father who raised a son that took the wrong path.. Yet Labrador says that assisting Puerto Rico through its current fiscal mess will free the island to pursue sustainable economic
reform." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5e6d11069286a074dec7cf91cc09ca144e60ebe53d0becaee2c6f7210078fe19


** A message from Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America: American consumers enjoy the widest array of alcohol beverage products available anywhere in the world, delivered to your neighborhood liquor store, market, restaurant and bar by family-owned wholesalers. The three-tier system ensures strong control of a sensitive product, while fostering competition, innovation and protecting public safety. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=88eab902e3cd0eaa867f48780e60571f89f05d54aa505f1ff5048c9c78253c73 **

RON DESANTIS ADVOCATES FOR AND RAISES MONEY OFF IMPEACHMENT. Most Hill investigators at least try to maintain the appearance of a firewall between their investigations and campaigns. Then there's Rep. Ron DeSantis. The Florida Republican recently tapped to lead the IRS impeachment hearings, whose running for Marco Rubio's seat, has been raising campaign money off the high-stakes inquiry into the tax chief's alleged misconduct - a move that's prompting bipartisan condemnation on the Hill. One Republican quietly quipped to me that "you don't fundraise off investigations," but didn't want to be on record. But Rep. Gerry Connolly's (D-Va.) quote was best: "If you're going to be a phony, at
least try to act sincere about it... He's not even pretending to be sincere about the substance of this process." My story: http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5e6d11069286a07465d85450ff2ac57ada40ecd56c7750e50881941daff54d40

TWO MORE DAYS. It's Wednesday, May 25, 2016. Thanks for reading Huddle, y'all. One more day until congressional Friday. So hang in there for another 48 hours. Hit me up here if needed: rbade@politico.com, or tweet me here @RachaelMBade

TODAY IN CONGRESS. The House returns at 10 a.m. First votes expected between 1:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Last votes expected: TBD. Senate returns at 10 a.m. as well. Two roll calls at 11 a.m.

AROUND THE HILL. At 10 a.m., Rep. Sanford Bishop talks military spouse employment. At 11:30 a.m., Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi holds her presser. At 12:45 p.m., Speaker Paul Ryan has a pen and pad on the House GOP agenda. At 1:30 p.m., Sens. McCaskill, Heitkamp, Stabenow, and others discuss the Central States Pension Fund. And at 2:30 p.m., Sen. Boxer meets with SCOTUS nominee Chief Judge Merrick Garland.

Late addition from a Clinton Campaign official: "At 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) BOLD PAC, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) PAC and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) Leadership PAC will hold a press conference about Donald Trump wishing for the housing crisis that cost millions of families their homes because he wanted to profit off individuals struggling to keep their homes and businesses. They will also highlight Trump's outrageous defense that this is 'the kind of thinking our country needs.'"

LGBT VOTE RIPPLE EFFECT: "Ryan weighs House floor changes after gay rights flap." Clearly they don't want a repeat of last week's floor drama... Erica Werner for the AP: "Speaker Paul Ryan is taking steps to bring greater order to the House floor after a Democrat-authored gay rights amendment caused chaos last week. Ryan told House Republicans Tuesday that in the future, such amendments will have to be printed ahead of time. Current rules can allow amendments to be written and voted on in real time when spending bills are up for debate. It's a procedural change that could allow the GOP majority to better manage politically problematic votes... A Ryan aide said that the pre-printing
requirement was being discussed but had not yet been finalized." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5e6d11069286a0746cd77cdc0790a1550a26ef20655f5a7a67de33e2393bbd27

Democrats pounce, arguing it goes against regular order - though to be fair it really doesn't. The change doesn't block members from offering amendments, technically. It just happens to give members (and - cough, cough - Steve Scalise's whip team) more time to ensure their ducks are in a row before a vote like this happens. Democrats also benefit from the element of surprise on amendments, so this hurts: "Paul Ryan promised a more open floor process when he took over as Speaker, but clearly the risk is too high for House Republicans, given their backwards, discriminatory inclinations. Speaker Ryan is fooling himself if he thinks simply changing the rules will shield his Trump Ticket from
further damage," said Meredith Kelly of the DCCC in a blast yesterday.

"House Appropriations Committee wades gingerly into transgender rights fight." POLITICO budget man Ben Weyl: "The House Appropriations Committee adopted an amendment to the fiscal 2017 spending bill governing the Justice Department that directs the courts to 'promptly hear and determine' any civil suit brought by a state concerned that its sovereignty had been infringed upon by the federal government. The amendment was backed on a party-line, 28-19 vote, with Democrats opposed.

"There was virtually no debate on the amendment and the administration's guidance was not mentioned, but the topic at hand seemed clear to all. Rep. John Culberson , chairman of the Commerce-Justice-Science subcommittee, said the amendment would reaffirm the states' 10th Amendment rights. Earlier in the day, there was discussion that the Texas Republican would offer an amendment to formally block the administration's guidance, but he apparently decided to hold off after a closed-door meeting with committee Republicans. The GOP could try to upend the guidance later in the appropriations process." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5e6d11069286a074b09973131e4e081d4ea00ad8c9296fd19174edeea1aec8c0

FEDS SCRUTINIZING CORKER'S FINANCES. John Bresnahan and Anna Palmer: "The FBI and Securities and Exchange Commission are scrutinizing Tennessee GOP Sen. Bob Corker's personal finances, including stock transactions involving one of the nation's top developers of shopping centers and malls, according to multiple sources familiar with the probe. Corker, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and potential vice presidential pick, failed to report millions of dollars in assets and income on his annual financial disclosure until the Wall Street Journal revealed the discrepancy last fall. In the wake of that report, Corker was forced to revise years' worth of disclosure reports."
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5e6d11069286a07497dd4b8088d2b3a2f9d3dc6de678ab7bc8c433c80efdffcb

DONNA EDWARDS REACTS TO PRIMARY LOSS IN COSMO: "I've been a proud Democrat since I was 14 - I remember that I identified myself as a Democrat because I could see myself in our party. As a young girl, I could see my own potential for leadership through leaders like Shirley Chisholm and Barbara Jordan and Bella Abzug. But, just a few weeks ago after a yearlong battle for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat in Maryland held by Barbara Mikulski, my 14-year-old self ran right into the glass ceiling for black women with a concussion-worthy crash."

"For more than a year, I faced a barrage of personal attacks on my character, demeanor, personality, and appearance. I was accused of playing 'identity politics' by big-tent Democrats because I talked about the need for the perspectives of people of color, women, and especially black women in the United States Senate. A leading Democrat in our state said the other guy was 'born to the job,' and one of my opponents surrogates even argued that we needed 'strong white men to carry the flag for people of color.' For the record, I am a proud black woman, lawyer, systems engineer, nonprofit CEO, five-term member of Congress (the first black woman elected to Congress in Maryland), and a mom who
raised my son mostly on my own. For the record, that is a perspective and combination of life and professional experiences that do not today have a seat in the U.S. Senate. I was perhaps not 'born to the job' but certainly capable of doing the job." http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5e6d11069286a0748510314d11dbe634955e2e1c90052c17e68b1d0b428c2be4

MCCARTHY RAILS ON DEM ATTEMPT TO STRIP WATER PROVISION. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy just can't seem to get a break on his drought relief pitch to California. Republicans opposed his measure before, keeping it from moving foward, and now that he's attaching it to energy and water spending, Democrats are offering an amendment to strip it out. He took his frustration out on the floor last night: "You know what's interesting? It just so happens Republicans are in the majority, Democrats are in the minority, but not in that room. There were more Democrats than there were Republicans and we stayed months in there talking... We listened to you. And we took what we heard and we put it into
a bill. Because the other thing I heard when we couldn't do this is that it had to be regular order. That's why it could not be in the omnibus bill even though that was an idea from my Senate colleague in the other house. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5e6d11069286a07465d85450ff2ac57ada40ecd56c7750e50881941daff54d40

CAMPUS INVESTIGATION - "Capitol Doesn't Meet Federal Standards for Accommodating New Mothers," by Scott MacFarlane, Rick Yarborough and Jeff Piper for NBC Washington: "The U.S. Capitol does not meet the federal government's own standards for accommodations for new mothers, an investigation by the News4 I-Team found. Though the U.S. General Services Administration, a government agency which oversees the management of federal government buildings, requires a minimum number of lactation stations and changing tables, Congress is exempt from the rules and fails to meet those standards. http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=5e6d11069286a0742283000b25cbb8f7a52bce8d56581aa3ada7aac60844a389

TUESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER: Alyssa Canobbio was the first to answer that Dean Heller is the Senator who graduated from the University of Southern California. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also got this right, though a few minutes after Alyssa.

TODAY'S TRIVIA: Comes from Justin Arnaod: In 1884 Sen. James Blaine's supporters mocked his opponents admission of an illegitimate child with the chants of "Ma ma where's my pa?" Name his opponent and the chant his supporters supplied in retort after he won. Email me: rbade@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://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=88eab902e3cd0eaa8ff4978d56ec5d0d860f91c86dd779f855ea814e0ce76c71


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