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GOOD MORNING, MASSACHUSETTS.
SHUTDOWN SLOG — All eyes will be on President Donald Trump tonight, who is expected to address the nation to make his latest pitch for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border amid the second-longest government shutdown in American history.
And as the shutdown drags on, Democratic staffers from the House Appropriations Committee said last night there are 6,869 Massachusetts workers impacted by the standstill. Though it's a sizable group, the number is far lower than the estimated 98,000 affected workers in Washington, D.C.
Members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation are fielding complaints from out-of-work federal employees — Rep. Seth Moulton's office is working on more than a dozen cases, and Rep. Katherine Clark spoke with a TSA agent from Melrose on her way through Logan Airport. A resident in Rep. Jim McGovern's district says they have put off buying a house amid the shutdown.
Moulton set up a page on his website on Saturday for government workers impacted by the shutdown, with resources for unemployment, housing and heating assistance, among other services. His staff will hold office hours in Gloucester tomorrow afternoon, and he's also foregoing his salary until the shutdown ends. Sen. Elizabeth Warren says she's donating her salary to a Jewish nonprofit that protects refugees during what she calls a "completely avoidable" shutdown.
Rep. Joe Kennedy III also had harsh words for Trump, saying the president is the "biggest challenge" to getting the government back up and running in an interview that aired on WGBH yesterday.
If the White House and lawmakers on Capitol Hill don't come to an agreement soon , the shutdown could have a lasting impact. Newly-minted House Ways and Means Committee Chair Rep. Richard Neal warns the shutdown could impact when you can file your taxes and get your tax return, though a White House official said yesterdaythat tax refunds will still go out.
On the state level, things remain more calm . In December, the state Executive Office for Administration and Finance sent a memo to Massachusetts federal agencies with guidance in the event of a shutdown. Some agencies reported they won't feel the impact of a shutdown for weeks — or even months — because funds had already been awarded. Federal reimbursements to MassHealth, for example, were already funded with a full-year appropriation bill. And the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will receive federal funding for school meals through January.
Though TSA agents in airports across the country are calling out sick, the Boston Herald reports the worker shortage hasn't affected Logan International Airport yet. But there are places where the state is feeling the pinch. A small number of transactions handled by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation can't be done right now because they go through federal agencies like the IRS. Additionally, a federal investigation into the Merrimack Valley gas explosions is on hold, and some environmental conservation projects in Western Mass are on pause.
As Trump readies to address the country tonight , Massachusetts Democrats Chairman Gus Bickford called on GOP Gov. Charlie Baker to push back harder on the president, a fellow Republican. "If Governor Baker is serious about siding with the people of Massachusetts, he must do more to hold President Trump accountable, work with his Republican colleagues in Washington to end this shutdown, and protect federal workers in the Commonwealth," Bickford said in a statement. Baker's office referred Bickford's comments to the MassGOP.
Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for the Playbook? Get in touch: smurray@politico.com.
TODAY — State Rep. Marjorie Decker and state Sen. Cynthia Creem call on the governor to sign their flame retardants bill enacted by the Legislature on New Year's Day at an event outside the House Chamber. Rep. Jim McGovern chairs a meeting of the House Committee on Rules.
State Senate President Karen Spilka is at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston for a Jobs for Mass meeting. Attorney General Maura Healey announces funding for more than a dozen community-based health care partnerships. Rep. Ayanna Pressley is a guest on "Radio Boston."
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 | DATELINE BEACON HILL |
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- "BAKER WILL FILE STANDALONE EDUCATION BILL WITH BUDGET," by Matt Murphy, State House News Service: "Gov. Charlie Baker said Monday he's "optimistic" that the Legislature and his administration can reach a deal to reform public education funding by the summer, despite past attempts falling apart in recent years when talks between House and Senate Democrats broke down. Baker, in his inaugural address, said he would be filing a proposal later when he offers his annual budget later this month to update the Chapter 70 funding formula and implement the reforms recommended by the Foundation Budget Review Commission."
- "NAMING OF NEW HOUSE BUDGET CHAIR A "MONTH OR SO" AWAY," by Matt Murphy, State House News Service: "The behind-the-scenes jostling to become the next chairs of the House and Senate Ways and Means Committees could go on for a while as Gov. Charlie Baker prepares to file his annual budget in two weeks and budget watchdogs monitor state revenues after dismal December collections. In an unusual situation, both House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Karen Spilka must name new chairs of their respective Ways and Means Committees this year."
- "Rules reform battle in House not over," by Bruce Mohl, CommonWealth Magazine: "Kearney said the House's output is trending in the wrong direction. He said the House spent 1,200 hours in formal session during the 1985-1986 legislative session, but the chamber spent only 230 hours in formal session during the 2017-2018 session. Out of 5,000 bills filed during the last session, he said, only 500 made it to a floor vote and only 98 passed."
- "For Sabadosa, Structural Reform the Key to House Progress," by Matt Szafranski, Western Mass Politics & Insight: "Sabadosa was sworn in as the 1st Hampshire district representative Wednesday, succeeding Peter Kocot who died last February. Even as she orients herself to State House, sponsors bills and builds her district budget requests, Sabadosa is targeting the process. Otherwise, she says, much of her broader agenda may never breach the House chamber doors."
- "DECKER BELIEVES BAKER "EAGER" TO SIGN FLAME RETARDANT BILL," by Katie Lannan, State House News Service:".As firefighters watched on New Year's Day, a bill to ban certain flame retardants from household goods bounced back-and-forth between the House and Senate, ultimately landing on Gov. Charlie Baker's desk. The last vote in the Senate, resolving the question of whether the bill would pass in the final hours of the two-year legislative session, was met with hugs and applause. The question before supporters now is whether Baker will sign the bill into law or let it die."
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| FROM THE HUB |
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- "City review finds pervasive 'locker room talk' in Boston firehouses," by Milton J. Valencia and Meghan Irons, Boston Globe: "A city-commissioned review to be released Tuesday found pervasive "locker room talk" and an unwelcoming culture toward women in the largely male ranks of the Boston Fire Department and urged city officials to take several steps to boost the number of women on the force. Just 16 women are in the 1,500-member Fire Department, which has been criticized three separate times for its culture over the past 19 years. The latest review was ordered after several women complained last year of a pattern of harassment and discrimination in the department."
- "Marty Walsh wants higher fees on Uber and Lyft rides," by Adam Vaccaro, Boston Globe: "Mayor Martin J. Walsh has a new idea to beat the traffic on Boston's streets: boost the fees on all those Uber and Lyft trips. The Walsh administration plans to lobby state lawmakers to adjust the fees that are charged on each trip in the new legislative session that began last week. Presently, ride-hail companies must pay a 20-cent fee for each ride they complete, under a state law that was passed after months of debate in 2016. Ten cents of each fee goes to the city or town where the ride originated, while the rest is split between the state and a special fund to help the taxi industry."
- "From the Blue Line to a bookstore. How Boston wooed Amazon's HQ2," by Tim Logan and Jon Chesto, Boston Globe:"The high-water mark of Boston's unsuccessful bid to land Amazon's second headquarters came on a brisk Monday in early March, beginning with coffee in the Eagle Room at Boston City Hall and ending with oysters and steak at More Than Words, a nonprofit bookstore and job-training center in the South End. Along the way that day, a team of 10 Amazon executives met with local tech CEOs, lunched with then-Harvard University president Drew Faust, rode the Blue Line, and took a water taxi from East Boston to downtown. The next morning, they swung through Dudley Square and visited Assembly Row before heading to the airport by lunchtime."
- "Affordable housing funds could get boost from developers under Walsh plan," by Tim Logan, Boston Globe: "Boston could soon require developers of office space and hotels to contribute more money to affordable housing funds, if Mayor Martin J. Walsh gets his way. It's one item on a lengthy wish list he plans to file with state lawmakers this month. The Walsh administration says it will ask the Legislature for more flexibility on so-called linkage rules, which require commercial developers to help fund affordable housing and job training, with an eye toward increasing those requirements to help create more low-cost apartments."
- "National Grid Unions Vote To Ratify Deal, Ending Lockout," WBUR: "National Grid's months-long lockout of its gas workers is ending, after two unions voted Monday to ratify a tentative contract agreement. The five-and-a-half-year deal covers approximately 1,250 workers and replaces a contract that expired June 24, 2018, the utility said in a statement."
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| DAY IN COURT |
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- "Supreme Court rejects Exxon Mobil appeal in climate case," by Timothy Cama, The Hill: "The Supreme Court on Monday refused to take up a case in which Exxon Mobil Corp. is trying to stop Massachusetts's demand for documents from it in a climate change investigation. The announcement in the case, Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Healey, came without explanation, as is the court's usual practice. Four of the high court's nine judges would have had to vote in favor of taking the case for it to be put in the docket."
- "Kevin Spacey appears in Nantucket court," by Matt Rocheleau and Maria Cramer, Boston Globe: "Actor Kevin Spacey appeared Monday in Nantucket District Court where a not-guilty plea was entered on his behalf to a single felony charge of allegedly sexually assaulting an 18-year-old man at an island bar in 2016. Spacey, whose legal name is Kevin S. Fowler, was ordered released on personal recognizance by Judge Thomas S. Barrett after a 10-minute hearing."
- "Judge presiding over Kevin Spacey case is no stranger to controversy," by Maria Cramer and John R. Ellement, Boston Globe: "Barrett is a veteran judge, having spent nearly 20 years in the district courts in Quincy, Plymouth, Hingham, New Bedford, Fall River, and Barnstable. Since 2014, he has been a presiding justice in the Nantucket court. Barrett is a former Cohasset attorney nominated for the district courts in 2000 by the late Governor Paul Cellucci. During his career, Barrett has made thousands of rulings in criminal trials, bail hearings, civil lawsuits, and domestic violence issues, but only two of those decisions were reviewed by the Supreme Judicial Court, the state's highest court."
- "SJC to hear Boston Globe lawsuit seeking trove of Massachusetts birth and marriage records," by Shira Schoenberg, Springfield Republican: "The Boston Globe has sued the state to obtain birth and marriage data of Massachusetts residents spanning a period of decades. The Supreme Judicial Court will hear the case, Boston Globe Media Partners vs. Department of Public Health, on Thursday."
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| WARREN REPORT |
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- "Jossie Valentin touts Elizabeth Warren's focus on Western Mass., says she's honored to be 'top dog' as senator mulls 2020 run," by Shannon Young, Springfield Republican: "As a woman, as a Puerto Rican, as a lesbian, this is all huge in terms of my identities and how I can bring these communities to the table in a very significant manner," Valentin said. "When I got the call with this offer to work on her (expected) campaign in this senior role, it was a no brainer."
- "Elizabeth Warren is talking about Trump. She just doesn't want to name him," by Jess Bidgood, Boston Globe: "Warren's weekend swing through Iowa effectively kicked off the race to unseat President Trump, and Democrats energized by the possibility lined up in droves to see her. But if they were hoping to hear one of the president's most prominent critics rip into him, they would have been disappointed: Warren pushed back against numerous aspects of his governance but rarely mentioned the president by name."
- SPILKA LIKES WARREN, BUT NOTES "IT'S EARLY" IN PREZ PROCESS," by Katie Lannan, State House News Service: "Senate President Karen Spilka isn't ready to line up behind a candidate for the White House in 2020, she said in a television interview, but had good things to say about U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren. 'Right now, I think it's early on in the field, and we'll see what happens,' Spilka told WBZ-TV's Jon Keller in a Sunday broadcast. ' I do really like Elizabeth, though.'"
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| FROM THE DELEGATION |
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- "Rep. Lynch on Utah officer killed: 'a loving husband, father, and son,'" by Danny McDonald, Boston Globe: "The family of US Representative Stephen Lynch is mourning the death of a Utah police officer with roots in Greater Boston who was shot in the line of duty Saturday night. Joe Shinners, 29, was shot while trying to arrest a "dangerous fugitive" at about 10 p.m., authorities said."
- "The story of how Democratic rising stars Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley first met at a Manhattan house party and became 'BFFs,'" by Eliza Relman, Business Insider: "Boston city councilwoman Ayanna Pressley was on an Amtrak to New York in early June 2018 when she asked her campaign manager, Sarah Groh, to text a friend of Groh's from college. The friend was then a little-known New York congressional candidate running a similarly insurgent Democratic primary bid. Groh asked her old friend, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, to stop by a fundraiser that evening being held for Pressley in a friend's Manhattan apartment. Ocasio-Cortez said she'd be happy to."
- "IN RULES COMMITTEE, McGOVERN WILL WIELD GAVEL WITH FAMILY TIES," by Colin A. Young, State House News Service:"When newly-minted chairman U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern calls the Rules Committee to order, the Worcester Democrat will wield a gavel that holds significance to his family and native city. Having been in the minority for the last eight years and awaiting a chance to chair the Rules Committee since former Rep. Joe Moakley helped secure his spot on the committee, Mr. McGovern said his office realized as it prepared for the first committee meeting that it did not have a gavel."
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| ALL ABOARD |
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- "Fixing the MBTA may require big service disruptions," by Adam Vaccaro, Boston Globe: "Transit riders could be in store for big service disruptions as the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority prepares to boost maintenance spending in the coming years. In his first public remarks since taking the reins, new MBTA general manager Steve Poftak said on Monday he is focusing heavily on the five-year, $8 billion spending plan that the Baker administration previously charted. While the agency is on track to meet its $1 billion spending goal this year, boosting spending even more in the next few years will be a major effort, he said. So, too, will be meeting a goal to fully repair the transit system's aging infrastructure by 2032."
- "MBTA to purchase fleet of hybrid buses," by Brooks Sutherland, Boston Herald: "The MBTA intends to purchase 194 40-foot diesel-electric hybrid buses from New Flyer of America Inc. for use in the greater Boston area, according to an announcement Monday from the heavy-duty transit bus company. According to the release, New Flyer has provided more than 750 buses to the MBTA since 2002. The new buses will replace old vehicles and are supported by Federal Transit Administration grants."
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| ABOVE THE FOLD |
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— Herald: "SPACEY'S LATEST ROLE: DEFENDANT," "STRAIGHT TO THE PEOPLE," — Globe: "Report faults fire department culture," "Shutdown squeezes workers, companies." |
| FROM THE 413 |
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- "Federal Shutdown Halts Some Environmental Conservation Efforts, Slows Others In Western Mass." by Nancy Eve Cohen, NEPR: "Federal researchers in western Massachusetts study ways to protect migrating fish, backyard birds and urban trees. The government shutdown is affecting thousands of them. The researchers work for agencies like the USDA Forest Service and the U.S. Geological Survey."
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| THE LOCAL ANGLE |
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- "Government shutdown delays Vineyard Wind meetings," by Jeannette Barnes, Standard-Times: " The partial government shutdown has begun to affect the timeline for Vineyard Wind, though not necessarily enough to delay construction. Two federal meetings have been postponed indefinitely: one in New Bedford on Jan. 8 and one in Narragansett, Rhode Island, on Jan. 9. Others in Hyannis, Nantucket and Vineyard Haven will be postponed if the shutdown is still ongoing on Jan. 14."
- "Westfield acting fire chief, commission member resign," by Hope E. Tremblay, Springfield Republican: "The Westfield Fire Commission removed discussions of promoting Deputy Fire Chief Patrick Egloff from its agenda just two hours before the scheduled meeting Monday. Also on Monday, Temporary Fire Chief Andrew Hart resigned and Fire Commissioner Carl Bonavita tendered his resignation."
HAPPY BIRTHDAY - to Alexis Picheny.
TRANSITIONS - Ryan Williams is now EVP of public affairs at Targeted Victory. He most recently was SVP at FP1 Strategies and is a Romney alum.
DID THE HOME TEAM WIN? Yes! The Celtics beat the Nets 116-95.
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