Reps. Serrano, Gingrey: Separated at birth?

Both have curly dark hair and substantial mustaches. Reps. Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.) and Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) have long been confused for each other, so much so that Serrano was once shown Gingrey’s medical chart at the House physician’s office.

Gingrey spokeswoman Becky Ruby is well aware of the look-alike phenomenon: “It’s the mustache, I tell you. It’s that dark hair and that dark mustache.”

Ruby said all of Gingrey’s staffers are huge “Seinfeld” fans — and so is the congressman.

“We refer to Congressman Serrano as ‘Bizarro Gingrey.’ Basically in the episode, there are mirror images of the group.

“Sometimes we’ll see him on the House floor and it takes a second look to be sure it’s not our boss, though Congressman Serrano does lack Congressman Gingrey’s thick Southern drawl. When one of them speaks, it’s a dead giveaway.”

Serrano’s office is also familiar with the twin status. Reporters have frequently confused the lawmakers, his office reports.

Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) has been a fan of the wilderness for quite awhile, and come August he plans to go on a four-day trip with staff that may be filmed by a PBS camera crew for the show “Now,” which airs Friday nights in the D.C. area.

The camping trip will be in the Boulder-White Cloud mountains in central Idaho. The wilderness bill that Simpson has long been championing, H.R. 3603, the Central Idaho Economic Development and Recreation Act, was recently marked up in the House Resources Committee and yesterday passed the full House.

The measure seeks to protect 310,000 acres of wilderness, an area half the size of Rhode Island, in central Idaho.

“It’s just so gorgeous,” Simpson said of the mountain range.

Asked if they would set up tents and partake in the whole camping experience, Simpson remarked, “There ain’t no porta-potties out there, and you’re quite a way’s from people. But it’s some of the most gorgeous country you’ve ever seen in your life.”

Simpson explained the reasoning behind his bill: “I want to protect the most beautiful place on earth.”

There are opponents to his measure. One such opposing voice is Carole King, the singer, who disagrees with Simpson’s bill primarily because she believes even more land ought to be devoted to wilderness.

Simpson has met with the singer several times in Washington and Idaho. Asked if the congressman is friendly with her, Simpson Chief of Staff Lindsay Slater replied, “They’ve always been very cordial. They don’t see eye to eye on this.”

Simpson understands. “Some people don’t like it,” he said. “The extremes on both sides don’t like it.”

Rep. Blackburn hosts a guitar pull

Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) hosted a guitar pull last night featuring some of the nation’s “premier songwriters” in the Cannon Caucus Room.

On behalf of the House Songwriters Caucus, Blackburn hosted the event and invited various songwriters from Nashville Songwriters Association International. Featured hit songwriters included Jim Peterik (he wrote “Eye of the Tiger” and co-founded the band Survivor), Monty Powell (who wrote “Days Go By,” sung by Keith Urban), Danny Wells, Lee Miller, Brad Parker, Bob Regan, Steve Bogard, Lynn Gillespie Chater and Suzanna Spring.

Earlier in the day, the songwriters visited Blackburn’s congressional office to tune up and practice for the guitar pull.

“They played their guitar and sang,” said Ryan Loskarn, Blackburn’s spokesman. “They were great. They are just so talented. In my experience, the songwriters of some of these songs you’ll hear on the radio are just as good as the songwriters.”

Did Blackburn play? “She actually got a minor in piano in college, but I don’t think we have a piano for her to play,” said Loskarn, who added, “I think she does still play occasionally.”

Kevin Madden, spokesman for House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), received much ribbing from reporters yesterday at his boss’s weekly pen-and-pad briefing for his N. 2 status on The Hill’s 50 Most Beautiful People list.

After reporters told Boehner, who also landed on the beautiful list, that Madden was second on the list, Madden said he preferred “deuce.”

The leader’s staff blew up a copy of Madden’s mug in Tuesday’s paper and taped it up to a door for all the reporters to see when they left the briefing.