Gingrich Sees NYSE Talks as ‘Fundamental Blow’ to U.S.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich on Thursday called talks that could lead to Deutsche Boerse acquiring the New York Stock Exchange “a fundamental blow to our capacity to lead the world.”

Mr. Gingrich, who is expected to launch a presidential bid in the coming months, told a gathering of conservatives in Washington that the deal would be “a major sign of decline” for New York as the financial capital of the world, and he said President Barack Obama’s policies were to blame.

“Why are we falling behind?” Mr. Gingrich asked an audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday. “Why is the New York Stock Exchange being taken over by Frankfurt? Why are we in a mess? Why is unemployment over 9%?”

The short answer (according to Mr. Gingrich): “The Obama administration is anti-jobs, anti-small business, anti-manufacturing, pro-trial lawyers, pro-bureaucrat, pro-deficit spending and pro-high taxes.”

A Taste of 2012? Palin, Santorum Exchange Jabs

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum engaged in something of a “tit-for-tat” this week that gives Republican voters a taste of what’s to come as the party picks its nominee to run against President Barack Obama.

In an interview early this week, Mr. Santorum suggested the former Alaska governor was skipping the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington this week because “she has some demands on her time, and a lot of them have financial benefit attached to them.” He also suggested her role as a mother of five played a part in her absence.

Ms. Palin responded Wednesday night in an interview with Fox News, saying, “I will not call him the knuckle-dragging Neanderthal.” But she suggested others — like “his wife” — might want to instead. She allowed that the ensuing media coverage may have overblown the intent of his remarks.

Sen. Kyl to Retire: ‘Time to Give Others a Chance’

Sen. Jon Kyl (R., Ariz.), the No. 2-ranking Republican in the Senate, announced that he won’t run for re-election in 2012.

“There comes a time when you have to consider other things,” he said. “I think it is time for me to have an opportunity to do something else, an opportunity to give others a chance,” the 68-year-old lawmaker said at a press conference today in Phoenix.

Mr. Kyl, who was first elected to the Senate in 1994 after serving four terms in the U.S. House, becomes the fifth senator to announce his retirement this year — and the second one this week. On Wednesday, Sen. Jim Webb (D., Va.) said he would not seek re-election after serving one term, giving Republicans a pick up opportunity in Virginia.

It’s unclear if Mr. Kyl’s retirement will offer the same opening for Democrats.

Speculation had already begun Thursday morning as to whether Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, a Democrat and former Arizona governor, will run for the open seat. But Arizona went strongly Republican in the last two presidential elections and the state re-elected conservative Gov. Jan Brewer in November. It’s senior senator, John McCain, was the GOP presidential nominee in 2008…

Michele Bachmann to CPAC: ‘Hu’s Your Daddy!’

“Hu’s your daddy!”

That’s Rep. Michele Bachmann’s assessment of the country’s debt obligations, delivered Thursday as she kicked off the 38th annual Conservative Political Action Conference.

“With all the money we owe China, I think we might rightly say, ‘Hu’s your daddy!’” the Minnesota Republican and tea party favorite said, referring to Chinese President Hu Jintao, whose country holds more U.S. debt than any other.

The genial firebrand warned the crowd of conservatives gathered in a cavernous conference room that “our friendly Chinese bankers” are the only ones who benefit from the swelling U.S. debt.

In a speech tailor-made for conservative activists, Ms. Bachmann, who is flirting with a presidential bid, told the cheering auditorium, “There’s no question — and I have no reservation in saying this — we have seen President [Barack] Obama usher in socialism under his watch over the last two years.”…

Boehner: ‘We’re Not Going to Be Perfect Every Day’

House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) Wednesday sought to minimize Tuesday night’s setbacks on trade and security bills–but his problems aren’t likely to go away amid Democratic opposition and restless conservative Republicans.

“We’re not going to be perfect every day,” Mr. Boehner told reporters.

On Wednesday, the House did it again, failing to pass a Republican measure to require the U.N. to return $179 million in overpayments. The 259-169 vote was short of the two-thirds needed for passage under expedited rules.

The setbacks showed an unwillingness on the part of Democrats–bruised by midterm elections–to go out of their way to support the new GOP majority as well as the strength of conservative lawmakers within the Republican caucus.

On Tuesday night, House Republican leaders abruptly pulled a trade bill that would renew measures to retrain displaced workers and give duty-free access to imports from Colombia and Ecuador. Some conservative Republicans objected to aspects of the trade-adjustment assistance program as “stimulus.”

Republicans also failed to drum up enough support to extend expiring provisions of the Patriot Act. The party miscalculated and brought the measure to the floor under expedited voting procedures that require two-thirds of lawmakers to vote “yes.” But 26 Republicans broke ranks and joined 122 Democrats to vote no, leaving the bill short of support.

GOP Rep. Lee Quits Amid Scandal

Rep. Chris Lee, an upstate New York Republican, abruptly resigned from the House of Representatives Wednesday evening after the gossip website Gawker published flirtatious emails he sent to a woman on Craigslist, professing to be a divorced lobbyist.

There was no indication Mr. Lee, who is married and has a son, ever met the woman. The woman sent to Gawker the emails and a shirtless picture she said Mr. Lee had emailed her, the website said.

Mr. Lee, a second-term congressman from a district that stretches east from Buffalo along Lake Ontario to the Rochester area, announced he would step down “effective immediately.”

“I regret the harm that my actions have caused my family, my staff and my constituents,” he said in a statement Wednesday evening. “I deeply and sincerely apologize to them all. I have made profound mistakes and I promise to work as hard as I can to seek their forgiveness.”

The abrupt departure came on the same day the story broke.

According to emails posted by Gawker, Mr. Lee answered a “woman seeking man” ad on Craigslist on Jan. 14. The woman asked why men on the popular website all “look like toads.”…

Strength in Numbers: The House Gets a CPA Caucus

Don’t expect the budget numbers in Washington to start miraculously adding up. But there’s now a congressional CPA caucus.

Reps. Brad Sherman (D., Calif.) and Michael Conaway (R., Texas) announced the formation of the Bipartisan Congressional CPA Caucus, with the two lawmakers as co-chairs.

Speaking of numbers: The news release announcing the new caucus, lists six other CPAs in the 112th Congress. They include Reps. John Campbell (R., Calif.), Bill Flores (R., Texas), Lynn Jenkins (R., Kan.), Steven Palazzo (R., Miss.), Collin Peterson (D., Minn.) and James Renacci (R., Ohio).

The release also spelled out the group’s mission: “The Congressional CPA Caucus will serve as an informal, bipartisan group of members who are CPAs, dedicated to discussing and formulating innovative policy approaches to the issues affecting CPAs – including tax administration and compliance and accounting and auditing standards. The Caucus will work to reduce the compliance burden of our tax laws. It will also seek to provide input on issues being debated by Congress on which CPAs have particular expertise – including budgeting and fiscal issues.”

Good luck with all that.

GOP Spending Plan: X-ing Out Title X Family Planning Funds

Among the programs that would be eliminated entirely under the new Republican spending plan announced today is Title X, a which provides family planning for low-income Americans.

The GOP plan would cut all $327 million from Title X. That prompted an angry response from pro-choice groups, who said the program provides contraception and cancer screening, among other services.

“While these politicians attack abortion coverage from every angle, they now want to deny funding for birth control, even though that’s the best way to prevent unintended pregnancy,” said Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America.

Title X recipients cannot use the money to provide abortions. But some conservatives have sought to tie together the two issues. Rep. Mike Pence (R., Ind.), has proposed a bill that would prevent abortion providers from receiving Title X money. Mr. Pence has made it clear his legislation is aimed at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, which is the nation’s biggest provider of abortion services and also a major recipient of Title X money…

A Tax Holiday: A Fight Ahead?

If the drive for broad-based corporate tax reform loses steam in Congress this year, a tax holiday for companies’ overseas earnings could emerge as a popular alternative for some lawmakers and businesses.

But it won’t come without a fight from the White House.

In comments on Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner pushed back on the idea, which has been getting favorable attention on Capitol Hill this week. “We are not going to look at a [tax] holiday outside the context of comprehensive reform,” he said.

For decades, an unusual feature of U.S. tax law has allowed American companies to park their overseas earnings offshore, where the money can escape U.S. tax until it is brought home. By now, U.S. companies have accumulated more than $1 trillion overseas. Numerous critics believe the current system discourages corporate investment in the U.S.; that’s one reason they want a comprehensive change, one that would lower tax rates and also overhaul America’s unusual system of taxing multinationals…

House GOP Spending Cuts: The List

Rep. Hal Rogers, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, unveiled a list of 70 spending cuts to be included in the spending bill to fund the federal government for the seven months remaining in fiscal 2011. Mr. Rogers said other cuts will be released when the bill is formally introduced Thursday.

“Make no mistake, these cuts are not low-hanging fruit,” the Kentucky Republican said in the statement. “These cuts are real and will impact every District across the country - including my own. “

It’s difficult to determine the actual level of cuts from current federal government funding levels since the cuts are proposed against President Barack Obama’s fiscal 2011 budget request, which ‘was never taken up by Congress.

The List of 70 Spending Cuts to be Included in the CR follows:

•    Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies   -$30M
•    Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy   -$899M
•    Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability   -$49M
•    Nuclear Energy   -$169M
•    Fossil Energy Research   -$31M
•    Clean Coal Technology   -$18M
•    Strategic Petroleum Reserve   -$15M
•    Energy Information Administration   -$34M
•    Office of Science   -$1.1B…