Washington (CNN) - Already coming under fire for his lobbyist past as he ramps up for a 2012 presidential bid, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is denying that he once urged Congress and the Bush administration to pass legislation providing a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

Or, as a good many Republican primary voters like to call it, "amnesty."
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Washington (CNN) - The U.S. House of Representatives voted Monday to extend three provisions of the Patriot Act and Intelligence Reform bill that are due to expire next month.

The bill passed by a simple majority vote of 275-144. The same measure failed last week by a vote of 277-148, which fell short of the 284 needed to pass then because it was considered under a House rule that required a two-thirds majority. The bill extends the provisions through December 8.

Washington (CNN) - House Majority Leader Eric Cantor criticized President Obama for failing to address entitlement reform in his budget that was delivered to Capitol Hill Monday, and pledged that the House Republican budget coming out this spring would wade into the controversial area.

Cantor promised the GOP budget blueprint would be "a serious document that will reflect the type of path we feel we should be taking to address the fiscal situation – including addressing entitlement reforms."
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Washington (CNN) - Former Republican Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is the early favorite in the New Hampshire Republican primary, according to a new poll.

The WMUR Granite State Poll shows Romney with 40 percent of the vote, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani with ten percent, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty with seven percent and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee with seven percent.
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(CNN) – Real estate mogul Donald Trump continued to stoke the fire Monday, responding to Rep. Ron Paul's criticism of the billionaire as someone who has never run for office.

During a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference Thursday, Trump said the Texas Republican was an "unelectable" candidate for president. In an interview on CNN's "American Morning" Monday, Paul countered that he has won 11 elections.
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(CNN) - President Obama's spending plan is just the first step in a process that will involve no less than 40 congressional committees, 24 subcommittees, countless hearings and a number of floor votes in the House and Senate, with the aim of getting funding in place for the federal government by the beginning of the 2012 fiscal year October 1.

Congress never passed a budget for the current fiscal year, and the government has been running on a "continuing resolution," which expires March 4. House Republicans have thrown down the gauntlet over cuts to current programs and threaten to shut down the government if they don't get their way.

NEW YORK (CNN Money) - The funding grants nobody wants. The "mobile" policing unit that doesn't get around much. How about the big fancy telescope that has been mismanaged?

President Obama's 2012 proposal lists more than 200 programs that he wants to cancel or cut, for billions in savings.

Washington (CNN) - Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is slated to make his first appearance in Iowa as an all-but-certain candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

The Iowa Republican Party announced Monday that Barbour will keynote the first in a series of fundraising dinners designed to strengthen county party organizations across the state. Iowa GOP Chairman Matt Strawn said that other "national political leaders" will appear at future dinners.
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Washington (CNN) - A new poll indicates that a majority of New York State voters say they'd vote to re-elect Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand next year.

Wait a minute. Wasn't Gillibrand just elected in November?
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Capitol Hill (CNN) – Washington is celebrating this Valentine’s Day by launching what may be the bloodiest, most eyeball-scratching and character-demeaning battle of the next year: the fight over spending.

So on this tricky holiday, we at American Sauce look at (and question) love and hate at the Capitol.  Things may not be quite as partisan as you think.  And, we pull off a semi-historical event: American Sauce brings together the modern-day kin of Charles Sumner and Preston Brooks. Who? If you don’t know, it’s quite a story.

To listen to the podcast, click here.

Or keep reading.
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