Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations

White House to push housing plan despite Republican opposition� Vicki Needham and Peter Schroeder - 02/05/12 07:00 PM ET� The administration has promised major steps to boost the housing market, but bruising fights with Congress loom over the plan.�

Hill Poll: Voters willing to see US attack Iran over nuclear weapons

Jonathan Easley �02/06/12 Nearly half of likely voters think military force should be used to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.�

The Hill Poll: Voters reject Newt�s lofty lunar ambitions

US closes Syrian embassy�� Alicia M. Cohn - 02/06/12 09:08 AM ET

The move comes just days after hundreds were reportedly killed in Syria following clashes between protesters and government forces.�� Related: Amb. Rice says Russia, China will regret votes

Obama, Ryan in budget rematch The bell for Round Two of the fight between President Obama and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is about to ring.�

GSA revises plan for Coast Guard headquarters due to budget cuts

The General Services Administration will be cutting even more corners to finish the new Coast Guard headquarters on time, according to a spending plan sent to Congress Jan. 27. (1)

Senators propose civilian pay freeze through 2014

A handful of Republican senators introduced a plan Thursday that would delay Defense Department spending cuts required under sequestration by extending the current pay freeze for civilian employees through June 2014 and cutting the federal workforce by 5 percent. (41)

McKeon on potential BRAC request: �Kill it'

Rep. Buck McKeon, Republican chair of the House Armed Services Committee, did not mince words when asked what he would do to a Pentagon request for domestic base closures. (7)

Pentagon punts on major program cuts

The Defense Department's fiscal 2013 budget plan to cut $259 billion from spending over the next five years is unlikely to damage America's defense industrial base largely because it sidesteps major program cuts in a presidential election year, according to analysts. (4)

Bulk of IG office's staff likely to be laid off, reassigned

Efforts by several lawmakers to avert drastic downsizing at a federal inspector general's office appear to have failed. (3)