Budget blueprint: The House and Senate take the first major step in the budget process this week, voting on their respective "budget resolutions" which act as a blueprint for the twelve spending bills Congress will churn out this year. Weighing in at $3 trillion, the current drafts top the president's budget proposal by about $20 billion and could call for politically tricky tax provisions (through a step called "reconciliation").

Earmark roulette: With both parties blustering they're serious about axing earmarks (cash for pet projects), the unthinkable could happen this week: Congress could vote to abolish earmarks outright - at least for this year. It's apparently a game of chicken, with each side hoping they'll call each other's bluff (few lawmakers actually want to get rid of earmarks), but - who knows - it could backfire on the politicians and we could end up with a bridge-to-nowhere-free budget.

Ethics & wiretaps: House members could also give a second go at voting for a quasi-independent ethics commission, which got pulled from the floor two weeks ago, as well as finalizing a surveillance bill that would let feds tap into foreign calls with a warrant and give telecoms immunity from lawsuits stemming from an earlier illegal wiretap program.

Citizen Joe  Government 

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